Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-07-15
!, Two Jurors Block Verdict
Which Would Have Caused
an Arrest.
DECISION is REACHED
IN LESS THAN 2 HOURS
Investigation of Two Days Ends
Amid Uncertainties as to
Next Move.
BY a STAFF Correspondent.

BY STAFF Correspondent
FREDERICK, Md. July IA cor
oneTs jury, which has been investi-
eating mysterious circumstances sur
rounding the death of Mrs. Grace
Simmons Kepner, the daughter of an
old and wealthy Maryland family,
late this afternoon handed down a
verdict declaring she had been muir
dered and was not a suicide.
1t took the jury less than two hours
to reach it's decision. The inquest
came to an end after two full days of
testimony on the part of more than
a score of witnesses.
Following the verdict Charles Vert
heimer. foreman of the jury. said
there was no doubt in the minds of
the jury that Mrs. Kepner was muir
dered.
Whole Jury Convinced.
There never was a question in the
mind of a single juror after the tes-
timony closed this afternoon" said
Mr.. Wertheimer, that Mrs. Kepner
was the victim of an assassin and
were willing to name in the verdict
: the one we believed to be guilty, but
one or two held out when they were
asked to fix their names to such a
decision. They felt the jury's work
was merely to determine how Mrs.
Kepner came to her death. and did
not wish to assume the responsible
ity of naming the one we believed
guilty"
Frederick is waiting with bated
breath for the next move. Although
States Attorney Aaron r. Anders told
Charles r. Kahler of the Baltimore
detective bureau that he might re-
turn to visit his family for several
days, the Baltimore investigator, who
dug up most of the evidence in the
case. was stopped almost as he was
ready to board the train and request
ed to remain in this city until Mon
day. No explanation Of the signif-
canoe of this move could be obtained.
1t was less than a month ago, June
IS, that B. Evard Kepner came rush
ing down from the bedroom of his
wife and said to her eighty-six-year-
old father. Ezra Houck: my God.
Grace has killed herself" Two or
three hours later, without an inquest,
Coroner A. NJ. Wood declared her
suicide.
Buried as Suicide
AS such she was buried by her
grieving father and two maiden sis
hot nd
Only a few days elapsed, however,
before news of Kepners relations
with other women caused the fam
lily to begin an Investigation. Within
a week the body was exhumed. and
three surgeons, one of them a prom
tnent specialist from Baltimore, de-
clared after post-mortem autopsy
that it would have been physically
impossible for Mrs. Kepner to have
killed herself by means of the wound
that had actually ended her life.
At the request of States Attorney
Anders. Detective Kahler was sent
to Frederick. and he obtained further
evidence tending to show that the
bullet which had crashed through Mrs
Kepner's brain and buried itself in a
joist near the ceiling of her bedroom
mad been fired by an assassin. With
out further delay coroner's jury
was summoned, and yesterday began
the elaboration which today resulted
in their reversing Coroner Woods
suicide verdict.
This was day of nerve-racking
moments in the little courthouse
where the inquest was held. Ezra
Houck. Mrs. Kepner's father. contra
dicted the statements of Kepner yes
terday that only ten seconds ELAPSED
between the time he went to his wife's
room and rushed downstairs with the
first news of his wife's death. Mr.
Houck declared at least ten minutes"
had elapsed.
He did not, however, hear a shot
fired. nor did any one else in the
house remember of hearing an .ex-
plosion at any time.
Deny Suicide Attempts.
Both Of the dead woman's sisters.
Elizabeth and Eleanor Houck, vigor-
ously denied Kepner's testimony that
Mrs. Kepner had been unduly de-
spondent and had twice before at
tempted to destroy herself. While
they admitted she had undergone an
operation a year ago which left her
rather weak, they said her spirits S,
recently had, in fact, been brighter
than usual and that she had no rea-
son to take her own life. Her hus-
bands admitted friendship with Miss
Lulu Ricketts,. pretty Frederick book
keeper. had never been made known
to her. On the other hand. both testi-
fed that Kepner had complained that
1.-THE biggest mistake of my life was
when 1 asked Grace to become my
Wife" On another occasion. 1t was
declared, he had threatened to leave
Frederick, and added that when he
did somebody else would be gone"
Miss Eleanor Houck asserted.
Miss Ricketts,. who is but twenty
three and decidedly attractive. frank
ly admitted her friendship with KEEP
ner. She made no effort to conceal
the fact that he had given her money,
clothing and jewelry. nor that ne had
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