The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-08-30
4 Hell D IN
LE|S|NGER
DEATH
Woman in Pink Dress Report
ed Seen With Three Men
Near Scene OF Crime

Darling to two different Sec
tions of the city and Alexandria,
Va, headquarters' detectives early
today took into custody three col
ored men and a woman as sus-
poets in the brutal Staying of Pri-
vate Raymond Leisinger Tuesday
morning, when he was shot from
the rear bumper Of . high-pow-
cred speeding automobile as il
passed No. 19 / street northeast
Detectives made the roundup
after, they say, they were in
formed the quartet Of colored per-
sors were seen riding in an auto
mobile in the vicinity Of the spot
where Leisinger was slain, at about
the time he was slain.
Mary Nelson, nineteen, 912 Flor.
ida avenue, who was. located in
Alexandra, was wearing a pink
dress when picked up by the de-
tectives at $50 o'clock this morn.
ing. She is light skinned and police
say could easily be mistaken In a
subdued light for a white woman.
Policeman La Dowd. one Of the
few eyewitnesses to the fleeing
automobile. in his signed statement
to the police after the murder.
said that he saw; a woman about
twenty-five years. old who was
wearing a pink dress in the front
seat of the automobile and that
he could not tell whether she was
white or colored.
Absent from Home, Claim.
Police say they have also de-
veloped that the pink dress" ne
gress has not been home since the
night before the murder.
The FIRST 20 be taken into the
police 0ragnet were John Henry
Smith, thirty-four and James Har-
old Edwards. twenky.on who lived
together at .441 New Jersey avenue
northwest. They are booked as
under investigation.
An hour later Detectives Waldron,
Sweeney. Cullinane and Fowler
drove up to POLL Ninth street
northwest, where they took James
Stewart, thirty-three, into custody.
GrilIing Promised.
Most promising" Is the con.
servative statement of the quartet
of detectives who were exhausted
this morning following their long
nights search which resulted in
the arrests. 1--WE believe" they
added. things will begin to break
after we grill these latest sus-
poets"
Identification of the automobile
in which the quartet are said
to have been riding is under way
and this angle is expected either
to cinch the suspicious Of the
detectives or cause them to dis
card clues which dovetail In the
unknown sections of the murder
mystery.
Held IncOmmunicadO.
The suspects were taken to head
quarters for a time but are now
held incommunicado at various po-
lice precincts as they will be grilled
separately.
Detectives working on the case
today scoffed at the conclusion that
Private Leisinger was shot by some
one on the street. The established
path Of the bullet, they claim proves
beyond doubt that 1t came from,
the death" automobile and that tho
policeman was crouched on the
bumper with his back to the car.
Bullet Tests Planned.
The bullet which caused the death
Of Policeman Leisinger and the
dead officers blue police coat was
taken to the Bureau of Standards
today In order that important tests
and analyses might be made.
It Is believed that the Bureau of
Standards experts will be able to
determine whether or not the
Continued on Page 2. Column So