Evening star., 1924-08-31
ONE THEORY FAILS
IN LE|S|NGER CASE
Fatal Shot Not Fired From
PatroIman'S Own Pistol,
Experts Report.

Tests by Bureau of Standards e1-
perts yesterday disposed of one the
ory as to the death early Thursday V
morning of Policeman Raymond c.
Leisinger, who was shot while riding
on the rear bumper of an automobile
believed to have been a liquor car
near North Capitol and / streets, and
had the effect of narrowing down the
broad path of inquiry which the in
vestigation thus far has been pur-
suing.
The theory that is set at rest by
these tests is that one of the bullets
from LelslngerS own revolver rico
cheted on the rear of the automobile
and entered his side. The weight of
the bullet which killed Leisinger,
however, was shown to be far greater
than the ones carried IL MS revolver.
The new theories developed, Sow-
ever are first, the bullet was fired by
As caliber revolver and glanced
against some substance, losing a por-
tion of its lead; or second, it might
be missile from a foreign make of
revolver
Simple Tests Made.
The tests were simple. The bullet
found in the body of the policeman,
the one found in d cup at 10 I street
northeast and a bullet fired by De-
tective Sergt Connors into a sand
bag 1t the Bureau of Standards were
weighed and compared by experts.
The results were as follows: The
bullet found in the body weighed
1907 grains. This means a bullet
from a revolver of more than 40 cali
ber but less than As caliber The
bullet fired by Detective Corners
weighed 10.156 grains, which is
| q /
yer. such as Policeman Leisinger him
self carried and from which he had
fired five shots before meeting death
The third bullet, found in the l street
house weighed 1851 grains, which
might be a .3s calibered short"
bullet. This would indicate, police
believe, that more than one person
was firing on Policeman Leisinger.
Police now know the type of gun
to look for among suspects is one
that is over .3S caliber Another lit
tie detail, which may prove important
in the final analysis, it was stated,
was the discovery that the bullet
showed evidence it had been eject ed
from the muzzle of a revolver with
narrow rif1ing.
The modern revolvers have wide
rifins, except a few foreign makes.
Some of the oldfashioned ass and
~ nave HdTTO" Tlll1nS. Two DOSSl-
bilities. therefore. are open: First.
the bullet came from a 45-caIiber re-
volver, struck something and lost
some of its weight before entering the
body of Leisinger; or it came from a
revolver of foreign make, between
the .5S-caliber and .45-caliber wea-
pons known in this country. There
are no American-made revolvers be-
tween these two sizes.
Seek Definite Lead.
Detectives were still fighting for a
definite lead on the case last night.
The suspects who are under arrest
were given a midnight grilling, but
police stated that there was nothing
whatever new in the case. Nearly
eyed and weary with lack of sleep.
The full bureau has been working
literally day and night on the case.
The four suspects are still being
held. They are Mary Nelson, 10, of
972 Florida avenue; James Stewart,
33, of 1910 Reeves street; John Henry
Smith, "a, of AL New Jersey avenue,
and James Harold Edwards of the
same address.
Additional contributions to the
fund which is being raised by police
for Leisinger's widow have been re-
ceived as follows: William C. Deming,
United States Civil Service Commits
sion, IS; Kaleb S. Miller, SIS, and an
additional 81 from an anonymous con-
tributor.