Evening star., 1926-01-24


escaped going out the way he entered,
through the back door.
MeanW hile, other aspects Of the
case are being investigated. hat,
which first promised TO :h,oN Hight
on The case, was discovered on top
of the ice box. 1t was found to have
belonged to the dead woman, how
ever
Detective Sergt. Edward !. Kelly,
who. with Detective Sergt. a. b.
Scrivener. is handling the case. Hi5-
tied Miss Jose phine Klug, an tnt-
mate friend OF Miss Kirk, at her
home 907 Fifth street, last night 20
inquire regarding n statement Miss
klug made today after knowledge of
the murder came to her. She said
that about six months ago Miss hlrK
appeared with a blackened eve one
day. stating that she had fall. but
that Il appeared 10 her that such an
injury could not have been sustained
in d fall. The possibility that
similar attack 10 the one culmlnat-
ing fatally might have taken place
at that time led the detectives 10
this angle of the inquiry. but they
had developed no connecting links
last night.
Autopsy Is Held.
By orders of Coroner J. Ramsay
Nevitt an autopsy was conducted
Yesterday afternoon which showed
that suffocation was the definite and
positive cause of death. Death had
come more than "a hours prior to
the discovery of the body.
When police and detectives appeared
on the scene yesterday mystery en-
tirely enveloped the murder. Except
for the finger nail marks on the neck.
there was no sign of violence on the
BODY The house was not ranSa ci>ed
and the discovery of Sl5.49 led to the
belief that robbery could not have
been the motive. Detectives and po-
lice for hours admitted themselves up
against a stone wall"
Miss Kirk, according to her sister,
Mrs. Harry B. Shaw Of I23 Cpshur
street, had no enemies so far as IS
known She was independent, happy
and contented alone in the little UNI
brella repair shop which she inner
tied from her father on his death
Of this city and the house had been in
the family since 1850. Although re-
peatedly urged to come aud live with
her sister. she perSiStently refused.
stating she wished to remain alone.
Was Favorite of Children.
Through the neighborhood, among
the children, she bore a reputation for
Kindness and affection She was con-
stantly reading stories TO the children
or giving them little knickknaCks as
presents But as stated before, the
fact that she lived such lonely life,
led to rumors OF fortune hidden
away in the house and TO the belief
that she was an eccentric sort or
character Relatives say that she
leaves an estate of several thousand
dollars mostly represented by real
property inherited from her father.
The body. when found by Policeman
C. D. Poole Of the second precinct
was stretched on the right side OF the
floor, with knees bent 10 a 4C-degree
angle. a set of false teeth were on
the floor near the head. Three combs
were behind door on the floor. a
crockery pot. inverted, might have
been placed in that position or might
have been overturned. Otherwise
there was no indication of violence.
The house where Miss Kirk lived
was clean and neat. Floors We're
nicely polished and she was dressed
in a black house dress over a white
Had Valuable Old Chest.
The shop room in which Miss
Kinks body was found was the re-
pair room for umbrellas as we'll as
the place where she met and dealt
with customers. Possibly a hundred
umbrellas were there. One Of the
accessories Of the place was an
antique chest of drawers, which per
sons knowing old furniture pro-
nounced exceedingly valuable as an
antique.
In the kitchen on the table was
! a cup and saucer, both clean, the cup
| inverted on the saucer. The stove
had been made ready for kindling
and the lid to the tireboy was off.
None Of the many articles of fur
niture had been disturbed and draw
ers filled with clothes and other
appurtenances were untouched.
Had Many Friends.
Although she lived alone and re
fused, despite the protests of friends
to allow any one to live with her
Miss Kirk evidently had many
! friends. Folumimous stacks of let
ters and Christmas cards were found
| in the drawers of a buffet, together
with papers showing accounts OF
various sorts. These papers. when
detectives looked over them. showed
expenditures for house work, in
cluding roof painting and repairs.
Her cats were her only com
panions. It was their hungry cries
that attracted the attention OF neigh
bors which ultimately resulted in the
discovery of the body. Neighbo
noticed the cats and then notified the
police of the fact that Miss Kirk had
not been seen since Thursday.