Evening star., 1927-04-24
AMERICAN LOVERS
KILLED IN FRANCE
Meredith and FianCee Found
Shot in Auto-Murder and
Suicide Suspected.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
PARIS, April 23.--Julian Francis
Meredith, vocal student of Buffalo,
n. Y, was found dying. and Marion
Roberts. Chicago pianist to whom he
was engaged. was found dead at dawn
today in an automobile parked at the
roadside near the Chateau de la Barre,
Is miles southwest of Paris.
The day was the anniversary of
their engagement and Miss Roberts
had come to France to spend it with
her fiance.
When. found, her body. with three
bullets in the head, was already cold,
while Meredith, who had a bullet
wound in his temple, was breathing
family. She was sitting at the wheel
of the automobile, while he was at
her right with a pistol clenched in
his hand. Her fingers still held
loosely her horn-rimmed glasses
which apparently she had just re.
moved when she was shot.
Meredith died soon after gendarmes.
called by an early workman, had ar
rived from Rambouillet. There was
no evidence of violence or of q quarrel
and, instead, the observations of
friends, letters found in the couples
pockets and all but one circumstan nee
indicated that the automobile ride
was a sort of sentimental journey of
great happiness. This one circun.
stance was that Meredith had bought
a new automatic pistol, which he was
not in the habit of carrying and had
a box of cartridges
Called Murder and Suicide.
Police quickly decided that the case
% sat i,,3
could find no trace of motive.
Friends OF Meredith said that some.
times he was moody, but that he was
in high spirits when his flance ar.
rived to visit him.
Miss Roberts, whose home was in
Chicago, was known to Meredith s
friends here as a concert player, while
for three years he had been training
his voice with Nine Vergnolet, who
foresaw fine musical future for him.
A letter from Miss Roberts to Mere
dith, which was found in his pocket,
indicated the most happy relations be-
tween the two. 1t was dated April 4,
and said in part:
II congratulate you on having found
such splendid position for the com.
mencement of your career and 1 look
forward with happiness to a brilliant
future for you. l am most thankful
to spend this Eastertide with you and
to celebrate our own anniversary on
the twenty-third."
Letter From Sister.
In Miss Roberts handbag was q
letter from her sister Grace, giving
hometown news. while previously she
had received cablegram from her
mother, saying that all was well at
home. These, as well as other in
dications, showed no clouds on their
love, family or professional horizons,
and If trugedy were in either of their
minds it made no previous appear
ance.
Meredith only recently had bought
a small coupe in which he drove to
Havre Thursday to meet Miss Rob-
erts, who arrived on the steamship
Degrasse. He drove his fiancee to
Paris and they were together all
yesterday. After lunch at the house
where he lived, they started on the
ride which ended In their deaths.
They stopped at a little hotel at
Cerenay la Vile. The hotel keeper
said they ate little and those who
served them remarked that they
acted much as all lovers.
The couple left the hotel at 10:30
o'clock last night, asking the road
to Paris. They We're found at sun
rise, mile beyond. Miss Roberts
was dead and Meredith, unconscious.
was dying,
ValuabIes Were Untouched.
In Meredith's pocket, apparently
eliminating the possibility of robbery,
was 6,400 francs and a jewelers. tox,
within which was a diamond ring,
valued at 10000 francs, which pre-
sumably was intended to sign their
betrothal.
Doctors were agreed that the three
bullet wounds in Miss Roberts head
had been caused by pistol held
closely. The bullet that killed Mere
dith was fired into his right temple
and came out of his left temple.
There were three cartridges still left
in the pistol.
Although the police took it for
granted that Meredith had shot his
fiancee and then killed himself, one
of the bullets struck Miss Roberts
from the left, while Meredith was
doctors agree, entered her left cheek,
while the other two bullets struck her
from the right
Police said it appeared impossible
to determine whether Meredith had
shot himself Immediately after he was
certain Miss Roberts was dead, for he
was alive when police arrived some
hours after Miss Roberts died, but
may have fingered. unconscious. all
last night.
The couple had made much of this,
their celebration" and If death was
premeditated, it appears not unlikely
that Meredith-or both, IL it was a
death pact-police said, waited until
after midnight, so that they might
die on their anniversary day.
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