The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-04-12
DIVORCE CASE:
Of INNANS TO
JURY TODAY
Speedy Verdict Expected in
Trial; Wife Is Kokomo
Pastors Daughter.
BROKEN NOSE is ISSUE
Scandal Galore Is Barred by
Both Sides in Reno
Court.
BIZ United Press

DH tUfICO EffSS
RENO, New, April lathe In
man divorce case, revolving about
the liquor capacity of Walker P.
Inman, millionaire New Yorker, and
the alleged inf1deIity of his pretty
wife, Helene Patton Inman, daugh-
ter of a Kokomo (Ind) minister,
will be in the hands of a jury be-
fore night.
Attorneys began final arguments
this morning, each side being lin
tied to three hours for summing up
the thousands of pages of evidence
presented during the nearly four
weeks of trial
A speedy verdict, in keeping with
NeVadaS reputation for not dallying
over divorce requests, was expected.
And here is what the jury may
decide:
To recognize Innans plea for
a divorce on grounds of intoxi-
cation and infidelity.
To grant Mrs. Inman a divorce,
as requested in a counter suit
based on charges similar to those
made against her by her husband.
To declare illegal separation
contract drawn up in New York
in 1927 and to replace it with
$250,000 of Inman's money as ali
mony for Helene.
To ignore the charges and di-
vorce pleas Of both principals,
sending them back to New York.
interviewer with all these points
is the bothersone question of the
manner in which Helene's nose was
injured during an alleged domestic
quarrel in New York a few years
ago.
Nose Was Broken
Helene's nose, which she charges
was broken when Inman hit her
while he was drunk, has occupied
more of the courts time than anv
other point brought up during the
trial.
Helene testified nman struck her
deliberately, but he told the court
that 1t was an accident, while a
learned medical man sent word bv
deposition that maybe Mrs. Inman
had been kicked.
Second in interest to the nose in
cident is the series of passionate
love letters said to have been writ
ten to Helene by John Steele, vaude-
vile actor.
Steele was one of half dozen
men named in Inman's original suit
and mentioned frequently by wit
nesses who related numerous bed
room scenes and drinking parties.
In answer to Inman's allegations
OF intimacy with Steele, Helene tes-
titled she took the advice of a friend
ITO Vamp Steele for all you are
worth" and drew the letters from
him for the sole purpose of max
ing Inman jealous and renewing his
affection
Separation Contract Barred
The separation contract also came
in for many days of attention. 1t
provided annual payments Of $15,-
000 to Helen until she remarked.
This is the document Helen wants
replaced by a cash award of $3.50, 900.
Family life, as it some times is in
New York. as related by Helen, also
provided many interesting hours of
entertainment for court attaches.
Cocktails galore and petting
aplenty was the general thing, she
said, with the boys kissing the
girls and the girls kissing the "boys"
whenever mutual friends got to-
gether.
The dispute over the liquor ca
pacity of Inman also aroused con-
siderable interest.
Helen said he consumed from two
to three quarts of Scotch a day.
Walker denied this, but refused to
estimate his capacity.