Smyrna times., 1929-07-24
DEATH OF HARVARD Student
IS STILL AN UNS0LVED CASE
DETECTIVES ARE UNABLE TO
CLEAR UP MYSTERY CASE
Many Detectives Have Been Work
ing on the Case, But to no Avail
Body Was Found on May 8


Hartford, Conn-Despite all eff
forts of County Detective Edward
J. Hickey and his corps of assist
ants, the death Of Walter Tread
way Huntington, young Harvard
student, appears now as though it
Will never be solved.
Huntington'S body was found
May S on a lonely road between
Windsor and Tarrifville, ten miles
north of this city. a bullet had
pierced the boys brain and his
shirt and back were saturated with
blood, as were several handker-
chiefs found in the hip pockets of
his trousers. No weapon was dis
covered, though magnets and metal
detectOrs were used, and the bull
let which killed him could not be
located.
A Colt .32-caliber automatic shell
was found near his body.
Detectives Theory.
Medical Examiner Henry Y. Cos
telio of Hartford county rendered
q verdict of homicide to Coroner
j. Gilbert Calhoun. The latter has
not yet announced his findings as
/ the law sets no limit to the length
of his investigation. But even If
Calhoun declares the death a hOmi-
eide his decision will add but fur
/ ther mystery to the already in
| tricate case.
Detective Hickey, the man who
successfully trailed and brought to
/ justice Gerald Chapman, declares
the youth committed suicide. He
adheres to this opinion despite Cos
tello's repeated statements Hunt
ingtOn could not possibly have
taken his own life. Costello bases
his findings on, first, the absence
4 OF any powder marks on the youths
head; second, the absence of any
weapon and, third, the blood
stained handkerchiefs which he
says Huntington could never have
placed in his pockets after the shot
was fired. Costello says Hunting
4 ton became unconscious Immediate
ly following the shot and that he
would have been physically unable
to dispose Of the gun in any man
ner.
No Powder Marks.
Hickey explains the fact that
there were no powder marks as
due to the age Of the bullet which
killed the boy. Shells identical
with that found by Huntington's
head were found in box in the
dead boys home. Fired by Hickey
into a wad of cotton at a distance
of seven inches they failed to re-
veal powder marks, he said. They
were twenty years old, his inves-
tigation showed.
The detective has two theories
regarding the missing gun. He be-
lieves it was either picked up by
some one now afraid to come for
ward for fear of implication in the
boys death, or that it was hurled
into a swamp a few yards distant
by Huntington in his death agony.
Hickey disagrees fatty with Cos
tellO regarding the handkerchiefs.
He insists the youth was conscious
after the shot was fired and that
he replaced them in his pockets
after wiping his wound. He bears
out this theory in two ways.
He discovered on the boys right
cheek evidences that he had be
come ill. Nothing was found on
The left cheek. On the ground, to
the youths right, We're further evi,
dences of his illness, Hickey said
This indicated to the detective that
Huntington had struggled to a sit.
ting posture after he shot and ac
counts for the blood on his shirt
and back, which would not have
been there had the boy remained
prone after the bullet entered his
brain.
Course of the Bullet.
The right hand of the boy wa:
clenched, the detective says, in {
manner indicating "consciou:
act" His thumb was tight!
pressed between his first and sec
ond fingers. Reflex action, the de
tective believes, could account fol
the closed fist but could not ac
count for the position of the thumb
This, he says, was caused b.
agony.
The course Of the bullet also in
dicates suicide. Hickey said.
entered the left side of the head
back of the temple, two inches
above the hair line. 1t came ou
through the top of the skull
through the brain. He says it wa
fired from a point below the boy
head, by Huntington himself, an,
that the youth used his left hand
Huntington was last seen a
about IL D. m. May z. At tha