Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-29

of the disputes which the young couple
had while living at the Highview. The
janitor recalled a summons he had had
from the husband to assist him IN pre-
venting Mrs. Mcpherson from beating
her head against the wall.
The blood-curdling shrieks and the
hair-ra!Sing means which numerous
witnesses agree pierced the night air
in the vicinity of the Park Lane late
in the night of Mrs McPhersonS death,
but which have been attributed to
divers sources, were the special object
of inquiry by the grand jury.
Mr.. and Mrs. Roy Heavrin were sure
they heard The screams and groanS, not
to mention a mans threatening voice
and the starting of an automobile en-
CINE shortly afterward. James Mills,
colored ianitor of the Lombardy Apart
ment. next door to the Park Lane, de-
clared the screams awakened him from
sound sleep and that he also heard
means. the hoarse voice of man and
the starting of an automobile in the
rear of the Park Lane Apartments.
Leonard Scott and Thomas Jackson,
colored employees of the Lombardy, verl-
fled Mills claim that he left his room
to investigate the source of the noises.
Mrs. Ethel Schuttler, who was visit
ing her son at his apartment in the
Park Lane the night Mrs. Mcpherson
met her death, also testified that she
heard screams emanating from an
apartment.
Tells Of Screams.
Policeman Allen placed great sig
nificance upon the screams, means and
other noises, but along came Lieut..
Kelly with a witness TO testify. some
what sheepishly, that if there was any
screaming done that night 1t was In
his own apartment. The witness was
William Brown. insurance man. resid-
ing in an apartment just across an
areaway from the Mcpherson apart
ment. Brown confessed that he and
his wife had had a pretty heated alter
cation about the time the screams were
heard. that Mrs. Brown had done quite
a bit of yelling during the height OF the
fracas and that he had made some
pretty heated remarks himself. He vol
unteered this information because he
did not want the Mcpherson investlga-
tors to be miSled by screams emanating
from his apartment.
Mrs Brown was not present when
her husband gave his version OF the
shrieks to Lieut. Kelly. but when she
read about 1t in the paper she became
incensed over alleged inaccuracies" IN
her husbands reported statement. She
was called before the grand jury TO
repeat declarations made to newspaper
men that she had not screamed that
night loud enough for persons outside
the apartment to hear her and that her
alteration with her husband had been
of much briefer duration than he had
indicated She readily admitted having
uuarreled with r Brown when ne came
home late from dance.
The most startling angle OF Mrs.
Browns account was that she mad gone
to sleep when the argument ended
around o'clock. only to be rudely
awakened about or o'clock by the
screams of a woman. Thinking. she
said, that some one else's husband had
lust come home from dance and met
with feminine displeasure. she turned
over and went back to sleep.
With the fact seemingly definitely
established that all sorts of screams and
other unearthly noises were dlsruptlng
the nocturnal calm usually prevalent
at Twenty-first street and the Avenue
a surprise witness appeared at the
courthouse with very positive opinion
that all was quiet on the night OF the
tragedy. The opinion was that OF
Eugene r. Weisbender. occupant OF
apartment 900. across the corridor In
the Park Lane from the McfneiSol
abode. who declared the door Leading
to the corridor was open on that night
and had there been any such screams
or other loud noises they would have
awakened him from his sleep.
Roof Visit Mystery.
The mystery of whether or not there
really was a man on the roof outside
the Mcpherson apartment was gone
into most thoroughly by the jury. In
addition to hearing from Allen and ms
mariner. Bolts. the grand jury also
heard from E. Ruffle Vass of the Lom-
hardy Apartments, who connected the
disappearance of tennis ball that had
laid on the roof for two months with
the possible visit of some one to the
roof Mr.. Vass thought it strange the
tennis ball would drop from sight the
day after the reported roof-rambling
episode. His conclusion was that maybe
some one had accidentally dislodged the