Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-19
GIRL SOUGHT DEATH.
IN BRIDGE PLUNGE,
PROBE Jury HOLDS
Ella HudnaII Took Own Life
/ by 120-Foot Leap, Cor
oner's Verdict Rules.
YOUTH WHO RECOVERED
BODY is QUESTIONED
'19.Year-0ld Salesman, Her Friend,
Declares They Separated on Good
! Terms Wednesday Night.

Ella Virginia Hudnall, attractive 49,
vear-old telephone operator, who
plunged 100 feet to her death from
Key Bridge, early yesterday. took her
own life, a coroner's jury held today.
Following the verdict. at an inquest
at the morgue, Coroner hewitt issued
a death certificate in accordance with
the findings, and the girls body was
turned over to relatives for burial in
Virginia.
The last witness to take the stand
was George K. Stuart, the youth who
recovered the body. Stuart merely re-
lated what he had already told the
police of having heard the body strike
the water and his subsequent search
for and recovery of it. When asked by
one of the jurors if he ever had seen
the girl before or if he had known her
in any way he replied in the negative.
Friend Tells Story.
Rudolph Lincoln Cole, l9-year-old
salesman. of 1867 Meridian place, erst-
while friend Of the dead girl, told the
jury he and the girl had been friendly
for more than year and a half.
The boy stated while the girl had repri-
inanded him somewhat Wednesday eve
ming because of his having danced with
other girls, the cenSure was not N the
nature of an argument or quarrel and
neither one took it seriously. He said
after he had left her ct her home IN
northeast, after their return from Chevy
Chase Lake, they separated apparently
on good terms.
He said he was the one who had
taken the initiative a few weeks ago in
suggesting that they not see each other
so much as had been customary, but
said he did not believe such an act
would have caused the girl to become
rcmorSeful.
Members Of the police homicide squad
said today the case as far as the police
c.A concerned will be a closed issue.
- yectives had been inqulring into vsrl-
Gus phases of the girls death mainly
because of the famiIys irsiStcnce that
she had not taken her own life.
Last night Cole was summoned
to police headquarters and after several
hours questioning by Lieut.. Warren
Embrey, night chief of detectives and
Detective John Fowler of the homicide
squad, was released to appear at the
hearing at the morgue this morning.
Detectives said they were satisfied that
Cole was not with the girl when she
met death.
Saw Girl Walking Alone.
Previous reports that man had been
the girl alighted at Thirty-fourth and
M streets yesterday morning just before
walking across Key Bridge to her death
were discounted this morning when
detectives were informed by Julius
Marcy. nephew of a White House
policeman and proprietor Of Marcey's
Dairy in Clarendon, Va. that he saw
the girl walk from the car across the
bridge alone. He told police she be-
came lost to sight when she approached
the middle of the bridge and he saw
nothing more of her.
The girls body was identified at the
Morgue late yesterday by Mrs, May
YoSt, with whom she had boarded for
more than a year at the formers home,
TOT Tenth street northeast. Identif1caz
lion was brought about through descrip-
ton of the body printed in The Evening
Star. The body was recovered from
the river near the Virginia shore by
i Stuart, who was sleeping in
canoe near the spot where the girl
landed in the water. Stuart heard
the girls screams and the splash and
hurried to her side. He said she Strug-
gled fiercely in the water, scratching his
right arm as If attempting to pull
away, and overturned his canoe. He
said he lost his hold on her coat and
she disappeared from sight. Stuart hur-
ried to Thirty-fourth and M streets
and told his story to Policeman w. E.
Lawson OF the seventh precinct, who
held him for questioning. After his re-
lease, Stuart returned to the spot and,
after padding around the vicinity in
his canoe for more than two hours,
found the body floating under bridge
span near the Virginia side.
Family Doubts Suicide.
Members Of the dead girls family, in
Guiding her mother, Mrs. Annie Hudnall
of Lyon Park, Va; two sisters, Irene
and Georgia, and brother. John, from
Baltimore, gathered last night at the
home of married sister, Mrs. Mary
Spilman, a nurse at ST. EliZabeths Hos
pital, living at 3010 Nichols avenue
southeast, insisted the girl had been
sither pushed or thrown from the bridge
to her death and refused to accept the
suicide theory.
ELLA was always so cheerful and was
the kind Of girl who never worried
over anything" said Irene, an older
sister employed as a bookkeeper at a
large downtown department store and
living ing. at lso e street ta. s9Snea the other
night and Ella was dancing and having
q good time and seemed to be In the
best Of spirits. OF course, she went
around pretty steadily with Rudey Gas
they referred to Cole). but she had just
recently told him that they would not
go together so much, but would be just
good friends. She and Rudey used to
quarrel quite a bit. but / don't think
Ella took him seriously enough TO worry
herself into committing suicide over
him or any other man." the sister con-
Guided
The younger sister Georgia, who was
treated at Casualty Hospital on June
% for poisoning, was especially insist
ent that her sister had met with foul
play.
."Neither the police nor any one else
can ever convince me that my sister
took her own life" said the 17-year-old
girl, who also is telephone operator.
Coles Father Upset.
James r. Cole, father of young Cole,
was considerably upset at his home last
night over his sons name being brought
into the affair.
'Im sure he had nothing to do with
her DEATH" he said. He didn't even
know it had happened until informed
him over the phone and told him to &C
down to police headquarters and tell
what he knew about II.
IT knew he had the girl out We'd
neSday night, because saw her sittlne
out in front of the house about mid
night, when he came home to change
his clothes to 60 to work. He went TO
work at 1880 in the morning. He told
me he took the girl home in Northeast"
The famous sale of wines at the Hos
nice de Beaune. on the Cote dor, in
France. recently netted over $s7 900
1.-.r,red with ait 00n for the 1897