Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1930-12-31
Murder At Bridge
ara hy ANNE AlSTIN- AzAoyef -rE BLACK resoN:
BEGIN HERE ID

1LAA A&LAAL A0kn
Special Investigator Dundee. in
vestigating the murder at bridge OF
Juanita SelIni, sells District Attor-
ney Sanderson his findings: Possible
suspects inciuse Lydia Carr. the
maid: Dexter Sprague, John G.
Drake. Judge Marshall. Nita's land
lurd. TO whom she paid no rent,
and owner Of the gun and silencer
with which she was shot: Polly
Beale and Give Hammond. who
we're In the solarium together; Flora
Miles. Janet Raymond end Ralph
Hammond.
Sprague came early to the party,
went upstairs 10 the room he used
and shaved. Lydia followed him.
told him he would have TO clear
out. and stayed behind to clean up
after him. Sprague went down. out
the back and around the house.
Flora Miles admits she was in
Nita's closet reading a note which
she thinks is from her husband,
Tracey. but which is really from
Sprague. Dundee and the district
attorney decide to withhold this
evidence at the inquest. pretending
TO accept the theory that a New
York gunman did the job. Dundee
hopes TO find out who paid Nita
$4,000 since her arrival in Hamil-
ton.
Now Go On With Thee Story
CHAPTER XIII
Bonnie Dundee's whole soul re-
VOTED at the very thought or the
barbaric farce Of an inquest the
small morgue chapel crowded To the
doors with gogele-eyed. blood-iov-
Ing humanity; the stretcher with
its sheeted corpse: reporters. avid
for sensation and primed with
questions which. II answered by in
discreet witnesses. would defeat the
efforts of police and district attor-
ney; news photographers with their
Unsuitable cameras aimed at every
arriving person Connected with the
case In any way.
Mercifully, this particular inquest
upon the BODY of Juanita Leigh
Selim promised to be quickly over.
For Coroner Price. in conference
With District Attorney Sanderson,
Special Investigator Dundee and
Captain Strawn- Of the homicide
squad, had E.aIy agreed TO call
only such information as the au-
thorities deemed advisable.
Lydia Carr, whose black veil had
defeated the news cameras leveled
at her poor Scared face. was the
first witness called BIZ Coroner
Price, and she was required for the
single purpose Of identifying the
body as that Of her mistress. To two
prefunctory queStions-"Have you
any information To give TO this jury
regarding the cause and manner OF
the deceased's death2" and Have
you any personal knowledge of the
identity OF any person, man or wo-
man, Of whom the deceased stood in
fear OF her lifcF"-Lydia answered
q flat MOI and was then dismissed.
Karen Marshall. looking far too
young 10 be the wife Of the elderly
ex-judge, Hugo Marshall, was the
second witness called. DR.. Price
guided her gently TO a brief recital
OF her discovery Of the dead body
Of her hostess, emphasizing only
the fact that, so far as she could
see. the bedroom was unoccupied
except by the corpse at the time
Of the discovery.
He then handed her the photo
static copy or a blueprint of the
ground floor OF the Sslim house.
with q penciled ring drawn around
the bedroom. Karen fa'teringly
identified X. as well as the pencil
drawn furniture. and was Imme-
diately dismissed-tc the disap-
pointment OF the packed rows Of
spectators and reporters.
Or. Price himself took the stand
and described. in technical terms,
the wound which had caused death
and the caliber Of the bullet he had
extracted from the dead vcman's
heart.
II find. also. from the autopsy
he concluded. that the bullet trav-
eled a downward. slanting path. l
should add, moreover. that / have
made extct mathematical calcula-
tons, using the position Of the body
and OF the wound as a basis. ard
found that a line drawn from the
wound. and extended. AZ the correct
slant, ends at a point 5l6 inches
high, upon the right-hand side o.
the frame Of the window nearest
the porch door" And he obligingly
passed the marked blueprint among
the jury. When II was on his own
hands again. he added: II Is I'M
possible to state ths exact distance
the bullet travelled. more nearly
than 70 say the shot was fired along
the line ] have indicated. at n dist
snce OF not more than Is fees Ind
not less than 10"
Captain Strawn rose and was
permitted to question the witness:
Or. Price. that blueprint shows
that the bedroom is Is feet in
width. don't it?"
That Is c~orrect7n
Have you also measured the
height or that window sill from
the floor?"
7 have the coroner answered.
The height from floor to sill is
Is inches"
Nov. doctor, from your ~calcula-
tons, would 1t be possible for a
man crouching In the open windoT
10 fire a shot along the path you
have Calculated"
1T would" Or. Price answered.
But as I have pointed out it Is
impossible for me to say at ex-
actly what distance from the body
the shot was fired"
But Strawn, OF course. was amply
satisfied. And SO were Dundee and
the district attorney. for II suited
their purposes admirably for the
public to be convinced at this time
that an intruding gunman had
murdered Nita Selim.
Carfafr Cfrau~r rrer1 a. t.1I