Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-17

theory advanced several days ago that
the clerk may have been murdered with
her own weapon. 1t was thought that
If Miss Baker carried a gun in the
car she undoubtedly reached for 1t to
defend herself against the man who
criminally assaulted her and that he
wrested it away and shot her after the
attack.
The investigators are particularly
anxious to locate the gun. but an ex-
haustive survey of the supposed scene
Of the crime and the irrigation pond
on the Arlington experimental farms
of the Department of Agriculture has
failed to locate it. The weapon is con-
sidered one of the important missing
are confident it would not be difficult
to trace its owner.
The detectives also are still search
ing for the missing coat, hat and
pocketbook of Miss Baker. At first 1t
was believed that the two colored men
who were arrested last Saturday night
in Arlington County for removing a
small coin purse and a scarf from the
slain woman's abandoned car may have
taken the clothes, but the authorities
are now satisfied apparently that the
/ removal Of these articles.
Missing Clothing Puzzles.
The fact that the clothing cannot
be found is one of the most puzzline
questions confronting the investigators
They cannot account for the missing
articles in any of their theories. Be-
cause the coin purse which she carried
in her large pocketbook together with
the keys to the car were found in the
Arlington Experimental Farm grounds
the detectives are satisfied that she
was not choked and assaulted in a
house and carried into Arlington Coun-
ty and shot to death. If the slayer
had followed this course, 1t was said,
it would account possibly for the miss
ing clothing. But they contend that
the murderer would not have taken
the trouble to gather up Miss Bakers
pocketbook and shawl and put them
into the car and left them there for
the authorities to find.
Like all other leads that the in
vestigators have followed the trail which
took two of them into the northern
neck of Virginia to question several of
Miss Bakers friends there failed to
produce any information which will be
of assistance in finding the murderer.
The two investigators returned this
morning and reported to Commonwealth
Attorney william c. Cloth of Arlington
County that they had been on a fruit
less trail.
Not Suspected.
The names of Miss Bakers friends in
the northern neck of Virginia were OBJ
tanned from some of the correspondence
the authorities found in the slain clerk s
home. These friends, however, were in
no way suspected of having anything to
do with the crime, but the investigators
felt that she may have confided certain
things in them which could throw some
light on the motive for the staying.
The procedure to be followed in the
investigation now, was not disclosed by
Inspector Shelby, but there are indica-
tions that the officials are still depend
ing almost entirely on the letters writ
ten to Miss Baker for even q mIager
clue.
Only two members of the homicide
squad were away from headquarters this
morning conducting an investigation of
the case. These were Detectives Fowler
and Fleharty. The others spent most
of the morning with Lieut.. Kelly ard
Inspector Shelby examining the CORE
spondence and other personal belongings
of Miss Baker.
Cloth and two Department Of Justice
agents, however, were not seen at head
quarters. They were reported to be
investigating rumors that some of Miss
Bakers correspondence and photographs
had been removed from her desk prior
to the visit at the Navy Department
Monday by the Arlington County COM
monwealth attorney and the two agents.
A new theory that grew out of the
amending flow of rumOrS into police
headquarters was that Miss Baker may
have been secretly married and that
this probably had some connection with
the crime. A check-up of the marriage
license records in Washington and other
nearby cities and towns, however. failed
to disclose a license issued to any Miss
Baker who would correspond in age TO
the murdered woman.