Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-23
TAYLOR MURDER
STORY DOUBTED
Discrepancies Lead Police to
DiSCredit Veterans VOL
untary Confession.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
LOS ANGELES, April 23-Discrep-
ancies IN the voluntary confession" of
Russo Rinaldo 41-year accountant
and shell-shocked World War veteran,
that he was the murderer eight years
ago of William Desmond Taylor, motion
picture director, led police detectives
today to discredit his story.
Rinaldo, who said he slew Taylor
during an argument over a quarrel the
latter had with a moving picture
cion of murder.
Tells of Actress Visit.
According to police, Rinaldo said he
was friend of a motion picture actress
who visited the Taylor bungalow early
on the evening of February /, 1922.
He said he followed in a taxicab when
the actress went to the Taylor home
and later overheard a violent quarrel
between Taylor and the woman.
The actress left after a short stay,
Rinaldo said, after which he entered
the Taylor apartment and demonstrated
with the director for his actions during
the quarrel. Taylor, he said, drew a
revolver. In the scuffle that followed
Rinaldo said he gained possession of
the gun and shot the moving picture
director.
Since then Rinaldo said he had been
living in various Southern California
cities and in Tucson, AriZ., where he
resided until he returned to Los
Angeles recently. Inquiry of Tucson
police disclosed that Rinaldo was known
there as World War veteran suffering
from shell shock.
Although Rinaldo's story comedies in
minute details with the known facts in
the case, we are far from convinced that
Taylor said. There still remains lot
Of investigation and checking to be
done before we are sure that we have
the actual slayer Of Taylor in custody.
Was Sought BY Police.
1--WE have been working on several
angles of the case for several weeks.
These phases involved Rinaldo. We
have been looking for him for question:
ing, but had been unable to locate him
until late last night. Shortly after we
began questioning him, he told us he
was the man who shot Taylor and de-
rounding the crime. We will investigate
carefully, however, before we are con-
WINGED we have the right man."
At one point in his story, police said,
Riwaldo described fleeing from the muir
der scene and then returning in an
hour to mingle with the crowd in front
of the bungalow. He related that he
was told by the curious onlookers that
somebody killed that film director"
The police pointed out that the records
showed the directors body was not dis
covered until the morning after he was
killed, and that the fact OF murder was
~ aIHd MI undertaken f0i1nn
the bullet wound late that day.
Mrs. Alice Rtnaldo of Glendale, Calf,
music teacher, estranged wife OF the
suspect, was unable to clear UP details
of the confession, but said her husband
was cratic and suffered from shock re-
ceived during the war The Rinaldos
have been separated for two years.
The murder of Taylor in his lavishly
furnished Hollywood bungalow is re-
garded by the police as the most baf-
fling case in the criminal annals OF Los
Angeles. His body was found by Serv-
ant, Henry Peavy, on the morning OF
February 2, 1922.
No clue was found to indicate the
identity of the slayer, although events
which followed involved several persons
prominent in the motion picture colony.
Valet Is Still Missing.
It was discovered that the late Mabel
Normand, then in the heyday of her
film career, had visited Taylor on the
night of the murder, handkerchief
bearing the initials IN. M" which
later was identified as the property of
Mary Miles Minter, film actress, was
found in the Taylor apartment.
Both Miss Normand and Miss Minter
were questioned by investigators, but
neither shed any light to dispel the
mystery. Other film notables also were
questioned, but to no avail.
Later search was started for Ed
ward F. Sands, valet-secretary to the
director, who had disappeared about the
time of Taylor's death. A worldwide
search has failed to locate the man.