The Washington times., 1931-03-04
GOING To END
ALL ; DIARY
EXPLAINS
Raking Up Dead Mothers Past
Turns Bonita BiSChoff From
Gay Child to Sorrow, Grave

Of Vivian Gordon-the pathetic
suicide of the slain woman's 16-
year-old daughter, Benita-spurred
the police today in their efforts
to solve the mysterious murder
Of the former stage beauty.
Even the most hardened cop
experienced a heart twinge over
the latest dramatic development
in "the Gordon case" The dead
woman'S child, unable any longer
to stand the revelations of her
mothers pitiful past, decided to
"end it all"
So she killed herself with gas
in the home of her father in
Audubon, N. j., where she had
grown up in ignorance of the life
her mother led along BrOadway'S
"gay white way"
Diary Explains Her Act
In little red diary, which had
been given to her for Christmas
by her Stepmother, Bonita made
this final entry:
'T just can't live any longer.
This has got to be too much
for me. 1 am going to end
it ALL"
Here was a real life tragedy,
stranger, more poignant than
any conceived by even the 1magl-
native writers of the movie mur-
der thrillers.
Bonita Bischoff-that was her
name-was a freshman at Au-
dubon High School. up to last
Thursday, when screaming news
paper headlines told of her
mothers death. she was lively,
vivacious, gay. Like her mother,
she was dark and attractive. She
was one of the most popular
girls on the campus.
Crushed and broken by the
tragedy of her mothers death,
she shrank from the glances of
her playmates.
Then she decided to refrain
from going to school.
In her diary under date OF
February 28-last Saturday-Be-
nita made this cryptic notation:
"SOrry to hear mother was
found dead"
And then there was this:
Everyone is so nice to me,
especially mother (meaning her
Step-mother) since this thing
happened"
Wanted to Change Name
The growing scandal bore down
upon the sensitive girl and on
last Sunday she wrote this in
her diary:
81 guess I'll change my name,
now. I'll use my middle name,
Frederick"
And then came her final de-
cision, as recorded in the diary,
to lend it ALL"
Bonita was found unconscious
in her home by her stepmOther
who had been in Philadelphia,
where she is hostess in depart
ment store tea room.
She was rushed to a hospital
in Camden, N. j., and died with
out regaining consciousness.
The girls father. John BiSchoff,
divorced husband of the slain
Vivian Gordon, appeared near
collapse when he learned of his
daughters suicide.
Five days before Benita's S
mother was slain, choked to
death with a clothesline and her
body tossed into Van Cortlandt
Park, Vivian Gordon had ap-
peared before officials who are
conducting the current sensa-
tional inquiry into the framing
of women by members Of the po-
lice departments vice squad.
Miss Gordon had begun her
story of having been framed"
in March, 1923, eight years ago
by her husband, BiSchOff, and
PatrOlman Andrew ]. McLaugh-
lin.
. She charged that Bischoff
caused her entrapment so that he
could obtain custody of Bonita.
She was sent to Bedford Re.
formatory, lost her daughter. and
when she came out Of jail she
turned to the gay life of Broad,
way.
Bischoff and Mclaughlin de-
MED they had framed" her.
After eight years she prepared
to "tell all"
Police believe she was killed
for her $4,000 mink coat and the
$4,000 diamond ring she wore
the night she disappeared.
Two Men Still Held
No positive clew as to the iden-
tity of the slayer, or slayerS, of
Miss Gordon has as yet been
uncarthed. The best the authori-
ties have been able to do is to
obtain rather comprehensive
line on the woman's past through
three diaries found in her luXurl,
ously furnished apartment. They
pointed suspicion at two men--
John A. Radeloff. attorney for
Miss Gordon, and Samuel Cohen
an ex-convict, a friend Of the
lawyer. -
They were taken into custody
and held as material witnesses
under $4,000 bail each. Both sue
ceeded in obtaining their legal
release on writS of habeas corpus
but they were promptly rear
rainged and held at the distriCl
attorneys plea, nut in reduced
bail. RadeIOff's bail was reduced