Evening star., 1933-01-08
STUMP DYNAM|TER.
HELD IN CAR BLAST.
Miss Ida Kirk, Wealthy VIC
tim, Had Angered Suspect,
Police Told.
Continued From First Page.)

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Chaptico with the Leonardtown- Wash
ington highway when the explosion oc-
Cured That was about am.
Suddenly there was a terrific blast
at my feet" Mrs. Gibson said, ''and
the whole bottom of the car seemed to
drop out. I could see the ground as
the car continued along the road for
some distance.
Miss Kirk appeared badly hurt. She
was slumped over. The car was a
wreck. Someone came by and helped
us from the car. Miss Kirk was taken
to the hospital. I was all right. I have
no idea what caused the explosion"
The blast blew the hood off the en-
gine, tore the fioorboard to pieces, rip
ped open the roof and left a large
darkened area on the road. The gaso-
line tank was left intact.
Auto Stops in Ditch.
The lower part of Miss Kinks body
received the full force of the explo-
sion. Both her legs were horribly mutt
lated and nearly severed.
The machine rolled ON for about 80
or 40 yards before coming to rest in
a ditch, tilted against an embankment.
The detonation was heard by Llewel-
lyn Mattingly 10, who lives nearby.
He ran to the automobile and assisted
Mrs. Gibson from the wreckage, but it
took the combined efforts of young
Mattingly and his father, Hayden Mat
tingly. to remove the dying woman from
her seat, some Is minutes later ~.
The Mattinglys laid Miss Kirk on the
side of the road and brought pillows
and blankets from their home
Llewellyn went to Chaptico In his farm
truck for aid.
Daniel Davis, a garage man at Chap
tico. and DR.. A. c. Welch, jr., also of
Chaptieo, responded in an automobile
and took the two women to st. Mary's
Hospital here, where Miss Kirk died
about an hour after arrival.
Mrs. Gibson's Ankle Hurt.
She appeared conscious most of the
period before death, but was unable
to make a coherent statement.
Mrs. Gibson was treated for an in
iured ankle. The explosion had torn
a heel off one of her shoes
States Attorney John H. K Briscoe
of st. Marys County telephoned to
Baltimore for aid and the police depart
ment there dispatched Sergt. William j.
Feehly OF the murder squad, and Sergt.
Walter Martin of the identification
squad to assist Sheriff r. t. Hammett
of st. Marys County and State Police
man John Wheeler in the inquiry.
The investigators made a careful
study of the debris where the explosion
occurred, and later went over the par
TALLY demolished car for traces of
bomb. They could find no remnants of
an internal machine, but there was
distinct odor of some explosive, such as
dynamite or black powder
One theory was that an explosive had
been attached to the muffier in such q
way that the heat therefrom caused it
to explode. Dynamite, it was pointed
out. does not readily explode from heat
ing, percussion cap being required.
Said to Have Left in Anger.
Police who investigated the possibil-
ity of Gross connection with the case
were told that Miss Kirk ordered the
colored man from her kitchen with the
words:
II have quarters in the rear for the
in my house again"
The man is said to have left the
home in obvious anger.
Miss Kirk usually was Soft-Spoken
and of a kindly disposition. Wealthy
since birth, she was widely known and
loved for her many philantkxopieS
among the needy of Southern Mary
land. Her friends were legion and she
was not known to have had an enemy
in her long and uneventful life.
The rambling old home in which her
broken body lay tonight was her birth
place. An only child, she was the
daughter of William Alexander Kirk,
pioneer in st. Mary's County. She was
nFU
coran, noted financier and philanthro-
pist of old Georgetown, who founded
the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Was Active i'm Church Work.
Sunnyside Farm is a 300-acre estate
about four miles north of Chaptico, on
the road to La Plata. Recently Miss
Kirk had acquired another home near
La Plata, which she occupied alter
nately with her farm estate
Residing with Miss Kirk at Sunny
side Farm we're Nigel H. Dixon. 81
year-old manager Of the farm, and Jo-
seph Dixon Hill and family Hill as
sists Dixon in the farm management.
Miss Kirk was member of Christ
Episcopal Church in Chaptico and had
been active in church and charitable
work for many years. She and Mrs.
Gibson had been friends for about IL
years. Incidentally, Mrs. Gibson was
celebrating her birthday anniversary
yesterday.
Mr.. Matthews came here this after
noon and offered his assistance to the
authorities. He could offer no clue
to the mystery.
Funeral services for Miss Kirk will be
held at 8 pm. tomorrow from. the
Christ Episcopal Church at Chaptico.
Her body will lie in the family plot be-
side her mother and father at the ceme-
terry church yard in Chaptico.
A--.n,nn ST nu oID r.