Evening star., 1934-05-25
TEACHERS BATTLE
WITH SLAYER MAY
SOLVE MYSTERY
FingernaiIS of Miss Mary
Sheads Examined to
Identify ASsaiIant.
NO Definite CLUES
ESTABLISHED BY POLICE
Neighbors Hear Screams and
Believe Assailant Left
by Fire Escape.

Police today were without a def
mite clue to the murderer of Miss Mary
E. Sheads, 65. retired school teach
er, found strangled to death on the
bed room floor of her apartment on
the fifth floor of the Balfour, 1000
Sixteenth street, last night. Up to
noon today no arrests had been made
Miss Sheads, former principal of the
Adams and Bryan Schools, was
known to hundreds of Washing
tonians, her former pupils.
Miss Sheads' body was discovered
by police and other residents of the
apartment building after the alarm
had been sounded that somebody had
descended by the fire escape. This
occurred at about 9:40 pm. At about
o'clock residents of the apartment
told the elevator operator they had
heard screams. A search, however,
failed to locate the source of the
screams. A second search, instituted
after the alarm that man had de-
scended by the fire escape 40 minutes
later, led police and apartment resi-
dents to Miss SheadS' apartment,
where she lay dead.
Elevator Operator Called
John Bethea colored. 27, the night
elevator operator of the apartment,
said that last night about 9 c'cic'ck
Mrs. Georgia Dowl, who occupies an
apartment on the fourth floor .alleG
to him and told him she had heard
O woman's screams, coming, she
thought, from the third floor. He ac-
companied Mrs Dowl and they were
Joined in their search of the third and
fourth floors by Mr.. and Mrs. G. M.
Winship, who occupy an apartment
on the fourth floor. Finding every
thing quiet, Bethea said, he rode up
to the sixth floor and back on the
elevator and then gave up the quest.
AL renamed quiet until 40 minutes
later, when several of the apartment
occupants called to Bethea to say that
they had heard the lowest section of
the fire escape clank against the
ground.
Bethea said that he ran to the alley
in the rear of the apartment to look
for the intruder. and failed to find
any. Then he climbed up the fire
escape and found that the window OF
Miss Sheads' apartment was open and
the screen up. He then descended to
the ground and rode up the elevator
to the Sheads apartment and received
no response when he rang the bell.
Meanwhile Motor Cycle Policeman
M. G. Randall, cruising by, stopped
when he saw Bethea ascending the
fire escape. Bethea took Randall out
of the apartment below the Sheads
apartment to the fire escape, and the
policeman entered through the win
dow, discovering Miss Sheads lying on
the floor beside the bed, dead. She
was dressed, with a Smock over her
clothes Her clothing was torn. and
there were fngermarks on her throat.
Struggle Uncertain.
Although the apartment was in the
process of being redecorated and it
was difficult to determine whether the
furniture had been showed around for
this or during a struggle, Deputy Cor
oner Christopher j. Murphy, who per-
formed the autopsy, found traces of
skin under her nails. Parings from
the fingernails were cerefully removed
and sent to the District micro analyst
for examination to learn whether her
assailant was white or colored. DR.
Murphy found rs scratches on her
neck and numerous bruises on her
-1 -
was due to strangulation.
The bath tub in the apartment was
full of cans of paint, and one con-
lecture is that Miss Sheads had
opened the bed room window to allow
the odor of the paint to escape. The
screens are not locked and could be
pushed open from the outside.
Bethea said that nobody, other
than residents of the apartment, had
used the elevator. The possibility that
her assailant entered the front way
and walked up the steps is regarded as
remote, because of Miss Sheads habit
ual caution against admitting any
strangers to her apartment.
Her neighbor across the hall, Mrs
Charles Meier, told Star reporter
that Miss Sheads practice was to
lower the transom of her door to any
body knocking and to identify the
person carefully before admitting any
one, especially at night.
Was In Good Health.
Mrs. Meier said that Miss Sheads
was in good health, and in recent con-
verSations had shown no apprehension
of any approaching disaster. About a
week ago, Mrs. Meier said, Miss
Sheads had not been feeling well, and