Evening star., 1934-05-27

Thursday adds, temporarily at least,
another name to the list of women
whose violent deaths have baffled the
best detective minds of the Nation S
Capital
Topping the list of such unsolved
crimes are the Mary Baker and
Beulah Limerick murders-both of
which occurred in 1930-and not far
behind these should be placed the
Staying of the Umbrella Woman"
Miss Eva Kirk, in 1926.
The celebrated Virginia Mcpherson
strangling case Of 1929. the sensa-
tional ramifications of which still are
fresh in the memory of many WASH
mgtonians, occupies a place all its
own in the records not only of local
police, but of the Department of
Justice.
But long before these there was a
case that outranks them all for sheer
melodramatic developments, accord
ing to The Stars veteran police re-
porter-Howard Brooks.
Mrs. Dennis Murder.
When Mrs Ada Gilbert Dennis,
fashionable modiste, was beaten
fatally with a piano stool in her K
street home one october night nearly
80 years ago. Brooks declared last
night, washington was presented
with what l consider its most inter-
esting unsolved murder mystery in
volving a woman victim"
= to n
records to recall lurid details of that
crime-which is listed to this day on
police books as one of the city'S
'Murders-Unsolved.
Il used a bicycle to hurry from
police headquarters to the scene OF
the crime in the 100 block of K
street." Brooks recalled. We didn't
have automobiles in those days. you
know. Mrs Dennis. middle-aged
woman with a wide acquaintance
among the city's society leaders be-
cause of her work. was frightfully
beaten and unconscious. She mad been
attacked in bed.
Window Provided Escape.
1T was apparent the slayer had
entered and left her room on the first
floor through a front window. Pots
of flowers on. the sill of this window
had been overturned. The furnishings
in the room had not been disturbed
except for the piano stool. Blood
stained and overturned, the stool evil
IDENTIFY had been swung viciously by
the unknown aSsailant. The stool, by
1f h.
Police Department.
"On a table near the bed lay
large sum of money-indicatlng rob-
berry was not a motive. In fact the
motive for the murder never was de-
termined and police records of the
case reveal not single suspect, al
though picked squad of detectives
investigated the crime and spared no
expense in their efforts to solve it"
Brooks. recalled how he 'scooped"
other papers with report of Mrs.
Dennis first and only statement upon
regaining consciousness for brief
period at Garfield Hospital. While
the other papers were saying that
the woman was still unconscious,
Brooks was obtaining startling in
terview in which the dying woman
mentioned a number OF prominent
citizens as being implicated. Attend
ing surgeons and detectives concluded
she was "out of her head for the
persons named were above suspicion,
Died Year Later.
Mrs. Dennis amazed physicians by
lingering in a comatose condition Tor
nearly year before she died. Dur
ing all of that time hospital attaches
and detectives waited patiently by
her bedside in the hope she would
regain her senses and identify her at
tacker, but the vigil was in vain.
The murder of Mrs. Kirk. known in
her reighborhood as the umbrella
woman occurred late in January,
1925. in a house in the 800 block OF
r street. She was strangled with a
piece of cloth that her attacker fast
ened about her throat A pair Of eye
glasses was found at the scene. and
fingerprintS of man were 1ound
upon them. Hundreds of possible
clues were run down. but it was not
until the surrender in Los Angeles OF
one George Pierce Tucker that police
we're able to report possible solution
OF the crime.
Tucker confessed" to Los Angeles
police that he had choked Mrs. kirk
to death. He was returned to wash
ington and his fingerprints were re-
ported to match those found on the
eyeglasses. He was indicted. declared
insane and sent to st. Elizabeth's
Hospital on June 26, 1881. However,
he was later adjudged sane and was
released. but the murder charge
against him was nolle pressed for
lack of evidence"
A pajama cord tightly knotted about
the neck of Virginia Mcpherson
brought death to the pretty young
wife of Bob Mcpherson, bank en-
ploye. in the Park Lane Apartments
some time in the night of September
l3, 1929. When her estranged hus-
band reported to the apartment man.
ager the finding of her partly-clad
body in a bed room of their apart
ment the following morning, there
was started chain OF events that
held the front pages of the news
papers for many months.
Murder Proof Claimed.
When coroner's jury branded the
case suicide" police private, Robert
]. Allen, charged that all the facts
had not been presented to the coroner
and asserted he had proof of murder.
Aliens charges precipitated grand
jury investigation which ended in
the indictment of the husband and
excoriation of Inspector William S.
Shelby. since retired, and Lieut.. Ed
ward j. Kelly, now precinct captain,
for what was termed their "bungling"
of the case.
The Department Of Justice launched
an intensive investigation. during
which more than 800 witnesses were
questioned. In the meantime, the
Indictment against Mcpherson was
voided by the discovery that MEM
Der of the grand jury was ineligible
to serve. The Department of Justice
a.. fyliroc onl