Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-05-06
VIRGINIA YOUTH
IS INDICTED ON
MURDERCHARGE
W. M. Mcnamara Accused
of Killing Chef While Shoot
ina at Wife.
Staying TOOK PLACE
IN K STREET CAFE
Policeman's Widow Cited in Muir.
der of Husband-True Bills
in Narcotics Cases.

A first-degree murder indictment
was returned today against William
Martin Mcnamara, 20, accused OF
killing John Mikedis, chef at the Lib
erty Cafe, 804 K street, accidentally
while attempting to shoot his 2l-year-
old estranged wife, Mrs. Ruth Nc
Namara.
Among the other 81 indictments re-
ported by the grand jury were another
first-degree murder charge, a second
degree murder case involving Mrs
Alice ]. Connolly, widow of a park
policeman, who is alleged to have shot
her husband manslaughter charge
and two narcotics cases.
Sought Out Wife.
Married five years and separated two,
McNamara is said to have come to
Washington from his Petersburg, Va,
home searching for his wife. with
. whom he had vainly attempted to ef-
feet a reconciliation.
He found her in the early evening
of March IA in the Liberty Cafe, where
she worked as waitress. Because
the proprietor, Samuel J. Ally, 3033
Sixteenth street, lent Mrs. Mcnamara
his car so she and her husband could
drive somewhere to talk in private
Mcnamara became jealous of him, he
told police.
Returning to the cafe. Mcnamara
was ordered out by Ally when his
presence interfered with Mrs. Nc
.Namara's work. He came back few
minutes later, demanded that Ally
discharge the girl, and, when the
proprietor refused, drew a revolver
and started firing at his wife and at
Ally, whom he later told police he
intended to kill
Hit by Stray Bullet.
Hearing the reports, Mikedis, who
was 81 and lived at 1916 Trying street,
rushed in the room and was met by
stray bullet which passed almost
completely through his head. Ally
was shot in the knee and then in the
chest, but succeeded in disarming Nc
Namara, who submitted tamely to ar
rest few minutes later.
Questioned by detectives, the youth
signed a statement admitting that he
attempted to kill his wife and acct
dentally shot Mikedis.
Mrs. Connolly, 81. was charged with
fatally shooting her husband, John
r. Connolly, Al, of 1920 Eighteenth
street, during the aftermath of st.
Patrick's day party. She said she
was afraid he would harm her.
Police quoted her to the effect that
Connolly drank heavily St. Patrick's
day, and that she joined him during
the afternoon. About l o'clock the fol-
lowing morning he lay down on bed
in an upstairs room of their home,
and then jumped up and made dash
at her threatening to choke her. she
allegedly related. She went to a
closet and got a revolver she had hid
den there and returned to the room
where her husband lay. She said
Connolly seemed about to 60 after her
again so she fired, police declared
The wife is said to have explained
that she hid the gun because she
feared that her husband might harm
himself in a fit of melancholia over
the death of his mother
Accused of Stabbing.
The other flrst-degree murder in
dictment was against Wesley Shaw,
colored, 20, who is charged with
stabbing to death Mack Price, also
colored. March 10, during a fight over
ownership of shirt. The alteration
took place in the rear of the 400 block
NJ boe
pretended.
Fred B. Smithwick, %, of 204 Elev-
enth street southeast, whose automo-
bile allegedly struck and killed Miss
Edith Scott, AZ, 1893 Kenyon street,
in collision with another machine on
the afternoon of March 10, was in
dicted for manslaughter.
Smithwick, who was charged i'm
n1ediately after the accident with driv-
ing while drunk, was fleeing from
Policeman j. j. Shotzberger of the
fifth precinct, whom he is said to have
attempted to run down. Commander
ing taxicab, Shotzberger gave chase
and had almost overtaken Smithwick
when the youths car struck that of
Charles S. Range, As, of 1906 Fourth
street, in which Miss Scott was riding.
Range was slightly injured.
Narcotics Charge Placed.
Charges of narcotics law violations
were placed by the jury against Mrs.
Margaret L. Gardner, described as the
wife Of well-known Asheville, N. c.,
physician, and Daisy Duffel.
Mrs. Gardner, "a, was arrested at
Union Station by narcotics agents
early in the morning of March %
while she was changing trains, en-
route from New York City to Ashe-
vile. The agents reported they found
three packages of dope in her baggage.
They said she was in the habit Of
making trips to New York at To-day
intervals to secure consignments Of
drugs.
Miss Duffel, ~, was arrested, agents
declared, while she was making a de-
livery of drugs in the TOO block of 7
street. The narcotics allegedly were
found between the pages of detective
story entitled THE Absinthe Fiend"
The Narcotic Bureau men said she
had an extensive retail clientele, prin-
cipally among women.
Other Indictments.
: Others indicted were:
John Posey, George Harris, Timothy
Floyd, Elwood Obery, HOUSEKEEPING
and larceny; John T. Saunders, John
II. Parker, Berkeley Cleveland Smith,
Raymond Sutton, Herbert w. john
son and Clarence Precia, joy-riding;
william H. Carey and RAYMOND Vidi,