Evening star., 1936-07-14
Coroner Holds to Theory
Mother Killed Three,
Then Self.
POOR HEALTH CITED
IN SUPPORT OF OPINION
Officials Spend Hours Studying
Family Records After Tragedy
at Berryville.
BY JOHN H. CLINE,
Staff Correspondent Of The Star.


BERRYVILLE, Va, July IA
Despite the Clarke County coroner's
certainty he Is confronted with triple
murder and suicide. Commonwealth
Attorney e. McC. Williams today post
poned indefinitely an inquest into the
deaths Of four members Of q noun
taineer family. whose bullet-riddled
bodies were found early yesterday in
their log cabin home miles east of
here. No reason was given for the
delay.
: DR.. A. p. Osborne, the acting coro-
ner. said he was positive the tragedy
was attributable to the sudden de-
rangement of Mrs. May Smallwood
As, who had been in poor health
for some time. He believes she killed
her two sons, Elbert, %, and Akin,
II; her invalid mother, Mrs. Virginia
Elsea, 81, and then turned the death
weapon. a 12-gauge shotgun, on her
self.
The beds Of all the victims had been
saturated with kerosene and ignited.
The bodies were only slightly burned,
however.
Coroner Osborne said he was pre-
pared to issue a certificate Of mur-
der and suicide and was anxious to
hold the inquest yesterday, but de-
layed it at the insistence of Will
liams, who wanted to make a more
detailed investigation.
Studies Family Records.
williams spent several hours yes
terday in the Smallwood cabin, To-
Gated in q secluded hollow in the Blue
Ridge Mountains overlooking the
Shenandoah River. He left with an
armful of family albums and corre-
spondence, saying he wanted to study
all Of this material before the inquest
williams would not say whether he
had formed any theory inconsistent
with that expressed by DR.. Osborne.
The tragedy was discovered by Jo-
seph Elsea, a brother of Mrs. Small
wood, and John Tumblin, who went
by the house shortly before 6 O'Clock
to take Ebert to work. They noticed
smoke inside and broke through the
front door. discovering the bodies ir
the smouldering beds.
The commemorative attorney sent
The shotgun to Winchester to be exam.
ined for fingerprints. He said that II
any prints are found on it they will
be compared with prints he had taker
from the bodies.
The fingerprints included smudges
on kerosene lamp, the shotgun, win
dowpanes and other objects. Authori-
ties said 1t may be day or two be-
fore a report on the fingerprints is
available. Prosecutor Williams said
he was not suspecting any one in par
ticular of committing the crime, but
had asked the postponement chiefly
in the interests Of clearing up what
appeared to him as mystery.
xeuS OF der SlckucSSs
Sheriff Smallwood said his daugh-
ter-in-law had been under treatment
for mental disorder some years ago,
and that he personally had brought
her home from a sanitarium at that
time little or no better.
The funerals of the grandmother,
daughter and two sons are to be held
at II am. tomorrow from the little
mountain Baptist Church near Mount
Weather, with services by Rev. DR.. l.
A. Parker Of the Berryville Baptist
Church, and Rev. Clarence Lloyd o,
the Boyce Baptist Church. 1nterment
will be in the graveyard adjoining the
church and in the heart of the region
where all had spent their lives.