The Washington times., 1937-06-03
BY A. N. WECKsLER

In Lovers Lane near Freder-
1cksburg, Va, young man sat
beside his fiancee In e parked au-
tomobile and spoke as lovers are
prone to do.
A few moments later the scene
was q shambles Of broken and
bruised bodies. A hideous crime
had converted the tdyl Of love
into q murder mystery that baf-
fled police for more than q year.
Its ramifications brought into
play all Of the scientific resources
Of the Federal Bureau Of 1nvesti-
cation. N.
The date was May 81, 1894, and
10 hours had passed since 2l-year-
old comely Fannie Kurz and her
fiance, George Milton Brown, then
"a, were attacked.
Left I'm Ravine
Unconscious due to cir
wounds, they had been left for
dead in a shallow ravine in the
woods. The girls condition was
hopeless and she died a few days
later.
Ter fiance recovered after
months ir. a hospital, and the Sc
we're head blow which no suffered
seemed to have obliterated all
knowledge Of the crime or pos
sible clues to his attacker. All
attempts to jog his memory failed,
and Omen could get no assistance
from him.
False clues led the authorities
on q merry chase, but information
concerning the crime was widely
circulated and a F. B. I. bulletin
came into the hands Of a Deputy
Sheriff Of Iuka, Miss.
This law enforcement officer ar
rested o colore man who gave his
name IS Earl Conner Williams,
and who aroused his suspicion.
williams broke down after ques-
tionin and admitted the brutal
crime IN Fredericksburg.
Retracts Confession
subsequently,, however, he re.
tranted his confession and offered
aas -, abb the records If the Bap'
list Young Peoples Union OF the
Central Baptist Church OF
st. Louis, Mo.
These records pIrported to snow
that williams attended Q meeting
of the Union on May 20, the eve
Of the date In which the crime was
committed.
At this new turn Of events, the
police Immediately forwarded the
records to the F. B. ]. technical
laboratory.
Under the eye Of the microscope
and with the use Of various Scien-
tific means It was found that the
entry Of the name Of Williams was
in q different type Of ink from
that used In making the other
entries, and also that the hand.
writing was different.
A laboratory expert appeared at
williams trial and testified as to
the discrepancy. However, .
former superintendent Of the
Baptist Union testified that en-
tries were frequently made at .
!, later date, and offered this testi-
mony to support Williams case:
AS the trial progressed 1t sud.
+ denly became Of unanticipGted
importance to decipher certain
'obliterated writing which had
originally appeared In the section
Of the records which contained
williams name.
Records Changed
During q recess Of the court the
records were returned to the
bureau technical laboratory where
further microscopic examinations
revealed that the section Of the
records dealing with the month Of
May had originally read "July.
September" and the records con-
tanning Williams name were orig.
inally those dealing with atten.
dance at the Union meetings dur.
ing July and September, and that
his name had been interpolated in
these records.
This evidence changed the com.
plexion Of the case. A fury on
June 80 Of last year returned .
verdict Of guilty with recommends.
ton Tor mercy, which automat.
icany carried a penalty Of life i'm.
| prisonment.
In this manner the science At
the command Of the 0tmen
brought q murderer to justice,
Like both fingerprinting and
balliStics, the characteristics of
handwriting are unfailinR indices
in the identity Of the person re.
Sponsible for them.
A peculiar curve Of a letter. the
formation Of an "e,' the dot over
an a." are to the handwriting ex-
pertS Of the F. B. I. as indicative
Of meaning as the ridge of a finger.
print are to the experts in finger.
printing. "
Files Of known handwriting are
kept by the Omen in practically
the same manner as fingerprints.
However, this science has not az
yet been classified to the extent
Of fingerprints.
Restoration Of obliterated writ
ing is another important phase Of
the work Of the F. B. I. technical
laboratory.
Sometimes criminals use chem
icals or mechanical eraSures to
destroy handwriting.
Technicians train infra-red or
ultraviolet rays on some Of these
questioned documents to learn
the context Of the writing. Often