Evening star., 1937-06-04
The Keene MyStery-Is 1t Murder or Suicide?
Chronological Review of the Battling Case Confronting
District Investigators.
. HERE was no hint Of impend-
ing tragedy about the de-
parture of Charles r. Keene
Il on a business trip to Norfolk

parture OF CnarleS r. keene
Il on business trip to Norfolk
late in the afternoon Of May 13.
In fact, the elderly real estate
agent, always inclined to be bit OF
An optimist seemed even more cheer
full than usual.
keene was inclined to be imprac-
tical, making plans which sometimes
didn't materialize.
On this afternoon Keene walked
aboard the yacht Sunshine, anchored
in Washington Channel, for a chat
with her owner, Maj. Walter Blount.
distant cousin and for 80 years one
OF his closest friends.
Keene explained that in half an
hour he was sailing aboard the Nor
folk & Washington steamer District of
Columbia, docked nearby. Meanwhile,
he had called to pass the time of day
with his friend.
The two men had the fondness for
each other which sometimes develops
between opposites. Blount is yachts
man, a lover of hunting and sports,
sWordsman, marksman and collector
of guns. None of these things had
any particular interest for keene, with
his artistic mind, but he nevertheless
seemed to feel closer to Blount than
to his other friends.
Told of Trade Prospects
Keene had often expressed surprise
that Blount should live on yacht.
For himself he had distrust of
boats, felt uneasy on the water.
Keene.s only connection with things
nautical his friends said, was the fact
that his son, Charles F. Keene. ir,
had graduated from the Naval Acad-
emy
He told Blount he hoped to turn
nice sum from deal he planned 10
close in Norfolk. He had an agents
reluctance to disclose details or parties
to the trade, and Blount did not press
him.
Before Keene left Blount gave him
couple of suggestions to trade on-a
resident of the Shoreham Hotel was
looking for a buyer for his boat and
an interior decorator had made an
offer for section OF a country estate
Blount owned. Keene made notes and
these subsequently were found on MS
BODY
Blount regards the notes as sub
stantial proof that Keene left Wash
ngton with no thought of suicide and
with every intention of running down
the tips" he had given him. Keene
already had left his baggage on the
boat.
Stranger Bought Him Beer.
He left the yacht about Sis pm.
and went aboard the District of Co.
lumbia Keene later substituted the
hat he was wearing when he embarked
for a brown beret, a circumstance
which attracted some attention.
Keene's state room was next to the aft
deck on the port side.
Ships officers cannot recall taking
up Keene's ticket, although this was
done after the boat left Alexandria as
a matter of routine. A few passengers
who noticed Keene that night remem-
bered him as quiet, slender man in
a beret.
About II o'clock Keene bought two
soft drinks from J. M. Elby, who runs
the newsstand in the salon. Later, at
about midnight, Elby recalled that a
red-faced man" bought a bottle Of
beer for Keene and strolled away
while Keene finished the beer.
Keene presumably retired to his
l., ta1,r lr,v hn
beer
Some time after O'Clock that morn
ing the boat was approa ching the
mouth of the Potomac, in slightly
rough water
Boat Engines Noisy.
The steamer is one of the lines
Oldest and her engines, coupled with
the stress on the hull. made consid-
cradle noise Then, too, the steam
radiators popped as they contracted
The night Watchman, William H.
Bowen, was seated in the salon not far
from Keenes cabin door He heard a
noise which might have been mufied
shot or might have originated in the
normal operation of the boat. Bowen
took turn on the after deck, noted
no lights were on, and hearing nothing
further. dismissed the matter.
A ventilating grill-Work runs around
the top OF the cabins. If & shot was
fired in the cabin, it must have been
carefully mutf1ed. A passenger in the
adjoining cabin, Mrs. r. F. Loper OF
Newport News. Va, heard no unusual
sound during the night and, she said,
she is light sleeper.
Not until most of the passengers
had alighted at Norfolk after Z O'Clock
the following morning did ships OFF,
GERS learn something was amiss.
Maid Found Bloody Cabin.
Ella Montgomery, colored steward
ess. had discovered keenes cabin in
disarray, with blood stains on the
lower berth, on the rug and wash
basin beside an open window which
looked out directly on the water
The steWardess summoned Thomas