Evening star., 1938-06-22
WOMAN IN CREEK
NAMED BY POLICE
AS ESTHER LEWIS
Fingerprints Bare Identity
of Engraving EmpIoye
Through F.B.I.
WIDOW WAS MOTHER
OF SIX CHILDREN
Maryland and D. G. Police Hunt
Man Who May Have Taken
Trip With Her.
BY GARNETT d. HORNER.

Fingerprints today identified the
apparently murdered expectant mother
whose body was found Monday floating
in a Southern Maryland creek, as Mrs.
Esther Lewis, 31-year-old charwoman
at the Bureau Of Engraving and Print
ing.
Maryland and local police were seek
ing clues here to man who may have
gone with her to one of the Chesa-
peake Bay beaches last week end, on
the theory Mrs. Lewis had been pois-
oned or smothered to death and her
body tossed into the creek from an
automobile travelling toward Washing
ton Sunday night.
Records at the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing showed that Mrs. Lewis
reported sick last Friday and had not
been seen since. Born in Durango,
Mexico, in 1907 and naturalized as a
citizen of the United States several
years ago. she was the widow Of John
Lewis, World War veteran who died
some time ago and left her with six
children.
Landlady Is Questioned.
When she applied for employment as
charwoman in the bureau two years
ago Mrs. Lewis gave her address as
Cabin John, Bethesda, Md, but she
had moved since then to 1924 H street
NV, where she had rented rooms from
Mrs. Isabel Garvan Shelley. music
teacher.
Corpl. Charles w. Magaha and Of
ficer H. c. Carl of the Maryland State
Police. States Attorney Arthur w.
Dowell of Calvert County and Detec-
tive Sergt. jeremiah Flaherty Of Wash
ington questioned Mrs. Shelley closely
this afternoon in an effort to learn the
identity of any person with whom Mrs.
Lewis may have been Sunday
Mrs. Shelley said Mrs Lewis never
had received callers at the house. She
said Mrs. Lewis lived in a back room,
with her rent free in exchange for help
in cleaning the house
| She last saw Mrs. Lewis Thursday,
Mrs. Shelley said, when she left to get
her pay check. She said nothing about
plans for being away from home, even
for one night, Mrs. Shelley said, and
she had become worried about what
might have happened, but hadn't
thought to notify police.
Husband Died in 1888.
Mrs. Lewis six children, John, II;
Esther, 10; Noela, 9; Margaret, 5:
Bruce, 8, and Lucille Cecilia, 2, have
been under guardianship of the Farm
ers' Banking & Trust Co. in Rockville,
Md, since the death of Mr. Lewis, in
November. 1885 The bank is ad-
ministering funds from a pension pro-
vided by the Veterans Administra-
ton.
Mr.. Lewis was a veteran Of the
Spanish-American and World Wars.
He completed eight enlistments in the
Army, beginning in 1898, and was re-
tired honorably after 80 years of
service, on April 8, 1921. His last as
signment was with Company ], 5th In
fantry. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis were
married in Los Angeles in 1925.
The pension will continue to sup
port the orphaned children, it was
learned officially.
Police still were uncertain as to the
manner in which Mrs. Lewis met her
death. Indications pointed to murder.
because there was no water in her
lungs, but the possibility of suicide
or accidental death was not over
looked.
She was identified early today
through fingerprints, traced through
the Federal Bureau of Investigations
non-criminal files, which include
records of all applying for civil service
jobs with the Government.
The case came TO a climax in dra-
matte fashion after investigators had
virtually abandoned hope of even OBJ
tanning fngerprints from the woman's
body and had resigned themselves to
the remote chance of some relative or
(SeA MITPnEp pooo AoI