St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1940-12-27

but denied forcibly attacking her.
Defense attorneys also won sig
nal victory Tuesday in Bridgeport,
when States Attorney Lorin Will
lis refused to agree to the issu-
ance of a bench warrant for Spell
to appear in the Superior Court in
Bridgeport, in order to waive pre-
liminary hearing next Tuesday in
Greenwich. The request for the
warrant was said to have been
made to Judge Henry A. Kelley,
outstanding Stamford lawyer, who
has been retained by the Strubins
to aid the prosecution,
In Mr.. Friedman's objection to
the issuance of the warrant which,
the State upheld, it was pointed
out, would necessitate either Mrs.
Strubin appearing at the pre-
lminary hearing to testify in or
der to establish a case and bind
Spell over to the Superior Court in
Bridgeport, or in lieu of that, Sc
lect the preference of dropping the
case entirely by her refusal to
prosecute.
FBI Backed Out
Agents of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation who were assigned
to the case after it was reported
that Mrs. Strubin was hurled into
one foot of water in the Kensico
Reservoir in New York State that
Inflated morning, have dropped
their interest in the case, there be-
ing no evidence of kidnapping, &C
cording to their findings, it was
learned.
While the butler, who was ser
geant in the United States Army,
has been transferred to the Bridge
port County Jail pending his trial,
speculation is still rife among the
people of this section as to the
veracity of the socialite's story in
that she was forcibly taken advan-
tage Of.
The question of whether Mrs.
Strubin, the 32-year-old daughter
of Philadelphia investment bank
er, will take the witness stand to
subject herself to rigid cross-ex-
animation by defense attorneys, is
also a matter of speculation.
Remained Silent
In her story to police, Mrs. Stru-
bin, who stated that she was raped
in her bathroom, bedroom, kitchen
and in a lonely spot on the highway,
indicated she remained silent in the
back of the car into which she stat
ed that her butler had forced her,
as police approached the vehicle
and flashed a light, but did not OBJ
serve her.
Continuing her story, according
to police reports, the butler who
was said to have been ordered by
police not to park, took her back,
a prisoner, to her Round Hill home
and there attacked her again at
three o'clock in the morning. The
butler is then said to have tied her
hands and feet, driven to the reser-
voir where he dumped her to drown
in one foot of water. After float
ing and swimming to the bank, she
said she struggled to the highway
where she was picked up by truck
drivers.
According to Mrs. Strubin, who
was confined to the st. Agnes Hos
pital in White Plains and treated
for exposure, Spell demanded her
to write ransom note for $1,000
which was to be paid by her hus-
band, an accounting executive for
the Compton Advertising Agency,
of $50 Fifth Avenue, and former
Princeton University athlete.
Investigation revealed that there
was no evidence of any such note
in the home, in her coat, or in the
reservoir which was dragged We'd
nesday. Instead of the note, her
black caracul coat, her missing
shoe and pair of knitted gloves