Evening star., 1941-03-08
Bride IsFound
Dead, Murder
Inquiry Begun
Husband Discovers
Body on Return From
Work.; Is Questioned

Detectives were questioning q
| young Government employe at
| police headquarters late today
several hours after his bride Of
a month was found criminally
assaulted and choked to death
on a cot in their apartment, at
1901 Sixteenth street NV.
The body of the pretty, red headed
bride was found by her husband,
| Barney AbramowitZ, shortly after l
| pm. when he returned from work
at the Social Security Board. The
| girl. Mrs. Rose Abramowitz, was be-
lieved to have been killed about
1890 or II o'clock this morning,
when tenant in an apartment be-
low heard screams and a struggle.
The janitor at the apartment.
James Williams, 26, colored, also
was taken to headquarters for ques-
| tioning. Police were told he had
| one of two keys to the apartment,
and accompanied the husband when
he found the body. The janitor had
been given the key to do a paint
job in the apartment.
Coroner A. Magruder Macdonald
said death apparently was due to
manual strangulation. There were
bruiSe marks on the throat. A ply
sician who responded from Emer-
gency Hospital pronounced Mrs.
Abramowitz dead He told police
he was convinced she had been
criminally assaulted.
Came Here to Wed.
Mrs. Abramowitz, who was IS,
came here with her mother from
their home in Kansas City, Mo,
about week before she was married.
The wedding took place in February
and the mother. it was said, re-
turned to Missouri about two weeks
ago.
Hugh Stephens, IT, who lives in
ground-floor apartment Immediately
below that of Mr.. and Mrs. Abramo-
WITT, said he heard screams and
struggle between 10 and II am. The
sounds quickly died away, he said,
and he heard somebody walking
about the room. He told investiga-
tors he thought no more of the in
cident.
The young husband told police he
went to work as usual this morning
at the Social Security Board. When
he returned home some time after
pm. he found the door locked and
could not let himself in because he
had no key. He knocked on the
door, he said, and obtained no re-
sponSe.
Mr.. Abramowitz, police were told,
then went to the basement to OBJ
tain a key from the janitor.
The janitor, police were told, ac-
companied Mr. Abramowitz to his
tWo-room apartment and the hus-
band unlocked the door and entered.
He saw his wife lying on studio
couch in the front room and sup
posed she was asleep. The girl was
clothed in house dress.
Janitor Departs.
"Oh, guess she must be asleep"
Mr.. AbramowitZ was said to have
remarked to the janitor. Mean
while. police were told, the janitor
picked up a bucket of paint left in
the apartment and went to the
apartment above to do a decorating
job there.
The husband discovered his wife
was dead after the janitor left, it
was said. An ambulance was sum-
moned from Emergency Hospital and
Mrs. Abramowitz was pronounced
dead by the physician in charge, DR..
Lewis Ripley. Dr. Ripley was quoted
as expressing the opinion Mrs.
Abramowitz had been criminally
assaulted.
Coroner Macdonald said the young
woman apparently had been dead
for two or three hours when he ex-
amined the body about 2:30 pm.
There were scratches on the face
as we'll as bruises on the throat. DR..
Macdonald would not express an
opinion whether the girl had been
assaulted pending an autopsy, to be
performed either tonight or to-
morrow.
No Signs of Struggle.
A preliminary examination by de-
tectives disclosed no evidence that
the apartment had been forcibly en-
tered, it was said. An intruder could
have come in through the door,
through windows which face on r
street or windows which open on an
air shaft in the center of the
building.
Neighbors said the girl habitually
opened the door on safety chain,
which allowed it to come open only
about six inches, before admitting
callers. AS far as could be deter
mined, there were only two keys,
one in the possession of the girl and
one lent the janitor.
There were no signs of a struggle
in the apartment, it was said.
Another Heard Scream.
Detectives located a tenant across
the air shaft from the apartment
who said she also heard a scream
this morning. Miss Madge Davis,
81, a Western Union employe, re-
manned at home today.
'I had the radio on" she said. "I
believe it was a little after 10 o'clock
when I heard a scream. There was
just the one short, piercing scream
of woman.
Il turned the radio down, but
heard nothing further. A little later
I walked by the apartment, but
heard no sounds coming from it."