Evening star., 1945-10-29
Suicides
Continued From First Page.)


a visit with Mr.. Perley, having al
ready visited Comdr. Prescott's par
ents in Los Angeles. He was due to
report next month for duty at the
New York Navy Yard.
Saturday afternoon Mrs. Prescott
had walked with her father in the
vicinity of the Perley home along
the edge of Rock Greek Park. Sat-
urday night, from all accounts, the
Prescotts appeared in the best of
spirits
Used Husbands Ties.
Then, according to police, Mrs.
Prescott had gone to the basement,
presumably some time after mid
night. She wore negligee over her
nightdress. In the basement she
knotted together several of her hus-
bands ties, tied one end to a water
pipe and the other end around her
neck, and stepped of box.
Apparently Comdr. Prescott had
arisen later and had gone in search
Of his wife, taking a f1ashlght. He
had a bathrobe over his pajamas
He found his wife's body and cut ii
down with file, police said. From
the position of her body on the
basement floor 1t appeared he had
tried artificial respiration to revive
her. Failing, he presumably had
returned to the upper floors, OBJ
tanned his pistol and shot himself
He fell close to her body, with the
pistol beneath him, a fact that
caused police to be puzzled at first
However, Coroner Macdonald is
sued certificates of suicide In both
deaths.
Married Is Years.
The police were summoned after
Mrs. Shanks had telephoned DR.
Ernest F. Sappington, IT'S Lamont
street, a physician who had been
attending Mr.. Perley. She also
notified Burton Davis, who had lived
at the Perley home for two years
but who had moved to Chevy Chase
Nd, last week. He Is associated
with the War Finance Board.
The Prescotts were married June
S, 1881, the day after his graduation
from Annapolis. They had no
children.
The former Miss Perley had at
tended the Montessori School and
the Friends School in Washington
At the age of IA she had gone to
Tucson, AriZ., where she spent two
years. Later she was graduated
from the Girls Collegiate School at
Glendora, Calf.
She made her debut here in 1929
and later travelled abroad with her
parents. Her mother, who at one
time had been associated with Jane
Addams in settlement work at Hull
House in Chicago, died in 1888.
Comdr. Prescott was born in Los
Angeles and graduated from the Los
Angeles High School before his ap-
pointment to the Naval Academy
At the Academy he edited the his
tory OF his class for the Lucky Bag,
the graduating class publication.
His career in the Navy was de-
scribed as one of solid achievement
He was made a full commander in
1943 at the age of "a.
In 1885 he went to France, Ger
many and Italy to study shipbuild-
ing methods and foreign languages
Later he was stationed at the Ports.
mouth, N. H., Navy Yard, and he
did brief tour of duty as engineer
officer aboard the U. S. S. Whitney
From September, 1889, to April
1943. he was assigned to the Bureau
of Ships in Washington.
Thereafter. until February, 1914
he was docking and repair of1cel
assigned to repair ship ABSD-1, ir
the Pacific. Then he spent severa
months stationed at Espiritu Santt
in the New Hebrides, a naval ad.
vance base. From that assignment
he went to the service squadron o.
the South Pacific Force Of the Pa
cific Fleet.