Evening star., 1947-07-08
Gun ntoBe Tested
ForC|ueiinDeat1
OF Court Aide
Missing Car, Man
Also Sought in
Fairfax County

Washington police ballistics ex-
perts will be asked to test the gun
found near the body of Norman
LIE Roy Plank, a court clerk, in his
sisters spacious Virginia home in
the hope it might yield some clue
to his mysterious death, Fairfax
County police said today.
Mr. Plank, deputy clerk in the
Small Claims Court here, was found
dead by his nephew, Donald Burrer,
early yesterday in the basement
recreation room of his sisters home
at 4l08 Forest lane, Chesterbrook
Woods, near Falls Church, Va. He
had been shot through the head
with a .22-caliber bullet. He was 29
and a war veteran.
Five steps from the bottom OF the
cellar stairs was .22-caliber target
pistol which police believe to be the
death weapon. A small hand towel,
however, was found on the steps
near the pistol and police fear it
had been used to wipe flngerprlnts
from the weapon.
Suicide Verdict Withdrawn.
A suicide certificate issued by
Coroner Nelson Podolnick after ex-
amining the body yesterday was
Withdrawn in the afternoon after
police discovered that the car be-
longing to Mr.. Plank's sister, Mrs.
Nellie L. Burner, was missing.
Virginia police said today they had
issued a lookout 'to the 48 States"
for the missing car. They also are
seeking a mysterious "walkie-talki
salesman" with whom Mrs. Burrer
said she talked when she called her
brother on the phone last Saturday.
Measurements of the path OF the
bullet, Mr.. Plank's height, and his
position on the basement floor by
the cellar stairs were Under way to
determine positively whether he
could have shot himself or, if he was
murdered, the angle from which the
pistol was fired.
After a post-mortem examination
at Alexandria Hospital last night,
DR.. Podolnick reported that bull
let had entered the right temple,
gone through the brain and "prac-
tically fractured the other side OF
the skull"
Shot Fired at Close Range.
DR.. Podolnick said he had found
little evidence of powder burns, but
he was sure the bullet had been
fired at close range because OF the
damage to the other side of the
skull.
Two small bruises were noted on
Mr.. Plank's back which could have
been caused by a fall, the coroner
said.
Fairfax County police said they
had enough to go on to warrant a
murder investigation on the basis
of these facts:
|. A 1910 black four-door Buick
sedan, owned by Mr.. Plank's sister,
was missing from the garage.
2. Dirty clothes, belonging to a
stranger, were found in the house
and a pair of trousers, belonging to-
Mrs. Burrer's son, Donald, were
missing.
3. There was evidence that a
stranger had slept in the house.
4. Although nothing besides the
trousers. and possibly a shirt was
known to be missing, bureau drawers
had been ransacked and Mr.. Plank S
wallet was empty with his ldentln-
cation papers scattered.
S. Mrs. Burrer's assertion that she
talked by long distance telephone
with a stranger introduced by her
brother on Saturday. |
6. The long distance of the pistol
from the body.
Review Background.
Detective James M. Mahoney and
Robert w. Burton, attorney and
family friend, gave this account c1
the events leading up to the tlndlng
of the body:
Mrs. Burner said she telephoned
Mr.. Plank from Maryland where she
was visiting, about 3 pm. Saturday
to find out how he was feeling. In
that conversation, she said MT
Plank told her:
well, I'm not alone. I've got
some one with me who has had
automobile trouble. He's a very nice
chap. I'll put him on and introduce
him"
Mr.. Plank, she said, then gave the
mans name but because OF bad
telephone connection Mrs. Burner
understood it vaguely as John or
Don"
"Walkie- Talkie Salesman"
The stranger spoke as if he were
an educated man, Mrs. Burner said.
He told her he was "walkie-talkle
salesman" she recalled, and said it
was ''awfully nice of your brother toI
give me a hand. He was very hos
pitable. I hope to meet you some
time and express my appreciation"
Mr.. Plank, according to his sis
ter's story, then came back on the
line, again said something about
the strangers car having broken
down and said he had picked up
the man while returning Friday
night from Washington. He had
gone to Washington to drive home
some friends who had been attend
ing party at the Burrer home.
Mrs. Burrer's son came home
after midnight Sunday from week
end at a Maryland beach, police
said, and found the house dark. He
looked for his uncle and found the
body, he told police.
According to Detective Mahoney,
the pistol used in the shooting be-
longed to Mr.. Burrer's son, who said
he kept it in a downstairs drawer
where it was easily accessible. Only
one shot had been fired but several
other bullets were in the pistol.