Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1947-06-04
Man, 73, Is Held
In Wife Staying;
Wounds Self
Mother-in-Luw Shot
As cIimox to Dispute
In Residence Here

In Residence Here
Domestic difficulties were blamed
by police today for the fatal shoot
ing OF a 49-year-old woman and the
critical wounding of her 73-year-old
husband and 69-year -old mother al
sls Perry place NE, late yesterday.
The dead woman was Mrs. Lula
Bell Wright, mother of three and
a clerk at the Internal Revenua
Bureau. She was shot in the head
and upper left arm.
Critically wounded but under +
police guard at Gallinger Hospital
was her husband, Henry T. Wright,
former Treasury Department guard,
shot through the right temple.
Mrs. Wright's mother, Mrs. Maggie
B. Fitzgerald of the Perry placs
address was in Casualty Hospital,
shot once in the back.
Shooting Occurred In Kitchen.
The shooting occurred about 5::3s
pm, shortly after Mrs. Wright
reached home from work and was
In the kitchen of the neat brick row
home preparing dinner with her
mother.
Police said Mrs. Fitzgerald told
them at the hospital that Wright
walked into the kitchen with a
revolver in his hand and said to
his wife: You old - I'm going
to kill your
Then he opened fire and Mrs,
Fitzgerald attempted TO protect her
daughter by moving between her
and the weapon, police quoted the
mother as saying The two women
staggered out the kitchen door to
the small back porch, Mrs. Wright
collapsing and losing consciousness
and Mrs. Fitzgerald apparently fall
ing to kneeling position.
Summoned by neighbors, police
arrived to find Wright semicon-
scious in q living room chair. In
the middle Of the room, about I'VE
feet from the chair, was a 20 caliber
revolver, and police also found a
thin trail of blood leading from the
PlSVOl 10 wright CL1alT.
Married 30 Years.
There were four empty cartridge
cases in the living room and one un-
exploded bullet in the cylinder Of
the pistol. Six unexploded and two
empty cartridges were found on the
dining room and kitchen floors.
The Wrights had been married
about 80 years, according to son,
Fred T. Wright, rs, of 2405 Arundel
road, Mount Rainier, Md, and came
here in 1889 from Staunton, Va. He
said they owned the Perry place
home and had lived there three or
fourt years. He had not seen the
couple in couple of months, Mr..
Wright said.
A daughter, Mrs. Mary Frances
Zimmerman, II, of 1000 Eighth
street NE, told police the Wrights
had quarreled over q long period
over domestic problems and that
Wright was reported to be jealous
of his wife.
Police said they understood another
daughter Mrs. Dorothy Elizabeth
Caruso. rs, lived at the Perry place
address but was not home when
the shooting occurred.
Neighbor Helps Wounded Woman.
James Juliano, s03 Perry place
NE, a builder living a few doors
away on the same side Of the street,
said he was in his kitchen when he
heard something like a cap gun.
II went out on my back porch,
thinking 1t was way down the
street." he said. II heard cries for
help and saw the two ladies lying
on the porch. The older one was
kneeling like she was frozen to the
spot and was crying for help.
ct went over and got q porch
chair off the lawn of the Wright
house and assisted the old woman
MRS. Fitzgerald) into the chair"
He said a neighbor, whom he could
identify only as Mr.. Williams, helped
,, him with Mrs. Fitzgerald.
When he asked her what hap
pened she replied, THE old man
shot u.s." Mr.. Juliano said.
Wright Talked of Baseball.
, Another neighbor, John s. Ed
|, mondson, 908 Perry place. an en-
graver with the Bureau of Engrav-
ing and Printing, said he also heard
what sounded like a cap pistol"
) On looking toward the noise, he
saw the women and heard one yell
| ing for help, then saw Mr.. Juliano
, run to them. II thought they had
fallen and gotten hurt" he said.
He recalled that about two hours
. earlier his son, Jack, IS, had been
!, talking baseball with Wright while
the latter sat on glider on his back
lawn. Wright was pulling for De-
! troit and Jack wanted the New
York Yankees to win, Mr. Edmond
son said. Wright did not seem ner-
! vous to the boy, he added.
= Wright Is Blinded.
l Casualty Hospital reported the
& bullet that wounded Mrs. Fitzgerald
! was lodged in or near her spine. She
/ was given pint of blood last night
The bullet fired into Wright's
right temple was lodged behind his
e left eye. Doctors said ne was blind
S in both eyes and even though he re-
C covers, will remain blind If the bull.
0 let severed his optic nerve.
o Mrs Wright had been employed a,
a clerk in the Income Tax Division
of the Revenue Bureau since May 7
e 1912 Her husband was a Treasury
/ Building guard from March /, 1913
y until he retired last April 10.
e Guilty Verdict Returned