Evening star., 1948-12-09
Bartender Held,
Ring Recovered
In Hotel Murder
Confession Revealed;
Diamond Is Found
In Veterans Room
bulletin

bUlLE IN
A coroner's jury this after
noon ordered Crispin B. Perez
held for the grand jury on a
charge of murder in the death
of Charles J. Hines, 48, of Mad
iSon, Wis.
A 29year-old Army veteran
and part-time bartender today
was charged with the murder of
Charles J. Hines less than 80
hours after the Madison (Wis.)
painter was bludgeoned, bound
and suffocated in his room at the
Ambassador Hotel.
Police earlier had announced a
signed confession from swarthy Cris-
pin Barrera Perez, whom they de-
scribed as a well-known figure in
midtown bars. Shortly after his ar
rest at am. today, police said,
Perez took them to his room in the
l700 block of New Hampshire ave-
nue. NV. and gave up a $1,000 dia-
mond ring which belonged to Mr..
Hines. The ring had been hidden
in davenport.
He first was booked as Charts B.
Perez" and gave his occupation as a
mechanic, but his signature on the
confession, police said, was Crispin
Barrera Perez.
The Police Department also dis
closed that Perez had an applica-
ton in to join the department and
was to have taken his examination
December 20.
Mr.. Hines body, grotesquely trussed
with bed sheets and parts of his own
clothing, was found about am.
yesterday by a hotel maid, Mrs.
Dorothy Kinsler, colored, of 2118 P
street NV. An autopsy disclosed
several lacerations of the head, but
death was due to suffocation, Coro-
ner A. Magruder Macdonald said.
Had Been Gagged and Trussed.
Mr.. Hines had been gagged with
handkerchief and rolled-up sheet
ing which had been knotted behind
his head. Lying on the bed in his
underwear the mans hands had
been bound together with his belt!
The belt was attached to a towel
which was tied to a post at the
head of the bed.
His feet were bound together with
necktie, to which a shirt-sleeve
was attached and tied to the foot
of the bed.
Police Inspector Robert S. Bryant
said Perez confessed only a short
time after he was picked up at
his home.
1t was a swift finish to what fomi-
eide squad members at first feared
would be battling case.
Citations to Be Given.
AS the murder charge was placed
against the suspect, the District
Commissioners announced they
would present individual citations
to all policemen who worked on the
case.
Investigators found blood on a
Venetian blind in the hotel room, 8
feet from the bed. Deputy Coroner
Richard Rosenberg, who examined
Perez at headquarters this morning,
said he found what appeared to be
traces of blood on is hands and un-
der his fingernails.
DR.. Macdonald estimated the time
of death at 3 am.
A woman who identified herself
as Perez common-law wife and
said she had been living with him
bout three years, greeted him
shortly before an inquest opened at
noon today.
| He smiled as she walked toward
him, then asked her, DO people
know about this?'
Was Stationed at Fort Belvoir.
Sure" she replied, I've been
telling everybody" Then she asked
him, Have you thought about COM
mitting suicide?" He replied, II
would if they'd give me drink of
whisky"
Mrs. Perez, who says her real
name Is Betty Jones, has 6-year-
old daughter by previous mar
riage. She said she met Perez about
three years ago when he was
soldier at Fort Belvoir. She said he
recently had been attending type
writer repair school under the G1
bill and originally comes from
Kennedy, Tex.
She quoted him as saying his head
hurt and that he wanted to go to
a hospital. In reply to her ques-
ton as to what happened, she said
he replied, We'll, you know how
am when I get to drinking"
Police said Mrs. Perez was known
(See MURDER, page A-4J