Evening star., 1948-12-08
Murdered Man
Found Trussed,
Gagged in Hotel
Visitor to D. c. Killed
By Blow on.Heod;
Wallet Undisturbed

Fantastically bound and
gagged, man identified as
Charles J. Hines, 48, of Madison,
Wis, was found slain today in
Room 604 of the Ambassador
Hotel, Fourteenth and K streets
NV.
Deputy Coroner Richard M. Ros-
enberg, who examined the body at
9 am, said the man was killed
about six hours before. The top Of
his skull had been split, apparently
by one blow, but the murder weapon
was not found.
Investigators were at loss for a
motive, since the victims wallet had
not been disturbed. He was clad only
in his underwear. His wallet, con-
tanning a small sum Of money, and
watch were on the dresser. A pad
of travellers checks also was found.
Although the room generally was
orderly, police found blood on q
Venetian blind 8 feet from the
bed, which Detective Sergt. George
W. Cook said indicated there may
have been a fight. Blood also was
found on the ceiling Of the room.
Had Visited Son in Texas.
At Madison, Mr.. Hines was iden-
titled as painter who had belonged
to the AFL painters union there for
IL years. George Nelson, union busi-
mess agent, understood Mr.. Hines
had been in Texas visiting a son.
He described him as a reliable
man"
Police also checked report that
Mr.. Hines had just come from Camp
Lejeune, N. c., where he was visiting
relatives.
Two road maps were found In the
room with markings indicating Mr..
Hines might have travelled on the
highway up from Camp Lejeune.
Although one report from Madison
said he was driving car, police
were unable to find it and hotel Of
ficials said he had not left it with
any Of their attendants.
The body was found at BIS am.
by a maid, Mrs. Dorothy Kinsler,
colored, of 2118 P. street NV. as she
made her rounds on q siXth-foor
room check.
Finding the door unlocked, she
walked in and saw Mr.. Hines lying
on his back on the bed. She saw
blood on his head and pillow, and
hurried to tell Mrs. Susan Preble,
the housekeeper, who notified police.
Detective Describes Scene.
Sergt. Cook of the homicide squad
gave this description of what he
found:
Mr.. Hines was lying on top of the
bed covers, with his weight slightly
on the right side His mouth was
gagged by rolled-up bed sheeting,
knotted tightly behind his head.
His hands apparently had been
bound together with his belt, but the
victim had worked his right hand
free. The belt was attached to a
towel, which in turn was tied to q
post of the head of the bed.
Feet Bound With Necktie.
His feet were bound together with
a necktie, to which a shirtsleeve was
attached and tied to the foot of the
bed.
The mans gray suit was folded
over a chair. The discovery Of his
wallet and watch tended to elini-
nate a robbery motive.
/ On q table in corner away from
the bed was a half-pint bottle of
whisky, two-thirds empty. Two
glasses also were on the table, one
evidently used for the whisky and
the other for beer, probably from
four empty beer bottles found near
by.
! A large number Of cigarette butts
were found, but the room was in
good order. The lights were still on.
In their search for the weapon
police went over stairwells, laundry
chutes, trash cans and the alley
below the room without avail.
Call for Help Was Heard.
Police found nobody who had
seen Mr.. Hines go to or from his
room last night. Checking guests
near Room 604, they found man
and his wife who heard man
calling for help about 10 pm.
The couple, Mr.. and Mrs. c. E.
Jordan of Philadelphia, were in
(see Staying, Page A-6D