Evening star., 1952-09-13
Missing Rent Money
Enters Investigation
Into Hatchet Staying
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page.)
ing razed to make room for new
construction.
When the movers arrived there
with their macabre burden. the
landlady. Mrs. Aletha A. Patter-
son. ordered them to break it open
because of the odor.
Mr.. Magruder said he lifted the
lid of the trunk.
II saw mans shoe and a skele-
ton hand sticking out of the
blanket and closed the lid real
quick" he added.
The body had been wrapped in
Ia blanket. and mothballs poured
over the blanket. Detectives said
this was done recently in an effort
to disguise any odors that might
arise.
Police were called to the scene
Tenants Questioned.
They questioned tenants and
neighbors. When they quizzed
Lord, he told them that the trunk
had been left there by a slim
nice-looking man in his sos. who
said he was going out West for
| a trip"
Lord said the mysterious room
er had remained only one night
about June 2 or 3.
Detectives doubted the tale
They said the body had not beer
in the trunk that long because
of the condition of the putty
Lord was taken to police head.
quarters for further questioning
1t. Lawrence Hartnett of ths
homicide squad said another dis.
crepancy in the story came dur.
ing the questioning. Lord tolc
detectives he had seen Mr.. Moore
alive on date after the time
he reported the roomer had lef1
the trunk.
] After one OF the many ques-
Itions, 1t. Hartnett said, there wa!
a pause of a full minute. Ther
Lord shrugged. spread his hands
and said:
well, here it is"
i Confession Related.
! Detectives said he then tolC
them of killing Mr.. Moore. H.
said the two had been drinking
|, on June 2 or 3 when, withou
warning, Mr.. Moore grabbed {
hatchet and threw it.
Il Lord said he ducked the flyins
hatchet, then picked it from th'
floor and struck Mr.. Moore twice
on the head. He examined Mr.
Moore and found he was dead.
1t. Hartnett quoted Lord as say.
ing:
ut was quite a problem. I JUS
couldn't figure out what to dt
with that body"
Lord said he dragged MI
Moore'S body from his room, pu
it in the hall closet, nailed shu
the door and sealed it with plastic
of paris. There it remained unit
Lord learned that he was goinl
to have to move to a new address
Then. he said, he took the bod!
from the closet and put it intt
the trunk. He took the trunk init
his own room, on the third foo
just a few feet from that which
had been occupied by Mr.. Moore
Lord said he still was puzzlins
over what to do with the body
when it was discovered.
Had Key to Trunk.
After the confession, detectives
found that Lord was carrying the
key to the trunk with him. They
went to his room and found tht
hatchet in a small satchel.
At one point during the ques.
tioning, Lord had told police thar
the body in the trunk might bt
that Of Mr.. Moore, because HI
hadn't seen the man around re-
GENTLY. Other tenants told detec.
tives they missed Mr.. Moore, bu
assumed he had gone back to hi.
home. which they believed was il
North Carolina.
! Police said Lord told Mrs. Pat
!, terson shortly after the slayinl
that Mr.. Moore had moved to som,
unknown address. Detectives Sait
Lord also told them that he hat
| destroyed Mr.. Moore'S persona
effects after the killing.
!, Lord, short, stocky man, tolt
! police he worked from 1947 t.
!, 1850 as an operating engineer a
the Patuxent River Naval Base
He worked for a while after tha
as a checker at Woodward &
: Lothrop and has since held various
!. odd jobs.
Mr.. Moore was a barber at Al
! Ninth street NV. until his re.
tirement several years ago. HI
had been receiving monthly pen
sion checks of some sort-polic,
believe they may nave been so.
cial security payments. Detective.
were checking to learn what hat
happened to the checks since Mr.
Moore's death.
Anti (fovnnenn nnmnrra4e