Evening star., 1953-03-22
By Jack Jones


eft was q good night for a
murder" 1t. Lawrence Hartnett,
second In command Of the hon.
icide squad, recalled later. "It
was raining and cold, and it had
been a gloomy day."
The events began a few min
uteS after 9 pm. Thursday,
March IL.
Harry Honikman, who had
spent most of the adult part Of
his IS years as a grocer. was in
his store, the Stevens Food Mar
ket, at 723 East Capitol street.
He had been out of the hos
pital only a few dayS-on the
road to recovery from injuries
suffered at the hands Of a yoke
bandit a month before. A little
more than a year ago, thieves
had ransacked his home at 812
A street Sc. and had taken $500.
With him in the market was
his wife, Beky, and their attrac-
tive daughter, Edith, %. The
family was preparing to close for
the night. Edith was waiting on
q woman customer.
M0ustached Man Steps In.
AS the woman completed her
purchase and turned to leave, a
slender, thin-moustached man
stepped In from the rain-swept
street.
Mr.. Honikman, a quiet family
man, was leaning casually on a
counter at the side of the store,
looking forward to closing and
getting home where he could
relax. Mrs. Honikman was seated
in a chair near a large refrigera-
tor at the rear.
After the woman customer
left. Edith, who stood in the
center of the store, asked the
man what he wanted.
"A bottle of orange soda" he
replied.
do you want it warm or
cold?" Edith asked.
The man replied that he
wanted it cold. Mrs. Honikman
got up, opened the refrigerator
and pulled out a bottle of orange
soda. She put it on a counter,
and the man handed her six
cents.
The customer opened the bot
tie himself. He moved to a spot
beside stack Of soft drink
crates, and drank the soda slow
livery slowly" 1t. Hartnett
said.
Had Vague Suspicion.
Before he had finished, he ap-
preached Edith and told her he
wanted a bag of potato chips.
She nodded toward a rack con-
tanning the potato chips. The
man removed one of the bags
and handed Edith a dime. She
gave him a nickel in change.
A vague suspicion that the GUS
toner was intent On more than
orange soda and potato chips
entered Mrs. Honikman'S mind.
She began speaking in Yiddish,
voicing her suspicious to her hus-
band and daughter. Mr.. Honik-
man reassured her that every
thing was alright.
The customer, having COM
pleted his drink, asked for an
other bottle of orange soda-"to
take out" he said.
This time Mr.. Honikman went
to the refrigerator. He took out
a bottle of orange soda and
started toward the front of the
store.
I've changed my mind" the
man said. "I'u drink it here"
Mr.. Honikman urged the Gus
toner to take the bottle with
him. It was closing time, he
argued. The man agreed 10
comply.
LeveIed Gun at Grocer.
The grocer slipped the bottle
into a paper bag. He walked
from behind the counter-police
said later that this was the most
natural route for him to take
to hand the bag to the customer.
BY this time, the man had
turned his back to Mr.. Honik-
man. The women noticed that
he was fumbling with his jacket.
When he turned again to face
the grocer. he held a gun in his
right hand, belt high, leveled
directly at Mr.. Honikman.
"This is It," the, guman said.
The women began screaming,
almost in unison, "Give him the
money! Give him the money!"
Mrs. Honikman screamed,
'The moneys in the register!
Take 1t out Of the register!"
Mr.. HOnikman shouted, "Take
the money! Take the money!"
The gunman, standing about
four feet from Mr.. Honikman,
pulled the trigger of his revolver.
The bullet struck Mr.. Honikman
in the chest. He staggered back
and slumped into his daughters
arms. She lowered him gently
to the floor and screamed once
more. '"The moneys in the
regiSter!"
you've killed him! You've
killed him!" Mrs. Honikman
screamed. Edith called for some
thing to put beneath her fathers
head. Mrs. Honikman handed
her a coat.
Police Converge on Scene.
The gunman, meantime,
walked behind the counter,
opened the cash register and