Evening star., 1953-02-27
Man Kills Wife
With Hammer,
Dies in Plunge
Trial Separation
Of Young Couple
Ends in Tragedy

"A JOAA4S AOAA4G 1NdI441C1 toAA
driver bludgeoned his wife to
death as she slept early today.
told his father and her former
husband Of the Staying and then
killed himself in a plunge from
the Calvert Street Bridge.
The murder-suicide orphaned
two children, the youngest 18
months, and left a third child q
motherless. -
It also was a tragic ending
of a 30-day trial separation the
couple had started two days ago.
The victims are:
William Haley Powell. 26, a
driver for District Cabs and for
mer Merchant Mariner.
Geraldine Marie Powell, 81, Of
1857 Queenstown drive, a watt
ress at the Mellonas Brothers
restaurant, 2514 L street NV.
Hammer Near Body.
Mrs. Powell's unclothed body,
her head horribly beaten with
a claw hammer. was found on
a mattress in the blood d-spattered
kitchen of their third floor apart
ment. The hammer lay nearby.
Police said "she never knew
what hit her"
Two of the children. Charlene
Virginia Zinn, 4, Mrs. Powell's
daughter by a previous marriage,
and Patricia Powell, 18 months,
were asleep in separate bedrooms.
The third child, William Powell,
was with his grandfather, Will
liam c. Powell, of 2109 F street
NV.
Powell called his wife's former
husband, Charles o. Zinn, jr., 26,
of 1922 Chillum road, Mount
Rainier, told him what happened
and then left.
He drove to his fathers home,
told him, II have done something
terrible awful for us to have
to live with" and left, explaining
he was going to repark his car.
Meanwhile, Powell apparently
parked his car some distance
from the Calvert Street Bridge,
walked to the center span and
leaped. It was 6:2O am.
Wrote Cryptic Note.
The elder Powell said his son.
before leaving. sat down long
enough to write a cryptic note
which gave an Appleton phone
number, the Powells' Queenstown
drive address, notation Prince
Georges County police" and the
time IS o'clock" The Appleton
number was that of friends,
whose name did not appear on
the note.
When the son failed to return,
Mr.. Powell telephoned Mount
Rainier police and told Pvt.
Gerald Lastfogel II want you to
find my son." and explained the
sons appearance.
II think something terrible has
happened" the father told the
policeman.
Policeman Finds Body.
A Zoo policeman, Arthur
Austin, found the sprawled body
on the paving of Rock Creek
parkway. Powell had hastily
thrown on trousers, a sports coat
over his pajama tops and tennis
shoes but wore no socks. Some
change and a few toothpicks
were found in his pockets. His
billfold carried his marriage
license, birth certificate and a
photograph of a woman, pre-
sumably Mrs. Powell.
Prince Georges County De-
tective Sergt. Richard Pearson
and Mount Rainier Police Chief
Fred P. Schatz quoted Mr.. Zinn,
the former husband, in telling
of the Powell's trial separation.
In reconstructing the Staying
of Mrs. Powell, they said Powell
went to the Queenstown drive
apartment the couple had oc-
cupied only a few months,
kicked open the locked door Of
the master bedroom and pre-
pared to go to bed.
Mrs. Powell apparently left
the room, taking the mattress.
blanket and pillow to the kitch-
en- and went back to sleep.
Powell took the claw hammer
from tool box in the apart
ment, police believe. walked into
the kitchen and began beating
her on the head. One-or at
least the first few blows-tore a
hole in the Mrs. Powell's head
almost 2 inches in diameter,
they said.
No Disturbance Heard.
Residents in nearby apart
ments said they heard no dis
turbance during the night, but
did report hearing loud argu-
(See BRIDGE, Page A-4.)