Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-03-16
Pair Reunited,
But Honeymoon
HingesonP Probe
Bride. 81, Welcomes
Return of Husband
And Missing Gosh
BY q steft Correspondent Of IN. ster

NEW YORK. Mar. TO-
Whether Percy William Herman
is permitted to resume the in
terrupted honeymoon with his
wealthy 67-year-old bride de.
pended today on the outcome
Of an investigation into the
bridegroom's background.
Mr.. Herman yesterday was re-
united here with his bride from
whom he disappeared last week
with a new convertible. $243, 900
in cash and $4,000 in jewelry.
and Mrs. Herman, 67, indicated
she saw nothing untoward in
his actions and wished charges
against him dropped.
But in Richmond. Va, where
the FBI had charged him with
interstate transportation of stolen
property. Chief Assistant United
States Attorney James r. Moore
said he had requested the New
York prosecutor to continue q
hearing for few days to permit
an investigation by the FBI and
others.
Mr.. Herman was to appear this
afternoon before United States
Commissioner Edward Nc
Donald.
Still Bewildered.
Appearing to be still bewildered
by the events which made him
the object Of a Nationwide
search. the 49-year-old BRIDE
groom surrendered to FBI agents
yesterday at the Office of Man.
haitian Attorney Daniel jacob
son.
Later. reporters got a sketchy
account of an amazing story Mr..
Herman said started when a
gadget on his flashy convertible
went on the blink. He said the
chain of events left him in New
York in a state of nervous ex-
haustion. no recollection Of
where he left his wife and no
knowledge the law was after him
until he read it in the news
papers.
A tanned. gray-haired 6-footer.
MIR. Herman appeared to be hap
PLY roundabout still under
$4,000 bail-here today with his
wife.
Arm-in-arm with her huS.
band, Mrs. Herman told report
ers there is nothing to forgive"
and told United States Commits.
sioner Edward Mcdonald yester-
day she wants to ouash the
charges she made against her
husband.
The missing S243,5OO. plus
Jewels worth s59.600 have been
securely locked IN a bank safe
ty deposit box, Mr.. Herman said.
He said the FIJI has the keys
NV SOllIH1CAb w Il la
The FBI refused to comment
except to stand on an earlier
statement that mo money was
recovered at the time of tMr.
Herman's) arrest"
The Hermans. who had known
each other nine weeks before
they were married in Palm
Beach. Fla, March 3, took of
right after the wedding in their
cream-colored convertible with
tangerine upholstery. In the
trunk were the cash and the
iewelry. lying in leather bag.
Mr.. Jacobson quoted Mr.. Her.
man as saying he had turned in
his sport car on the convertible.
which was equipped with AUTO
matte windows that close when
the roof of the car gets wet"
Herman said the mechanism
got out of order" Mr.. Jacobson
went on, land the windows kept
opening and closing uncontrolla-
bly,. He said that this kept up
for more than 20 hours during
the ride to the motel north Of
Fredericksburg in Virginia. dur
ing which Herman took stimu.
lants to keep awake and calm
his nerves.
"At the motel, Herman said
he was a nervous wreck, and left
his wife, to have the windows
fixed at a garage. He told me
he went to three garages but
they were closed. Then he
thought that a car was follow
ing him. and. remembering the
money. and the jewels in the
trunk. he just kept going"
The lawyer said Mr.. Herman
told him he left the car in Pat
erson. N. j., took a train to
New York and went to a hotel
where he slept for more than
48 hours"
On awakening. he could not
remember what happened to his
wife until he read in newspapers
she had filed a complaint against
him.
Charges Filed.
Mrs. Herman, the former Mrs.
Dyoll Haven. filed a complaint
about the disappearance a few
days after she was abandoned.
Last Friday the FBI filed charges
of its own in Richmond, after
the convertible was located in
Paterson.
Married three times previously,
Mrs. Herman's first husband was
the late Cooper Lightbown, q naA
tive of Washington and a prom
inent real estate developer there.
During the Florida boom he
built several subdivisions in the
Palm Beach area and erected
million-dollar estates such as one
for Mrs. Joseph E. Davies. His
marriage to the present Mrs.
Herman ended in divorce.
At yesterdays hearing before
Commissioner Mcdonald. Mr..
Herman sorrowfully held his
manacled hands in front of his
brides face. and she wept. Later.
when she saw his bruised wrists.
she commented that he should