Evening star., 1954-05-15
B|oodyC|othing
Is New CIuein
Veteran 'sDeath
Deputy Says He
Sow Three in Car
Near La Plato
By J. l. Michoel

BY J. l. Michoel
Bloody clothing found in the
home Of a presumed traffic VIC
tim was being analyzed today as
police pursued an investigation
into mysterious circumstances
surrounding the death in Charles
County of a partly paralyzed
war veteran.
1t was disclosed today that
one man has been questionedsin
the death of Louis A. Hicks. "a.
and police are seeking another.
The death officially was listed
as a traffic fatality last March
% when Mr.. Hicks body was
found in his specially equipped
automobile after it crashed into
the side of his home near La
Plata. Md.
Found in Basement.
Deputy Sheriff Ritchie L.
Vernon said the bloody clothing
was found in the basement Of
the Hicks bungalow He said
police also discovered tnat the
throttle of the 1850 Lincoln, in
police custody since Mr.. Hicks
death, had been taped wide open.
The inquiry was opened at the
insisterce of the veterans rel-
ativeS. officials said.
Police also are believed to be
seeking man a deputy sheriff
said he saw riding with Mr..
Hicks and his wife an hour be-
fore the car careened into his
home.
They have questioned his
widow. Mrs. Dorothy Hicks, IS,
at Richmond, where she went
after her husbands death to
keep house for her widowed
father. Charles M. Dillon.
Charles County States Attor-
ney Robert T. Barbour and Sher.
i'll R. Vernon Cooksey said yes
terday that Mrs. Hicks has told
conflicting stories concerning the
interval between the crash and
her telephone calls to relatives
an hour or more later.
Happened at 4 AM.
Mrs. Hicks, at the time of the
crash, told police she was in the
car with her husband when it
ran off sharp curve on Simm's
Landing road in front of their
home. She described the crash
as an accident which happened
at 4 am.
Authorities said Mrs. Hicks re-
ported she remained in the car,
dazed or unconscious, for more
than an hour before recovering
sufficiently to telephone relatives
who live nearby. Her injuries
were listed as facial cuts.
Maj. w. H. Weber, State police
field force commander. said cir
cumstances of the accident don't
look as well as they should" and
referred questions to Mr.. Bar
bour. Mr.. Barbour said to dis
cuss the case in detail might
hamper the investigation.
Mr.. Hicks body was exhumed
from Arlington Cemetery April
20 and sent to Baltimore for
autopsy. 1t was reburied a day
or two later. Mr.. Barbour said.
He said he has not yet received
a report from DR.. Russell S.
Fisher, State Medical Examiner.
The bloody clothing and the
throttle parts from the damaged
automobile also have oeen sent
to State laboratories at Balti-
more for examination.
Chest Crushed.
DR.. Edward j. E6elen, Charles
County medical examiner who
pronounced MI Hicks dead at
the scene about $50 a m, March
%, said the former soldier died
OF a crushed chest. He told
reporters yesterday that both
jaws were broken and there were
other head injuries.
Il was not suspicious of foul
play then and am not now" he
said, adding that all of the in
lulies he observed could have
been caused in an accident.
Deputy Sheriff Vernon said
the first major discovery in the
new investigation came when he
and State Trooper Abe Coleman
made close examination Of the
death car at the Crossroads
Bruck Motor Co.
When I lifted the engine
hood, I saw that the throttle
rod was fastened to the carbure-
tor with adhesive tape in such
fashion as to press the accelera-
tor all the way to the floor
board" he said.
He said that while the, car