ANGRY THREATS

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 183, 4 August 1932, Page 7

ANGRY THREATS

MURDER ALLEGED. AIRMAN ON TRIAL. Mrs. Miller Says Fiance Took His Own Life. TESTIMONY FOR LANCASTER. ■ United I'.A -Electric Telegraph-Copyright 1 (Received 10.30 a.m.) MIAMI'(FIa.)„ August 3. In his opening statement the State Attorney, Mr. N. Vernon Hawthorn, ill the charge against the British airman, Captain W. N. Lancaster, of murdering Haden Clarke, aa American pilot, alleged that accused on learning of the growing attachment between the decoKsed and Mrs. Keith Miller made threats against Clarke.

The prosecutor also said that he would prove that accused, upon hearing gos-sip about this attachment paced the floor in a rage and threatened to get rid of Clarke.

The prosecutor added that he would show that accused made other threats on other occasions as information about the relations between Clarke and Mrs. Miller reached him. While he was at St. Louis on a business trip Lancaster was notified that Clarke and Mrs. Miller had decided to marry. He hurried back to Miami, and within 12 hours after his arrival Clarke was dead—shot through the head with a pistol, which accused, it was alleged, had bought i St. Louis. Mrs. Miller accompanied accused to Court and reiterated her conviction that ho was innocent. Called as a witness for the prosecution Mrs. Keith Miller said that Lancaster and Clarke quarrelled over her affection at dinner the night before Clarke was shot. They settled their differences, however. She had locked her room door when Clarke told her he did not want Lancaster to go there to talk her out of her marriage plans. Mrs. Miller also testified that Lancaster contemplated suicide in order that she and Clarke might receive 1000 dollars from 'his insurance policy on their wedding day. Who Killed Haden Clarke ? Mr. Hawthorn: Do you know who killed Haden Clarke . Mrs. Miller: I am convinced that he killed himself. She added that Clarke had often talked of suicide, particularly when in a violent rage or in the dumps. She said that Lancaster awakened her about two o'clock in the mortiing of April 21 and informed her that Clarke had been shot. She denied having heard a shot and said that Lancaster had made no attempt to offer any explanation. Mrs. Miller also said that she and Clarke had talked of committing suicide together because of their position. Mr. Hawthorn: So far as Lancaster was concerned, did Clarke discuss suicide the night before he was shot? Mrs. Miller: No. She added that she came to the United States with Lancaster. Mr. Hawthorn: And you have been his flying companion and a companion in other ways since? ' Mrs. Miller: Yes.

Mr. Hawthorn: In trying to save Lancaster and to impress the public with his innocence, did you not say you would issue a statement to the newspapers that you had killed Clarke if Lancaster was held? Mrs. Miller hesitated, then replied: It sounds radical, but I did say that. Intended to Marry Lancaster. Mrs. Miller said that Lancaster hurried home from a business trip to St." Louis after learning that she and Clarke had become engaged. Clarke wrote her memoirs, which she hoped to sell. Mr. Hawthorn: Mrs. Miller, were you engaged to Captain Lancaster? Mrs. Miller (with spirit): You can't be engaged to a person who is married. I always intended to marry him, for almost five years. Mr. Hawthorn: AVcrc you infatuated with Haden Clarke when Lancaster left here on March 0 ? Mrs. Miller: No. I changed my mind later. I advised Bill (Lancaster) by letter to St. Louis and so did Haden. We read each other's letters before they were mailed. She said that Lancaster was sad upon his return from St. Louis because of tho engagement. He told her ho had planned to kill himself in an aeroplane so that she would benefit from the insurance. Later he learned that the insurance company had failed and he abandoned the plan. The Court adjourned with Mrs. Miller still on the stand. A policeman, Earl Hudson, quoted Lancaster as saying on one occasion that Clarke was ill and that fact was preying heavily upon his mind. Mrs. Miller testified after the adjournment that Clarke frequently talked of suicide.