Greatest Feats of Crime Detection.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 224, 21 September 1935, Page 4 (Supplement)

Greatest Feats of Crime Detection.

CAR NUMBER PLATE CLUE.

GRUESOME KILLER RUN TO EARTH — DEATH CHAMBER IN LONELY GARAGE — AMAZING NONCHALANCE OF SLAYER OF FIVE TWO [WOMEN AND THREE CHILDREN DONE TO DEATH — SALESMAN WITH "MATRIMONIAL RACKET" HOBBY.

(By GEORGE BARTON.—AII Rights Reserved.)

This iifl the tragic tale of a village 3tomeo, a weird melodrama of real life that rivals the wildest outpourings of the sensational novelist; it is a sad commentary on the trusting nature of romantically-inclined women; a revelation of the brutality of a seemingly commonplace man and a most impressive proof of the truth of the age-old dictum that "The wages of sin is death." The opening scene takes us to the peaceful suburban town of Park Ridge, about 12 miles from Chicago. There, in a coey cottage, lived the Eicher family, father, mother and three children. The head of the house was a silversmith, \vell known and successful. The course of life moved smoothly for them, with the father spending his days in the city, mother happy in her home and the children progressing satisfactorily With their school work. The routine was similar to that in most suburban towns, ■with occasional card parties and frequent visits to the motion picture theatres. Airs. ■Asta Eicher was a devoted mother, and ehe lavished her love on the three children, Greta, aged 14; Harry, 12; and ■Anabel, 9. The first break in this happy existence came with the death of Mr. Eicher. The widow was all but prostrated with grief. She was the kind of woman who yearns for affection. For a long time she led a lonely life, wondering how she could endure her widowhood. But presently she began to find consolation in the love of her children and in her music and painting. Her husbad had left her fairly "well-to-do," and in the course of time happiness returned to the bereaved home. Enter a Stranger. One fateful morning—it was June 22, 1931 —file neighbours saw a stranger drive up and enter the Eicher house. He remained there for five days, and was treated as a distinguished guest. It was noted that he was suave and gentle, and

Then and there, Chief Duckworth was convinced that Pierson and Powers were one and the same man. The place was watched day and night. At noon on August 27 Powers returned home and was placed under arrest. He displayed very little emotion and took the ground that he was an innocent man who was the victim of a police mistake. But Chief Duckworth and Detective Southern were thoroughly satisfied they had the right man and that the case was extremely important. Evidence Piles Up. The evidence was piling up rapidly and now the most important task for Chief Duckworth was to locate the woman and her three children. Late that night he mado a most important discovery. It was that Powers had a garage at a little village called Quiet Dell, which is five, miles from Clarksburg. Why did he have it so far from his home? That was the question which had to be answered. The two officers were not letting any grass grow under their feet so, in spite of the lateness of the hour, they drove out to Quiet Dell. They located the garage and found it locked. They walked-around the building and tried to peer into the 'cracks in the woodwork. In doing so they caught whiffs of a curious odour. It was the smell of human flesh. They did the obvious thing; they broke into the garage. There they found quantities of women's clothing. Some were bloodstained. All were afterwards identified .as the belongings of Mrs. Asta Eicher. The two men next went into the basement of the garage and tore some of the plaster boards off the ceiling. Marks were disclosed showing where blood had run through the floor to the basement. At midnight Chief Duckworth nailed the door of the garage, perfectly convinced that he had proof of a tragedy.. TTie following morning he returned, accompanied Grimm, Detective

that he paid marked attention _ to the •widow. He sent her flowers and in-other •ways gave evidence of being an ardent jvooer. To an inquiring friend, Mrs. Bich'er said that his name was Cornelius 0. Pieveon, and that he was "just an old friend of the family," But she did not present him to anyone, and he entered and left the house in a rather _ furtive manner. The widow attributed this to his constitutional shyness. In any event, it is doubtful if any of the Park Ridge folk ever got so much as "& good look" at him. Atmosphere of Mystery. He left «• the morning of June 27, and on the following day Mrs. Eicher also departed, saying that she was going to visit relatives in Denver. The three children were left in the charge of a nurse. There was an unmistakable atmosphere of mystery about the whole business, and this was further intensified when Pierson returned a few weeks later and began to etore the furniture of the house in a garage. Chief of Police Johnson, noting this, questioned the man's right to do what he was doing. He smilingly replied that he was acting under authority from Mrs. Eicher, that she ha<l sold the house, and would not return. The scepticism of the officer must have shown on his face, because the stranger pfllled out' a legal Oer which bore evidence that the house actually been sold. The chief asked Pierson to call at the police station next day, and he readily agreed. But he did not keep the apointment. Very early on the following morning Pierson came oot of the hoiise, dressed for a journey. The three children were with him, and he tucked them in his roadster. The car was equipped with a radio, and the youngsters seemed be very happy over the prospect of a holiday. After a -very brief delay they drove off —and were never afterwards seen alive. Thus a whole family disappeared as completely as if the earth had swallowed them. It has often been said in cases of this kind that not a clue is in evidence to help the police in their investigations. But in this instance there was a very tangible clue. It iyas about 4in wide and 12in long, and it was noted by one of the discerning neighbours. _ ~t It was the West Virginia license tag attached to the rear of the smart-looking roadster. Trailing the Clue. Chief Johnson was fortunate enough to get the number of the license tag and by following up this clue he came to the conclusion that the car belonged in Clarksburg, West Virginia. He called up that city on the long-distance telephone and got in touch with C. A. Duckworth, the head of the police. department of the southern community. He related the events that had taken place at Park Ridge and asked Chief Duckworth to make an investigation in the hope of locating the mysterious man.

From that moment the locale of the drama was transferred to West Virginia and the orderly and yet thorough manner in which it proceeded was a tribute both to the authorities of Clarksburg and an illustration of the working methods of an efficient police department. Chief Duckworth and his detective, Carl B. Southern, began an immediate checkup of the automobiles in Clarksburg. It was (juite a job, but in the end they were convinced that the license tag had been stolen. That did not make things look any better for Cornelius O. 'Pierson. The chief and his assistant next con-' ? Clty directory, but it did not rv 1 ■ any .,v n( l ky the name of PierVv. clnr^ Hb ,urg. Not satisfied calle( , l V n the postmaster and from him learned that a Cornelius O. Pierson had rented a letter box some time betoie that and was receiving a rather large mad. Ihe postal authorities were able to cive a description of their patron and it tallied with that of a man by the name of Harry F. Powers, who lived on Quincy Street in Clarksburg. The two investigators went there- and were told that no such person as Pierson resided there, but that it was the home of Powers. His - wife said he hud ('.> ft home early that morning and tlmt' there was no certainty when he would return.

Southern and, members of the State police. In the light of day they discovered a sewer which led from the gfrage to the creek about 75 feet away. It seemed to have been freshly dug, and a young man was found who said he had helped Powers to make it. Chief Duckworth requested the sheriff to bring a squad of his prisoners to open the ditch. In a short time the men were at work turning up the earth. Presently they came upon the crumbling remains of a woman and three children. Their heads had been crushed and the bodies were wrapped in burlap bags. Had Many Victims. But the representatives of justice were not through. They continued their search and in a trash pile they found a bank book bearing the name of Dorothy Pressler, of Worcester, Massachusetts. This clue led to further diggings and the result was the finding pf the partly~decomposed body of Mrs. Dorothy Pressler Lemke, another woman who had answered the matrimonial advertisement of Pierson.

Next the investigators discovered a roll of film in the garage. It was quickly developed, and it showed Powers and Mrs. Lemke in six different poses. The pictures had evidently been taken near her home in Massachusetts. At the same time the detectives picked up a gas mask of the type, used by the United States army during the World War.

The conclusion was obvious; the victims had first been asphyxiated, then killed and finally buried in the ditch. When confronted, with, this evidence Powers blandly denied all" knowledge of the deaths of the two women and the three children. He insisted that Mrs. Eicher had gone to Colorado to marry another mail.

He was questioned and it was claimed eventually made a verbal confession, saying: "In the month of July, 1931, I murdered Mrs. Asta Eicher and her three children, Harry, Greta arid Anabel, by using a hammer and by strangulation.' This was put in writing, but later Powers insisted that this was forced from him by Third Degree methods —that he signed the statement without reading it. . When arrested be had four letters in his pocket from women he evidently intended to visit in the course of his gruesome A trunk in his house was filled with letters and also 50 photographs of women. The police-suspected him of killing Mary Baker, a Navy Department stenographer, who had disappeared from Washington the year previous. But there was no proof to connect him with this case. A still further digging of the ditch of tragedy failed to* reveal any other bodies. Saw Visions. Soon after Powers was arrested he called the attention of the police to the shape of his head and showed them a deep crevice in the skull which he claimed he had received while he was, in military training during the World War. He told' the officers that he "saw visions and that he had "uncontrollable impulses. ' The authorities were sceptical about this because they saw in it an attempt t.o build up insanity as a defence. So it ■ was arranged that Dr.. Edward E. Mayer, psychiatrist and member of the faculty of the University of Pittsburg, should visit the prisoner in the county gaol. He did so, spending two hours with the accused man. - Powers told Dr. Mayer that he was born in lowa and came with his family to Clarksburg; that he had a sister in Cedar Rapids and two uncles in West Virginia; that he was graduated from the Cedar Rapids High School and attended Ames College for a while. He said that he had no interest in religion rnd that he had only called in a minister to comfort him as a means of avoiding the constant crossquestioning to which lie was being subjected by the police. He told the medical specialist that he had not confessed and that he would tell his story at the trial. He admitted "signing a pieqe of paper" but declared that he did not know what it was. Aftpr his visit Dr. Mayer expressed the belief that Powers was "legally sane." The psychiatrist taid that the love-racke-teer was of a perverted nature and that from lus observations lie "was a shut-in personality, he shunned society nnd was suffering from a superiority complex." On Ins own behalf, the prisoner insisted that, lie had begun playing with matrimonial

agencies "for the fun of the thing." He accepted the plight in which he found himself with a nonchalance that amazed the prison authorities. He ate well, slept well and played poker with the' other prisoners in the county gaol.

The egotism of the man was overpowering. He talked about himself whenever he had the chance, being careful always to skirt any topics that might associate him with the murders of which he was accused. He declared that the late Rudolph Valentino, the movie star, was his idol, and he said further that his hobbies were scientific crime and sex psychology.

The amazing part of it was that the letters he received did not come only from flappers and light-headed girls; many of them were from middle-aged women longing fol* someone to love them. The letters ho mailed them seemed to have remarkable pulling power. While Powers had never been much of a success as a salesman he certainly understood the art' of effective advertising. In other words, he knew how to sell himself. He seemed to have a particular appeal to those ladies of uncertain age who had never experienced the sensation of being loved.

It was decided that Towers should be tried for the murder of Mrs. Dorothy Lemke, the Northboro, Massachusetts woman. The authorities were confident that they could get a conviction for any one of the five slayings, but the evidence in the case of Mrs. Lemke seemed to them to be the strongest. -

The trial opened in Clarksburg on December 7, 1931, and, appropriately enough, it was staged in Moore's Opera House. The setting—perhaps unwittingly— was melodramatic in the extreme. Judge John C. Southern occupied a dais in the centre of the stage; the 'jury of hardheaded farmers and small businessmen were located on one side of him in an improvised box; the witnesses were ranged on the other aide; and in front, near the footlights, Prosecutor Will E. Morris and his assistants and the counsel for the defence sat around wooden tables. Building the Chain. Rarely has a murder trial been conducted in such an orderly manner or with more expedition. In his opening address Prosecutor Morris reviewed the story of how Powers had' conducted his "matrimonial racket," tokl of his death chamber beneath the garage, and of the finding of five bodies of his victims, and concluded by charging Powers with deliberate and premeditated murder. What followed was circumstantial evidence, but the chain was built up, link by link, as one witness after another took the stand. Power's yawned from time to time, and he seemed to be particularly unconcerncd when Chief of Police Duckworth brought the blood-stained garments of Mrs. Lemke from a cotton bag.

The lawyer of tho accused man, J. Edward Law, exhaused every effort in trying to defend his client. The attorney wept and shouted and clutched at a table, as he pleaded with the jury not to send Powers to the gallows. Then the spectators witnessed a remarkable sight. It was that of the prisoner, calm and self-contained, trying to pacify and comfort his distracted lawyer. In conclusion, W. G. Strathers, the assistant prosecutor, summed up and demanded the death penalty.

The jury retired to deliberate in a dressing room in the basement of the Opera House. They were out one hour and 50 minutes, and when they returned the fate of Harry F. Powers, alias Cornelius 0. Pierson, had been sealed. He had been found guilty of murder in the first degree, and the biggest show that was ever staged in Clarksburg was at an end.