THE SILK STOCKING GIRL

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 201, 26 August 1939, Page 9

THE SILK STOCKING GIRL

By Capt. Eugene de Beck and Dr. Carleton Simon

Lessons From Historic Crimes

•VNoraa. Seeking the mufd«r*r of Qrie* Roberts, beautiful Philadelphia modal, poliea found that a ta*i-drl*er had brought a man to har apartment lata on tha night of tha erima. Although ha inetrueted tha driver to wait, ha never raappaarad. Tha man waa idantiflad aa Barnard Lewie, of Hew York. Latar evidence ahowad that on tha night of tha murdar ha waa wearing a blua ahirt aimilar to a bloodstained ono found crumpled in tha dead girl'a apartment. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ IMMEDIATELY after this testimony, Captain Tate ordered Lewis' arrest. Detectives swarmed through downtown hotels trying to trace him. They found that he had registered at the Adelphi Hotel at. 3.48 on Friday, December 29, and had remained there for two days, then disappeared. That was the status of the case when Gram Robert* waa buried. She was buried in Mount Holly cemetery in a ailver-mounted casket, donated by an unnamed friend. Flowers filled the hearse and flowed over in a fragrant cloud that almost filled an extra limousine. Grace Roberts had loved flowers in life. She had them now, great piles of them —but mostly they bore tlie^thought fully anonymous tag: "A friend." Then, on January 4, just five days after the body of Grace Roberts had been discovered in her apartment, Bernard Lewis committed suicide in an Atlantic City hotel. Detectives Farley and Totten had traced him from Camden to the States Villa hotel of that city. They had gone to his room and knocked. "Who s there?" Lewis called through the closed door.

Made Dramatic Exit From Law's Clutches "Somebody with a message for you," Detective Farley told him. "All right, just a second." The next sound the two detectives heard was a single sharp report. They pushed open the door and found Lewis sprawled in the bath tub with a bullet through his head. A .22 calibre rifle lay on the tilo floor. A box of cartridges rested on the edge of a nearby wash bowl. Later investigation revealed that Lewis' hand bore unmistakable imprints ©f human teeth. His socks and underwear and trousers all contained stains which, on analysis, proved to be blood. A handkerchief, also stained, was found in his breast pocket and a portiere cord which police claimed belonged to the curtains in Grace Roberts' apartment «u found in one of his suitcases. Added to this was the discovery that the few wisps of hair clutched in the dead woman's hand proved to be the same texture and colour as Lewis'. As soon as Captain Tate received the report of Lewis' suicide and the evidence which the detectives' examination brought to light he said that the murder was solved. _ "Lewis undoubtedly committed the crime," lie said. "All the evidence, with the possible exception of the two phone calls, points towards his guilt. Lewis was evidently in trouble. He had little money. He knew Grace Roberts and he felt that he could get her to return some of the presents which he undoubtedly gave her. She refused. There was

a fight after which Lewis fled downtown. First he bought a shirt and collar to replace the ones stained during the murder. Then he registered in the downtown hotel. As far as the Philadelphia police are concerned, the case is closed." That was on January 8. On January 11, John Colbert, New York business man and brother of the sjain girl, gave out the statement: "I don't believe that Bernard. Lewis killed my sister. I believe that she was murdered by more 'than one man and that the police bungled the case badly by limiting their search to the one man, Lewis." Then Lewis' father, Wenman A. Lewis, a wealthy Pittsburgh coal operator, demanded a public inquiry. He revealed that his son had written a letter saying that he intended to take his life three weeks before the crime occurred. One of these letters was sent to Lewis' wife in Pittsburgh. Dated December 10, it read: "Dear Laura: I have reached the end. There is only one way out and I'm going to take it. X. want you to know that I have really loved only one woman —you ... I have wrecked both our lives . . . When I went to Chicago it was with the hope that I could straighten things out. I failed. I can't tell you how. Please take care of dad and mother. Tell Betty (his daughter) that her father was sick. God knows I am. You will get the insurance. "This is good-bye to the truest and best woman God ever allowed to live." On January 9, Coroner Knight started a new inquiry. He cited the letters as evidence that Lewie had not committed suicide because of the murder of Grace Roberts. Then he pointed out that although the testimony of Eugene Bass, the haberdashery salesman, showed that Lewis had been downtown buying a shirt and collar at 10.30 on the morning of the murder, two separate 'phone calls had been made to Cracc Roberts at 11 and 11.30. "How could Lewis have killed this woman before 10.30 when she was alive at 11.30?" Knight asked. "Even if he returned to the apartment after 11.30 it would eliminate the claim of the police that Lewis had bought the shirt

in place of the bloodstained articles in the bathroom.- Certainly he would not provide himself with an extra shirt and collar with the idea of getting bloodstains on the ones he was wearing." All the witnesses were requestioned in this new inquiry. It was closed on January 17. Some doubt still existed because of the conflicting time of the 'phone calls, but Captain Tate had two explanations for this. His first was the possibility that both Magistrate Imber and Marie Collins had been mistaken in setting the time of their telephone conversations with Grace Roberts at 11.30 and 11 o'clock respectively. "The calls may have been made much earlier," he said. His second explanation was that Lewis might have returned to the apartment after buying the collar and shirt at 10.30 o'clock. "The Philadelphia police department will welcome any clues or evidence that are definitely new and different," he

stated on January 17. "But unless these are forthcoming we will continue in the belief that Bernard Wesley Lewis murdered Grace Roberts." That was 20 years ago, but the passage of time has not changed the opinion of the Philadelphia police one iota. Only lately the Director of Public Safety, Andrew J. Emanuel, commenting on the case, said: "So far as the police department is concerned the Grace Roberts' murder was solved when Bernard Lewis committed suicide. "It is true that William R. Knight, the coroner, instructed his jury to return a verdict of 'death from the hands of persons unknown.' This \va« simply because the victim had so many influential friends and the coroner wanted to eliminate from the mind of the public any notion that any person was being protected." So the Grace Roberts' case is closed —but it is not forgotten. Too many people knew this girl whose life flared like a quick, bright flame and whose death came as suddenly as a snuffed candle. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Next Week: "Scientist-Murderer"

Worse Than A Thief WITH bowed head a" solicitor well known in Louth, Lin- . colnshire, and formerly coroner for that district, heard Mr. Justice Oliver at Lincolnshire Assizes sentence him to 18 months' imprisonment. He was Basil Sliarpley, 51, of Lcnith, who pleaded guilty to converting to his own use £3090 belonging to clients. Mr. Justice Oliver told him: "A solicitor who takes his clients' money and

lives on it is worse than a thief. He is doing an easy thing, because he holds a position of trust, and it passes uninvestigated at the time." Mr. C. L. Henderson, prosecuting, explained that Sharpley was admitted a solicitor in 1911 and two years later was taken into partnership with his father. After his father's death in 1927, Sharpley took over the business. For the purpose of probate Mr. Sharpley, senior's, estate was valued at £3000. In May of last year, Sharpley was adjudged bankrupt, on his own petition. It was then revealed tliat instead of having £3000 at the time of his death his father's partnership was, in fact, insolvent. Sharpley prepared an account which showed a deficiency of £32,431. Mr. Henderson added that, apart from his professional work, Sharpley embarked on various commercial enterprises, including a printing business, a sand and gravel undertaking, and a furniture manufacturing business. In each case he lost money. As a solicitor Sharpley had advanced money from time to time on mortgages, but he failed to take the most elementary precautions to safeguard the loans. It was not suggested Sharpley had lived extravagantly. What he appeared to have done was to rob his clients to meet liabilities incurred in his commercial dealings. Mr. Walker Carter, defending, stated Sharpley wished to express deep contrition. He did not deliberately put his clients' money into his own pocket. Mr. Justice Oliver said he could not believe that Sharpley and his father could utilise £32,000 of their clients' money without knowing it. He could not consider this in any way but as a grave case.