SOCIETY STIR

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 19, 22 July 1932, Page 7

SOCIETY STIR

RUSH TO THE COURT

PARTIES WELL KNOWN

(From "Th» Post's" Representative) LONDON, 10th J^une. Tnomas Stephen, aged 26, son of Mr. 3. H. Stephen, London manager of the North of Scotland Bank, was. found shot in a flat in. William's Mews, Lowndes square,, in tho West End of 3-oiidou, on 2nd June. Mrs. Elvira Dolores Barney, the owner of tho flat, >vas arrested on' Friday evening. In the meantime an inquest had been held at which tho only witness was Mr. Francis Stephen, a solicitor.

Mr. Stephen said ho understood that Lid brother lived in rooms in, Brompton road, S.W. He did not think ho had anj occupation lately, but he had been «i dross designer in Tans. He (Mr. Siepheu) last saw. him 'about six id on lbs ,ago. - '"Was,your father making -him an allowance?"—"l think my father cfcaspd to do so when he went to Paris as. a dress designer about -three years ago. When in financial difficulties he was helped by;my mother." ''Did he apply, to you for inonev?" —"Yes.f "Did you lend him any?"—" Not • during the last nine months. sot tired of it." > "Do you know anything of th£ relationship him and Mrs. Barnoy?"—"Yes. When I last saw liim I asked him and Mrs. Barney to "tome to my office. There I told them that my father did not approve of their association. My brother was very angry, so I just asked him to leave the office.',' j FATHER DISAPPROVED. B ''Your father ' wanted them to "Yes; They tried to give. ~iis. tho idea they would get married when she'got a divorce. Wo pointed <«t that this was not'the best way of setting abouf'it."" ' ' ■! "Did he become abusive?"—"Ho $ajd, 'Don't bo so tiresome/ or'some-' 'thing like that,-.and Mrs. Barney tried to restrain him. I asked him 'to leave. I- have not seen him since " f "Were they living together?"—"Ho mlenied it at that 'interview, but'l had ;u different impression, but no grounds except that when I -wanted' to speak' to him I telephoned to her address." Mr. Stephen said his brother ' was delicate. He did not know his habits about alcohol. Mr. Oddie: "He was in no .positionfinancially to, marry, waa he?" "Not without.a job.*' "Do you know whether-ho had a revdlver?"—"l never heard of his possessing one." The inqnest was adjourned. ' AFTER A PARTY. The tragedy has caused a great stir in tho fashionablo world of London, for both Mr. Stephen and Mrs. Barney «re widely known. sOn the" Monday afternoon Mrs. Barney had entertained '» party of men and women at which 4Atr. Stephen, who had been a close friend of hers for sonib tinio, stayed ,*or several hours. Ho left before most of the other guests in company ■with a woman. The party ended about nine in tho evening; ' Early the next morning a shot rang put and Mr. Stephen was-found dead in Mrs. Barney's house. Mrs. Barney was married in 1928 to Mr. John Stirling Bcrney, who was one of tho'trio of singers known as "Tho Three New Yorkers.". Sho,herself has 'appeared on,tKe stage under the nam6 '"Dolores Ashley,"' and xrap in* "Tho Blue Kitten" at the Gaiety ' Theatre. filer father, Sir John Mullens, who is •retired,: was 'senior" partner in the firm, of Mullens, Marshall, Steer, Lawford n»d Co., stockbrokers, of George street, 'E.G., who hold the appointment of brokers to the National Debt Commissioners. Mrs. Barney's sister is Princess George Ijnoretinsky, who, as Miss .-Averil Mullens, married Prince George Imerotinsky, a former Guards officer, at St. Margaret's, Westminster, in 1925. \ ITLTRA-MOPERK "COTTAGE." ' The house in which the tragedy occurred is an unusual one, 'standing in one of tho few mews in London where a large number of horses are still stabled. Most of the houses are occupied by grooms and chauffeurs,1 but 'Mrs. Barney occupies one which had been converted into 'an ultra-modern "cottage" with luxurious furniture and fittings. ' Sir.Bernard Spilsbury, the pathologist, having examined Mr. Stephen's body, Scotland Yard detectives informed the' Westminster Coroner that 'they bad no objection to cremation. , Mr. Oddie signed the necessary order, and the cremation duly took place at Goldera Green. The only persons present were six members of tho family— the parents, a sister, two brothers, and an aunt. Among the wreaths was one 'of lilies inscribed, "With very deep ■sympathy,*,' from Sir John and Lady Mullens.' r . . , . When Mrs. Barney appeared at Westminster Police 'Court on 4th Juno, charged with murder, she was in tho dock only about five minutes, but it was five minutes packed with drama. .' ' A queue had formed more than an hour before the case came on, and women'fought to get inte the small Court. Sir John and Lady Mullens were present. Lady Mullens stood at the,back of tho dock as the detectives gave their evidence. Mrs. Barney, who looked haggard, sat with closed eyes, her twitching 'fingers holding a pair of white gloves. :Bhe was. apparently oblivious to her - surroundings. She appeared to take >no notice of the short evidence, which began after (her solicitor, Mr. Samuel Coleman, had been told by the Magistrate, that only formal evidence would ■ be taken. DETECTIVE'S EVIDENCE. Detective-Inspector William Winter said: "At ( 6.40 p.m. -on 3rd June, with Detective-Sergeant Campion, I went to 6, Belgrave Square, where I eventually saw the prisoner. We later convoyed ;her to Gerald road station. On arrival there I said to her: 'You know that I