FAITHLESS WIFE MURDERED

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 150, 26 June 1908, Page 3

FAITHLESS WIFE MURDERED

iteM aE

The scene was a charmingiy-furnish-ed drawirtg-room of a riverside villa. Though the hour was late, the two occupants of the' house showed no disposition to retire for the night. One, young woman with large, dark eyes, and an abundance ot ncn brown hair, was seated at-the pianola playing gay airs from the Bell ot New fork." She had her -back turned to the other person in the room, a middle-aged man-who was seated near a table on which stood a champagne bottle and glasses. His face was flushed and slightly swollen as if from heavy drinking. His gaze was fixed upon his companion, his brows knit, and his lips- tightly pressed -together. She, for her part, seemed."engrossed in the musio, and the straps of one of the brightest selections from the popular musical • comedy tilled tne

The man leaned forward. His right hand was in one1 of the^jpockets ot his coat. When he withdrew it he was grasping a revolver. He raised it and took deliberate, aim at the woman. She was still ! playing. His, finger tightened on the pull of tlie weapon. There was a fiash,followed by a report, and a stifled groan. The woman slipped from the piano stool and lay huddled up on the floor, still and iiteless, a dark crimson stain spreading over the back" of her blouse. btealing forward, the man bent over the silent form. Then dragging a screen from the far side "of the. room, he placed it round the corpse. A**er turning out the lights he left the room. , t A-little later there was a report ot another revolver tehot.. . From tne detail^ giren at the inquest and fromlothor-sources, it has been ,possible>ttf oeoonstruct, as above, the story of To^of,the final scenes m the drama o£-=*ore,. deceit, jealousy, murder, and etuid.de, which culminated in the tragic deaths "kt Stames of William Buchholtz, a London lace dealer, and Mrs Hannah Power, the young wife of a planter in Jamaica.' The circumstances which shaped the courses of these two person's lives so that they were brought together were remarkable in the extreme. In 1902, Mrs Power, who-belonged to a Walsall family named Hunter, married a young Cambridge graduate, *and went to live \rith him at Half Way Tree, Kingston, in Jamaica. Last year their home was broken up and their fortunes shattered by the terrible earthquake, which demolished their resi-' dence and inflicted heavy loss on Mr Power. So it was arranged that Mrs Power should go home. Some time after her arrival in England she settled down in London, and there met Mr Buchholtz. It was one night in October, at a theatre. Apparently there was, no formal introduction, but the upshot of the meeting was that the two kept house together, although Mrs Power was still in regular correspondence with her husband. A FLAT IN BLOOMSBURY. At that time Mrs Power was oc■cupyirig a flat in Russell Priory, .Southampton-row. How she could afford to( reside in so expensive & •neighbourhood has not been made clear. It has been alleged that before .she met, Mr Buchholtz she was Jiving under the protection of another gentleman, ,but this lacks confirmation—in fact, Mrs Hunter stated at the inquest that her daughter had always led a respectable life until she met Buchholtz. For four or five .months she continued to reside at Bloomsbury, and was constantly going about with Buchholtz. A curious feature of the menage was that Mrs Power's mother lived there also, though her daughter's lover was never allowed to learn her identity. Mrs Hunter always being known to him as "Nurse Rowley." ..■=..-.. , "Mr Buchholtz was so fascinated -with my daughter," Mrs Hunter states, "that she could. never shake him off. He used to take her out to ■dinner, and was proud to be seen about with her. She.did not then know he was a married man, although "he knew she was a married lady, and in receipt of a regular income from her husband. I mention this to clear ■up the suggestions which have been made that Mr Buchholtz was in financial stress through the money which Tie had given my daughter. He had not given her any* money, there were no quarrels over financial matters, as far as I knew he was well off, and she certainly did not receive £30 from 'him to be devoted towards paying her •daughter's education. She had n© •daughter, and he knew that. He had •a girl about sixteen^ whom he called 'Baby,' and who was at school. The v 'baby my daughter had with her was lier sister's, which she Ha 3 adopted with its parent's full consent." In February of this year Buchholtz look Winchester House, Staines, a

furnished villa, with a rent ofrsbmjek thing over £200 a year. There Mrs Power took up her residence with the' baby. Speaking of this period; Mrs Hunter says:—."l had'J joined my daughter at her flaii in Russell Priory last September, having come, from Walsall to look after the baby. I remained, at Russell Priory after she went to Staines, but as she was so lonely she begged me to go with her, »and I went in the capacity of nurse and under the name of Rowley. I do. not know .if Mr ißuchholtz was aware of my relationship to Mrs Power, but the reason she gave me for suggesting I should adopt another name was that she did not wish him to know her mother was acting in the capacity of servant, I had. not been at Staines long, however, before I found Mr Buchholtz was a too frequent visitor to please me, and I said I would leave her unless she came away. She agreed to do so, and took a flat in Queen Alexandra's Mansions on April 2, and subsequently went there. Mr Buchholtz was at Staines when we left. He opened a bottle of champagne on parting, said he would have to give her a toast. It was' I hope you will never have another day's luck as long as you live.' She said" 'Thank you, William. I would not wish you the same.' He then expressed a wish to come to the station, but she told him she would rather he did not. They then shook hands and parted good friends. On the following Sunday, however, he came to .her at her flat, begged her to forgive him, and asked her to return to Staines.' - THE MOTIVE FOR THE CRIME.

Mrs Power ultimately yielded to Buchholtz's request. She little dreamed .that in returning %to Staines <she ■was going to her death, though many doubts and fears must have been present in her mind, as she had received hews that her husband was about to come home to England. She wanted to be able to return to him, but, knowing Buchholtz's jealous disposition, must have realised that the problems confronting her were of the most serious nature. Buchholtz's. temperament had, indeed, to Be reckoned with at all times. "He was," Mrs Hunter, "most sullen and. jealous." He would want to know who my daughter wrote to or received letters from, and he used to examine the blotting paper after she had written a letter. He told her once that if he could have his own way he would lock her up in a room, so that no one should look at her but himself. Why, on Thursday last (the day of the tragedy), when he called to take her to Staiiies, 'he was annoyed because another lady was visiting her, and she then told him she did not want him, that she was mistress of the flat, and if he was going to carry on,like that he could clear out. That indicated the jealous temperament he possessed. 'Well, he knew *Mr Power was returning very soon. Nancy had told him she could not live without her husband, and was going back to him. That fact, I think, suppled the motive for the crime. There N was a great deal of talk about another nian, but I never knew of any other. Why Mr Buchholtz did not give her a chance. She had never gone to Scotland with another man, as has been alleged." x