DEATH OF AIR PILOT

Northern Advocate, 4 May 1932, Page 5

DEATH OF AIR PILOT

LANCASTER INCARCERATED NOTE INDICATING SUICIDE. AN ALLEGED FORGERY. (United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) (Received 0 a.m.) MIAMI, if ay 2. Captain W. N. Lancaster has been arrested and lodged in gaol on a charge of murdering Haden Clarke, air pilot. It is alleged that Lancaster has confessed that he forged the note to Mrs Keith Miller suggesting that Clarke’s death was due to suicide.

LANCASTER’S EXPLANATION. MRS. M[LEER’S CONFIDENCE. (Received 11 a.in.) MIAMI, May Captain Lancaster, asserting his innocence, said: “I wrote the notes that d-larke might sign them, and thus save ns from being implicated in bis death, but he died before he could help me.” The State Attorney said that Caplain Lancaster admitted freely that he wrote and signed the suicide notes, which handwriting experts pronounced “forgeries.” The attorney added: — “Lancaster told me that when he was awakened by the shooting, which took place in the room the two men occupied, his first thought was to protect himself and ‘Chubbio’ (Mrs. Miller).” After writing the notes on Clarke’s typewriter, the attorney quoted Lancaster as saying that ho “attempted to revive Clarke, who was unconscious from a bullet wound in tbc bead.”

Tho attorney, continuing to quote Lancaster’s reason for this, said “He told riie it was to have Clarke sign the suicide notes.” When Lancaster was unable to arouse Clarke, the attorney said, quoting Lancaster* ‘‘ He took a pencil and signed one note ‘Haden’ and the other ‘ H ”

Mrs. Keith Miller was not held .today as a witness, but will be called, later. She states that she is “abso-, lutely confident everything will }Vqme ; out all right. I know the truth will be learned, and Captain Lancaster cleared. He- is innocent, ’ I know it. My faith remains unshaken.”