A LOVELESS MARRIAGE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 26 November 1912, Page 2

A LOVELESS MARRIAGE

AND ITS SEQUEL

Dr Erich BlurfiS, -ntrf o'fficial of _ the Kaiser Frederick Art Museum at Poser*, Germany, who was fo'und s'kot dettci, was d ptbniifing young scholar, asfld Jtad already acquifed' reputation as <an archaeologist and Gefiiiftrtirt." He was 29, and his wife, who is ' describe'l as strikingly beautiful, was just 24. According to the wife's story, the couple were sitting in the woods one evening after a stroll, when, hearing a noise, she expressed fear o'f thieves. Her husband replied, laughing, "I have a revolver," arid ch'ew tlic weapon from his pocket If, immediately went pff, and Dr: His wife said she IklclicO help as q(i ick - ly as possible, but her was? already dead. At first no suspicion was aroused, aii'f! the body was taken by Dr. Blume's parents and buried in Berlin. Then doubts began to be heard. It- was said the wound could not have been self-inflicted. The bullet entered at the chill, add passed out at the top of the skull. Dr. 14jnine's ovei'cortt was buttoned all the way tip wlieii the bo'dy was found, so it setnis unlikely he li.'id taken the weapon frorii his pocket. The revolver itself could licit be found, A search at the dead man's hotne is said to have resulted in the discovery of evidence tliat Frau Blnfne was on more than friendly terms with a Posen physician. A calendar was found, in which several days were marked with red crosses by Dr. Blume. rind it is believed they meant that quai'i'eis between husband and wife liad occui'rcd on those daysThe wife was arrested at her father's estate near Poseii. The mystery has beet) solved by the confession of Dr. Blume's widow. She admits that she shot her husband in a moment of excitement; The actual Causeof the crime seems to hjtve beeii a written acknowledgment of the guilty relationship which Dr. Blume obtained from his wife's lover, and by which the woman was rendered desperate. Frau Blume, who 13 about to become a mother, broke down, under the weight of the crushing evidence which, had fallen into the hands of the authorities, and on her second examination admit": A that she had taken her husband's ],'?•> in a moment of "mental irresponsibility." The police and Crown Prosecutor allege that a motive for taking her husband's life existed in the wife's knowledge that he was in possession of a written confesion of her intimacy with a young Posen physician, and that Dr. Blume extorted the confession in order to make him co-respondent in divorce oroceCdings. Frau Blume supposed the incriminating document to be locked in her husband's desk, but it was found in the pockets of the dead man, and gave the police their most important clue : . Between the time of the murdei' and her arrest the widow made frantic efforts to induce the authorities to give her the keys found on her dead husband's body, ■ittle realising that her endeavours were '.ightening the chain of evidence round faer. Another clue which assisted the aurhorities was the revelation that on Aug. 3 the wife purchased a revolver it a Posen shop, and o'n September 9, the d£y before the murder, bought a second weapon from the same dealer. When first charged with the crime, the widow declared that the second revolver had been bought by her husband, but the shopkeeper testified to the fact that both sales had been made to the woman..

Frau Blume, a highly attractive woman of twenty-four, is •com<pl ( 'e : tiely broken down by the turn of events.' Her confession was made in a burst of sobbing. Her parents, who are wealthj land-owners, arrived at Posen from their estate to engage eminent counsel for her defence. The authorities admit that Lhe confession still leaves it in some doubt whether the crime was manslaughter or murder.

In her confession Frau Blume. said that before her marriage she had been betrothed to an engineer ; but broffe off the engagement in order to many the young scientist and attain the better social position which his promising career seemed to" hold out.