LONDON CELLAR MURDER.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10542, 25 August 1910, Page 4

LONDON CELLAR MURDER.

FATE OF MRS CRIPPEN. NEW ZEALAXDER'S FX PLEASANT ACQUAINTANCE. (Otago Daily Times Correspondent.) London, July 15. A young New Zealand dentist, Mr G. M. Rylance, is placed in rather an unpleasant- position to-day by his business relations with the man who is wanted for the murder of Mrs Cora Crippen, whose body was found buried beneath the cellar of her husband's residence in Hilldrop Crescent, Campen Town. Needless to say, Mr Rylance was in no way cognisant of his acquaintance's character, or of the crime which he is suspected ot committing, but he is suffering not a little, both from a business point ol view and in personal comfort from the fact that he had rooms in the same suite with Crippen, and shared a wa.itingroom with him. ■ Mrs Cora Crippen. an American music-hall artist, supposed to be of Polish parentage, was a popular member of the profession, both across the Atlantic and here. " Lately she had been secretary of the Music Hall Artists' Guild, a position in which'she did excellent service, and made herself generally popular. In February Jest the report- was circulated that Mrs Crippen (whose professional name was Belie Elmore) had gone to California ill connection with the serious illness of a relative, and a letter was received bv the guild in which she resigned her position as secretary. Some weeks later a notice appeared announcing that Mrs Crippen had died in California. The Music Hall Artists' Guild felt the loss very keenly, and as the weeks passed by gradually commenced "to entertain suspicions. MRS CRIPPEX'S DEATH.

- The husband, Hawlcy Harvey Crippen (with the aliases of Crippen and Franckel) was described as an American doctor, about 50 years of age. He had been manager for Mnnyons, in Philadelphia and Toronto, ancf came to England representing them. For some years lie was connected with the Drouet Institute, and then lie went into business in Albion House, New Oxford street, as the Yale Tooth Specialist. ' He also had rooms in Craven House, Ivingsway. where, he did business tinder the title of The Aural Remedies Company. Shortly after the report of Mrs Crippen's death the husband appeared at a social function with his typist, Miss Ethel Le Neve, who is said to -have worn a sealskin cloak and some jewellery very similar to that which belonged to Mrs Crippen. Mrs C'rip- - pen was "a sweet, beautiful, woman, charitable and kind-hearted." and the guild felt so strongly that there had been foul play that it eventually communicated with Scotland Yard. The 'letter-which had been left for the guild, ostensibly by the deceased, showed signs 'of being written in an assumed hand, and in the signature the name Elmore was spelled with two " l's." Crippen himself wrote to his relatives in America the following letter: — l"My dear Louise and Robert, —I hardly know how to write to you. ray dreadful loss shocks me so dreadfully. ' I am hardly able to control myself. My poor Cora has gone, and to make the shock to me more dreadful, I did not even see her at the last. A feuweeks ago we had the news that an old relative of mine in California was dying, and to secure important property for uurselfes it was necessary for one of us to go to put the matter in the lawyer's hands at once. As I was very busy. Cora proposed that she should go. and, as it was necessary that someone should be there at once, that- she should go siraigh? through to - California without snipping at ali. and then return •ia Urookl;. si. t:> be able to pay all of you a long visit. lu.fortunately, on tlie way out my poor Cora caught a severe cold, and. not having while travelling a chance to take care of herself, it settled on her lungs, later to develop into pleuropneumonia. She wished not to frighten me. bo kept writing to me not to worry about her, and that it was only a s-h'gtK matter. I next heard by cable that .'-lie was dangerously ill. After I had cabled to know whether T should go to-her I had the dreadful news that she had passed away. Imagine, if you can. tl'.e dreadful shock to me. never more to see my Cora alive and hear her voice again. Shi- is being -sent back to me. and 1 shall soon have iwha! is left of her here. Of course. I -ani giving up the house; in tact it drives me mad Lo be in ii alone. I shall yell out everything in a few days. I do not know what to do. PrnVihly I shall find seme busines- to take nie -travelling for months uniil I can reewer from the shock a liitle. but as 1 soon as I have a settled address again f will write to you again. As it is so -dreadful for me to have to write ibis dreadful, dreadful news. v. ill you please tell all the others, with love to all. that J will write again soon and give yon my address, probably in France. — .Doc-tor." ; DISCOVERY OF THE ISODY. . - The Artists' Guild had a room on tlie same Hoor ot Albion House as .Crippen. for the sake of convenience : when his wife became secretary. This ..enabled the officials after her death to •observe his movements closely. They ascertained that he look frequent trips to the Continent, and that he was now moro. than ever in the company of his typist, of which intimacy his wile had complained some months earlier. Inquiries made in California showed that no such person as Mrs Crippen had tired there, so the officials of the Guild forthwith, a fortnight ago, put the •matter in the hands of the police. The police interviewed Crippen himself, and he then admitted that all his former stories were incorrect and that he had had a quarrel with his wife, who had gone away, saving that she should never see him again, and he believed she had gone to America. On Saturday last C'rippen and Miss Le Neve, whom lie had iold people he had married, disappeared together about 1 p.m. Chief Inspector Drew, with Sergeant Mitchell, continued the inquiry, made a thorough examination of the house and garden, and on Wednesday afternoon determined io make a still .further examination. In the course of the search of the

cellar, and 011 ]>r<> 1 >i 11 m the brick tioor, they found that they could move tho bricks in sonic parts more easily than in others, and decided to dig .the whole ..cellar lip, with the result that the inspector, after digging some little distance down, came across what was evi- • dently a portion of a human body, and later on the mutilated remains of a Jiady were found. Fie communicated these facts to New Scotland Yard, when Sir Melville Macnaughten and Superintendent Forest attended and viewed the remains. MISS LE XEYE. The parents of M iss "Lc Neve." whose real name is Xeanie, reside : n London, and a married sister also lives here. A fellow typist, who has known her for years, says: - \Kthcl was an awfully sweet girl. I first met her at, : the Drouet Institute, which'then had :'H ; offire at Regent's Park. That was . about ten years ago, and Ethel had T)ceu there some time before I went. G'rippeu v,-as connected with the institute, ami lie was a brutal sort of man;'! thought. I always felt as if I would like to throw him downstairs. Ethel remained in his employment aft?r the institute smashed up. and he undertook other work. I cannot understand why she stayed with him. !?he had a beautiful face, was oF a very - sympathetic disposition, and generous . in. the extreme. Her teeth were always admired, but the upper row was false. I have known her come to the rescue of girls in distress 011 several .occasions, f am certain she bad nothing to do with this crime. Site was not. the sort of girl who would, evert think any harm. The last time I met .her was about six months ago. Afterwards T heard thai she was engaged, but so far as I could gather'-her desire -was that her engagement should lie kept secret."' Ml? CKII'I'KV. Discussing Crinpeii. Mr Rylance :—"A more humble unassuming little, man T have never met,, and to me, it seems unthinkable ihat he would hay£ committeil so dastardly a crime. I .first met him in Munyon's rooms in thip building on ihc occasion of the , Kaiser's visit to London. He invited ( me to look onr of his window at the royal prorcsr-iou. For ninny nspulhr- I J afterwards he pestered me to allow '

.him to be Tin- business agent, and eventually I agreed. In my judgment lie was a smart man, and a wonderful organiser, . very exact, with lino business methods —in fact, one could not have desired a straighter representative. Of-late I had observed that lie looked worried. He had, of course, his bright moments', but generally ho appeared to be distressed and perturbed by something or other, and 1 came to the conclusion that it was duo to financial troubles. His wife was a woman of charming manners. I frequently saw her. "What passed my understanding is how Crippen could have thrown her over in favor of his typist. It was a strange infatuation. She had little to recommend her so far as I noticed. The typist was a delicate woman. She was always ailing, and was jofctilarly known in this building as ! _the woman who always answered inquiries with the same remark, ' Not very well, thank you.' "