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Show SHI WOMAN, Old Stry i Ik Wages of Sin, Shooting Occurs on Eleventh Floor of Officj Building in Detroit. t Man Then Leaps From the Window and Is Dashed to His Death. DETROIT. Mich., June 21 Charles Swayze, employed by a life insurance insur-ance company, and former assistant assist-ant superintendent of the Detroit house of correction, today shot . MIsr Effle Alvord twice, while the couple were In a private office in the company's com-pany's suite on the eleventh floor of the Chamber of- Commerce building, and then Jumped from the window himself. He was picked up. nnd died as he was carried Into the lobby of the building. Miss Alvord was shot In tho nock and wrist, but not seriously hurt, It Is reported- In Private Office. Miss Alvord drove to the Chamber of Commerce building In an automobile at 11 o'clock, uccompanied by a man. She went to the office of the life insurance in-surance company and asked to have a private ' Interview with Mr. Swayze. She was shown Into a small private office, of-fice, fronting on the State street side of the building, where Swayze Joined her, shutting and locking the door. Woundod Twice. In a few moments other persons in tho office heard a struggle, then screams, which were followed In quick succession by several pistol shots. Manager McCall of the agency broko in the door. Mi3s Alvord was prostrate on the floor, her hair disheveled, her waist torn torn, and blood pouring from the wounds In her neck and wrist, Whirled Through Air. Through the open window Mr. McCall could see Swayze's hands clutching the window-ledge. They were In view for only a moment; then Swayze let go and his body went whirling down through the air. It hit several wires and turned over twice, striking on the face and chcsL A bullet wound In his nose showed that he had shot himself. Theru was just a breath of life In the body-when body-when It waa picked up, and that lllck-cred lllck-cred out before It had been carried Into the Chamber of Commerce lobby. Meanwhile physicians In the building had been summoned to the Insurance office to attend Miss Alvord. They found that her wounds were not fatal. Tries to Throw Woman Out, j Occupants of a building across the street from tho Chamber of Commerce say that Swayze attempted to throw Miss Alvord out of the window. Her head and shoulders were seen across" the ledge and she wus fighting desperately. desper-ately. Then the couple disappeared from the window and the shots rang out, followed by Swayze's mad plunge. A letter written by Swayze was found which, It is said, explains the tragedy. It is alleged that the letter says Miss Alvord waa xeoponslblo for; Swayze losing his position at tho house of correction. cor-rection. MI33 Alvord Is an employee of a sewing machine company, but worked at the house of correction when Swayze was there. Her home Is said to be at Saginaw;. Mich. ' What Letters Contained. The first letter of the two found In Swayze's pocket after the fatal Jump was addressed to Mrs. Annie E. Sweeney Swee-ney of Saginaw, Mich., warning bar not tok let her son marry Miss Alvord. It Is dated June 20 and declares that when both Swayze and Miss Alvord were employed at the house of correction correc-tion she "tempted him and he fell." It speaks of her wiles and treachery and calls her ono of the most deceitful of woman "that ever disgraced the earth." Says Life Was Blameloss. Swayze mentioned his two young daughters and declared that his life had been blameless until the woman Invited In-vited him to her room in the house of correction. He declares that their intimacy continued until April of this year. Swayze said his home was broken up as a result of the intimacy with Miss Alvord. He said the woman told him she was going to marry Mrs. Sweeney's Swee-ney's son George, and declared that he wanted to save the son from tho disgrace dis-grace he had suffered. The letter mentions men-tions Mr. Terry, and snys that M1b3 Alvord and he are canvassing the State in a buggy for a sewing machine company. com-pany. "Can Always Bo Friends." The second letter is one from Miss Alvord to Swayze, written while she was out In the State. It says she expects ex-pects "George" to send'for her by the 1st of August, and tells of her success as an agent. It says In conclusion: "I have not forgotten you and never will, and we can always be friends." Claimed They Were Married. The man with whom Miss Alvord drove up to the building was J. B. Terry, an employee of the same sewing machine company that employed Miss Alvord. At Miss Alvord's boardlns-house boardlns-house it was stated that Miss Alvord and Terry had been married for several sev-eral months. Miss Alvord denied this, but said she was engaged to him. Her Birthday Presents. Yesterday was her birthday and she told the physician to tell the reporters that Swayze sent her a telephone message mes-sage that he was going to shoot her as a birthday present. She said she went to Swayze's office today to break with him. Ho had been threatening, sho said, to write to the mother of her sweetheart sweet-heart and tell her that Miss Alvord was not the kind of a girl her soa should marry. She says that she went to the office today to tell him to go ahead with his letter if he pleased to do so, and to finally break with him. Both Wero Discharged. Superintendent McDonnell of the house of correction stated that It was the Intimacy between Swayze and Miss Alvord that caused him to discharge them both. The Intimacy, he said, gradually grow while they were fellow employees at the Institution, and whllo Miss Alvord was visiting Swayze's homo frequently as a friend of IiIb wife. May Not Have Jumped. , It 1h not certain that Swayzo deliberately de-liberately jumped from the eleventh-story eleventh-story window. It Is thought by many that when he heard the door of the private pri-vate office being opened he crawled out on the window ledge and endeavored to hang by his hands in a mad attempt to escape detection. Marks in the dust on the window ledge show where his fingers gradually dragged acros-s It until his hold v.ati lost. This Is taken to Indicate that he did not Intend to jump. Where Tragedy Occurred. Tho chamber of commerce building Is at the corner of Grlswold und State street, one block from the busiest shop ping districts ou Woodward avenue. Even when Swayzo'H body whirled through the air, tho attention of people had been attracted to the building by tho cries-of Miss Alvord as she fought at the window agulnst being hurled to the street and by the pistol shots. Scores saw the man's body fall and thousands of men, women and children were on the scene almost before the body was picked up. Swayze was 53 years of ago and leaves a widow and, two children. |
