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Show BERNARD W. LEWIS, who committed suicide as officers of-ficers were about to arrest him for suspected murder of Mazie Colbert. SEEK HEW MCE if! COLBERT HER Effort Being Made to Clear Bernard W. Lewis of Awful Crime. PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 8. After questioning a score of witnesses in an effort definitely to establish the identity identi-ty of the murderc of Maizie Colbert in her apartments here December 30, and the motive therefor, District Attorney Samuel P. Rotan tonight ' announced that nothing had been developed to cause him to change his opinion that Bernard W. Lewis, of Pittsburg, was the girl 's slayer. The police had considered the case virtually closed since Lewis committed suicide last Thursday at a hotel in Atlantic At-lantic City, contending that with other circumstantial evidence this act convinced con-vinced them of his guilt. Relatives and friends of both Lewis and Miss Colbert, Col-bert, however, claimed that some of this evidence had been discounted by new facts and expressed the belief that the Pittsburger had no connection with ihe murder. Members of the slain girl's family made a special appeal for a more thorough thor-ough investigation. They declared tonight to-night that the window shade cord found among Lewis ' effects hail been taken from the hotel room occupied by him iu Philadelphia-.and had not been taken from the Colbert apartments. They also al-so claim that the marks on his hands were not made by teeth as had been alleged al-leged by the police. Mayor Thomas B. Smith took a hand in the investigation today. He invited newspaper representatives to a conference confer-ence in his office tonight and announced that he would see that "justice is done in this case." John Colbert, a brother of the dead girl, declared that he is confident that Lewis did not kill his sister. His theory is that she was killed in a fight with a jealous lover. Present at the conference in the mayor 's office tonight in addition to representatives of the newspapers were William H. Wilson, director of public safety; James Robinson, superintendent of police, and Captain Tate of the detective de-tective bureau. Mayor Smith announced that he had called the meeting because of rumored friction between the police and the newspapers regarding the investigation inves-tigation iuto the mystery. He directed the police officials to "lay their cards on the table," and for three hours they were questioned about various angles of the case. While some details were disclosed that enabled a closer weaving of the fabric of facts already brought out. nothing was revealed to change the police theory that Lewis was the murderer. |