OCR Text |
Show POLICE STUDY TRIPLE TRAGEDY Woman, Daughter and Attorney Attor-ney Shot in Los Angeles Lodging House. MOTHERDOESSHOOTING Violent Quarrel and Probable Jealousy Results in Double Murder and Suicide. Los Angeles, Cal., Jan. 7 Efforts to establish a motive for the double murder and suicide -which resulted in the deaths of W. M. Melton, a local attorney, Mrs. Mary Graves Cox o." San Francisco, and the latter's daugh ter, Florence, 12 yearB old, in a room lug house here late last night, proved futile today. Lodgers in the house where the tragedy occurred, and the proprietor of it said that when last 1 seen alive together, Melton and Mrs Cox had appeared to be on the be3t of terms and nothing to indicate a violent quarrel was heard betore the live shots which resulted in the tragedy. The one theory advanced by the police is the possibility that Mrs Cox was jealouB of attention Melton paid her daughter, a pretty girl, and, in appearance, more than twelve years old. After the shots were fired, the "V I little drl was heard to scream- J I "He shot my mother! He shot my mother!' The police believe, howev er, that Mrs. Cox did the shooting. Melton received four wounds, any one of which would have proved fatal, while Mrs. Cox was shot but once and around the wound in her head where powder marks, indicating that the revolver had been very close. A photograph of herself and child, on which Mrs. Cox had written, "Flor ence Cox and Mary Graves Cox, 21 6 Mission street, San Francisco report the news at home" indicated to the police that the murder was premeditated premedi-tated by Mrs. Cox. Melton was a member of the lodge of Klks here. He had been atte:i tive to Mrs. Cox who was a divorcee of about three years, according tc friends. Tragedy a Horrible Mystery. San Francisco, Cal., Jan 7. Nothing Noth-ing that Mrs Joseph Graves, the mo ther of Mrs. Mary Cox, could tell today shed any additional light on the reason for the Los Angeles trage dy last night. "I've known W. M. Melton for the last three years," she 6aid. "He was engaged to marry my daughter. Her husband and she are divorced, ano the little girl, Florence, my grand child, was a daughter of that marriage. mar-riage. Melton was always fond ot Florence. I cannot believe that he killed her. "About a week ago, I received a letter from Melton asking me to visit them in Los Angeles, after they were to have been married. Only yester day I had a letter and a postcard from my daughter. None of the correspondence cor-respondence indicated the slightebt trouble between any of them. The whole thing is a horrible mystery to me." Landlady Tells Story. Mellon entered Mrs. Cox's apartments apart-ments at 7:45 o'clock last night. The . k shooting occurred about 10; 45. Mrs. L. F. Wilson, proprietor of the hotel, said today she heard several shots fired and heard Florence, Mrs. Cox's daughter scream: "He shot my mother!" Mrs Wilson Wil-son started to call the police and another series of 6hots rang out. Two patrolmen answered her call. They burst in the door of the Cox apartment and found Melton and Mrs J ( Cox dead on the floor Florence was still breathing, but she died in a few-minutes. few-minutes. Fifteen Shots Fired. An Investigation showed 15 shots had been fired from the one revolver which was found lying beside Mrs Cox. Her body lay within three feet of that of Melton. Four bullets found lodgment in Melton's body Florence was shot only once In the heart. Her mother Ial60 bore but one wound which was under the right ear. The police theory is that Mrs. Cox fired at Melton, re-loaded the weapon and emptied it at her daughter. Then probably she charged it a third time ;j for her own destruction A portion of a diary kept by Mrs. Cox expressed her disappointment over her inability to procure steady I employment as a motion picture act's act-'s ress The last entry, January 5, read: . "Despondent again with bad news from B heart broken." |