OCR Text |
Show llKUERRY SHOOTS HIS ! FORMER WIFE, FOLLOWING A QUARREL AT DANCING ACADEMY i I Following a quarrel In the office ofi the Royal Dancing academv, in the Sidney Stevens block on Washington avenue, at SM5 Saturday night, Frank' C. Berry, manager or the dance hall, fired four shots at his former wife, Harriet L, Berry, one of which passed entirely through her right shoulder. The shots were fired as the woman ran from her former husband in terror and It was only due to the poor aim of Berry that she was not killed at the time of the tragedy. Berrv was in a violent rage, as is indicated bv the fact that he fired two shots at ".Tames Grow, a railroad switchman, who attempted at-tempted to interfere. 'Both of the shots directed a( Grow went wild, one crashing crash-ing through the glass in the door of the old naval recruiting station and the other Imbedding itself in the woodwork wood-work of the same door. Although painfully hurt, it is thought Mrs. Berry will recover. She was carried car-ried to the office of Dr. R. E. Worrell, in the Eccles building, across the street from the scene of the tragedy, where her wound was dressed, after which she was removed to the Dee hospital. When Quarrel Started. Tho affair happened about 9:45 in the evening and is bplieved to have started over a dispulo which arose over a contemplated trip of Mrs. Berry to her mother In California. Mrs. Berry has been employed as a ticket seller at the dancing academy and has been the housekeeper for Mr. Berry since the couple soparatpd. According to statements made bv Mrs. Berry and her daughter, Mrs. Calva Hill, Berry had come down to the office room on the second floor from the dance hall on the floor above. Mrs. Berry went into the office Immediately Im-mediately after Mr. Berry entered. Mrs. Berry had donned her hat and announced to Mr. Berry that she Intended In-tended to leave the place immediately. After some angry words had passed between the two, and after Mrs. Berry announced her intention of going to California, the man replied, "You will do no such a thing, even If I have to kill you to prevent your going." This brought to Mrs. Berry a realiza-tiou realiza-tiou that he Avas insanely jealous of her and she started from the room. As she passed the ticket booth, the first shot was fired. The bullet passed fhrnilfh tho rmvn rf Vi i .. J ! tercd the wall across the corridor. The second shot, which came an instant later, wont wide of the mark. The gun was a .-11 calibre Colt of an ancient style and to this fact the woman probably owes her life, as it had to be cocked each time it was shot, thus giving giv-ing her time to run from the crazed man. Continues to Shoot. When Mrs. Berry turned into the hall, the daughter slipped from the stool in the ticket booth and started to follow. They went down the. stairs leading to the street. Mrs. Berry in the lead. Mrs. Berry had reached a landing about twenty feet from ihe top of the stairway when tho man fired again. This shot, missed the daughter, who was close behind, but struck the mother in the right shoulder and she fell forward and rolled to the bottom of the stairs. The daughter hurried after, but before they had reached the bottom or tho stairs the husband and father had fired a fourth shot at them. This struck the cement pavement and glanced across the street and into the window of the Fred M. Nye store, at the neight of a man's head from the sidewalk. Two men, C. N. Lindquist and Enos Marriott, Mar-riott, were standing near tho spot at the time and the bullet struck within two feet of Mr. Marriott's head. James Grow, a switchman, stood at the head of the stairs as the snooting began. He was waiting outside the dance hall for a companion, who had gone inside. Mrs. Berry and the daughter rushed by him ana down the stairs before he realized what was happening. hap-pening. As Berry came to the bead of of the stairs and fired a fourth shot. Grow exclaimed, "My God, man;' don't do that' Quick as a flash. Berry turned and fired two shots at him, but Grow had taken a posh ion behind a post, which protected him. Berry Arrested. Still carrying the smoking revolver. Berry went back into the office, where he laid It on a hat rack. Ho then entered en-tered the ticket booth, where he was at the time Acting Chief O. H. Mohl-man Mohl-man entered and placed him under arrest. Sergeant Mohlman was standing In front of the Buchmiller and Flowers store, acrpss the street and some distance dis-tance south of the entrance to the dance hall, ttalking to a friend, when he heard the shots. Ho rushed across! and arrived In front of the F'olcy Va- j riety store at the moment the two j women reached tbo bottom of tho i stairway. Mrs. Berry was bleeding j freely, tho blood crimsoning the whlto( waist that she wore. She was on her hands and knees when the officer arrived. ar-rived. Giving a.hasty order to a bystander, by-stander, .Mohlman inquired where Berry Ber-ry was. Tho daughter said he had killed her mother and was now killing himself. Mohlman rushed up the stairway i and round Berry In the ticket booth and a search revealed the gun, still warm from the shots. The wounded woman was taken to , the office of Dr. R. E. Worrell and assisted as-sisted by Dr. E. R. Dumko, a hasty examination was made. The doctors found that the wound, while painful, will not necessarily prove fatal. While 6n Ihe operating table, Mrs Bern' inquired if her former husband had killed himself. When informed he had not, she stated that, "He is too much of a coward to kill himself." Berry was taken to the police station, sta-tion, but on being questioned, refused to make a statement. It was discovered discover-ed that ho was under the influence of liquor. When asked what he had been drinking, he stated he had been drinking drink-ing alcohol all day. Calva Berry-Hill, the daughter of the estranged couple, was at the police po-lice station yesterday, where she made statements which shed little light on the investigation being made by the police. Mrs. Hill was secretly married on Nov. 11, at Farmington. Her husband hus-band is Harold Hill, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Hill, of Ogden. The wedding wed-ding announcement was about to be made public. She was divided in her devotion to her father and mother and was relieved to learn that the father had not killed himself. Jealousy the Cause From the information they have piuiicu uii me nacuj, tui: puuut; aunt; that it looks like another case of the eternal love triangle that so often I cause such tragedies. I The only, statement made by Berry was the one he made immediately following fol-lowing his arrest, when he told Sergeant Ser-geant Mohlman that It was over a matter mat-ter personal to him, but that he was sorry that it happened and that ho hoped the woman would recover. Berry had become sober yesterday but refused to make a statement. A large number of his friends In the city called at the jail to see him and offer assistance. A few were allowed to sec him. Pending the outcome of the wound in Mrs. Berry's shoulder no charge will be placed against the prisoner. Berry Is Sorry When seen by a Standard reporter today in the city jail, Mr. Berry refused re-fused to make any statement whatever, what-ever, other than to say that there was nothing to say. He seemed to be laboring la-boring under great stress of mind. Lying Ly-ing on the narrow cot in his cell with his back to the wall, when approached by the reporter, he did not even look up. It was at first thought that he was asleep, but he finally glanced up quickly and then resumed the same attitude at-titude as before. He was asked if there was anything he cared to say. His reply was scarcely scarce-ly above a whisper and the reporter) had to ask him to repeat it. He said, "Nothing." As he prepared to leave, the reporter said he was sorry it had happened and Mr. Berry then spoke fairly loud, saying. say-ing. So am I." The officers state this is the attitude he has maintained ever since he was arrested, persistently maintaining a sullen silence. Mrs. Berry was reported to be resting rest-ing easily at the Dee hospital today and the authorities state there is no danger of serious complications resulting result-ing from the gunshot wound in her shoulder. |