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Show LOS ANGELES till HI WG1K ON ANOTHER CLEW SOLUTION OF FILM MURDER j SEEMS-NEARER 1 I Mabel Normand Witness at Inquest; Jury Returns Open Verdict STILL SEEK BUTLER Former Wife of Director' Unable to Throw Light on Mystery LOS ANGELES. Feb 4. The force of detectives Investigating the slaylnc of William Desmond Taylor, motion picture director, formerly known as William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, accompanied by Miss Mabel Normand. film actress, late today paid n visit to the houso where Taylor was shot to death (fS9 Normand. ut the request ot the detectives, re-enacted the scenes at the Taylor apartments Wodhosdaj night when she called there and left shortly before the time the police say the tra-gedy occurred. POINTS i 1 POSITIONS Miss Normand said she was in the apartments about 15 minutes, all the time being passed In the living room where Taylor's body was found tho next morning. She pointed out the positions po-sitions of the various pieces of furniture furni-ture In tho room and Indicated where she and Taylor conversed. Taylor walked with her to- her automobi'.e und conversed with her c hauffeur and herself foV a fow minutes, she explained ex-plained further, leaving tho front door of his apartment open. Mis only servant serv-ant had left about fifteen, minutes before, be-fore, to be gone for the nigbt. A check was being made tonight upon up-on the movements of several persons Wednesday night, it was stated at police po-lice headquarters, at least one of these being a man connected with the motion mo-tion picture Industrv It also was stated that an Important witness had been located and might he questioned tonight. SLECTH8 ON MISSION The entire force of detectives Invcs tlgating the slaying of William Desmond Des-mond Taylor, motion picture director , formerly known BS William Desmond 1 1, ane-T -inner was sent out late ti-day ti-day on a mission, the nature of which was not divulged at police headquarters. headquar-ters. li to this time the Investigators said they were still unable to express an opinion concerning the identity of the person who shot tho director Wednesday night in tho living room of his apartm. nts The Inquest held today lasted less than -15 minutes and resulted in an open verdict, the Jury declaring Taylor Tay-lor came to his death from gunshot wounds Inflicted by an unknown person per-son with homicidal intent. Practically the only new development develop-ment in the inquest testimony was that the billle-t Which ended Tav loi s life, ranged upward after entering the body on the r--ar , . f the left side about four Inches above the hip and lodged near the shoulder. This indicated according ac-cording to detectives, the slayer fired from a reclining position or that Taylor Tay-lor was bending over when the shot was fired M IB! I N EST M. Miss .Mabel Normand was the only one of a number of motion picture actors ac-tors and uctresses subpoenaed who was called to the stand. Shi; testified hfl called upon Taylor Wednesday night, having at 7.45. i about 15 minutes before a shot was heard by neighbors Mrs. Douglas SfacLaan, one of those who told of hearing the shot, was at the Inquest, but was not called to the stand A detective, how-Bver how-Bver testified Mrs. MacLean told him (Continued on Page Two) I POLICE GIVE HINTS OF POSSIBLE ARREST SOON IN LOS ANGELES FILM COLONY MURDER MYSTERY I (Continued from Page I.) that after she heard the. shot she went I to her door and looked across :i courtyard court-yard and saw a man standing at Tuy-j j lor's door. The detective named two others: who he said told them thev had heard la shot Tho coroner asked him If they ga any explanation why thej made no investigation at the time j He replied they -aid they thought the j sound might havo been made by an exploding tire. The deceased w:ts referred to as I "Taylor" throughout th" Inquest. Search for tho peison described by Mrs MacLeun and for Edward F Sands, former butler and secretary for Taylor, continued and tho police ran down numerous fruitless cues. It was admitted for ihe first time by tho In- vestlgators that Sands Is believed to bo In or near Los Angeles. He had been j sought for several months on a grand larceny charge made by Taylor, who alleged Sands stole some of his efforts ef-forts and disappeared. Investigators said they had the vVord of a witness they believed unimpeachable that t-iandn was In this city last Tuesday. l ne ueiccuves biuu i nn ouui.v... Sands. If he had one to make, would be an "important element" in the Interest In-terest of narrowing the scope of tho investigation MOTH l I- SOUGHT. The Investigation today. It was said was devoted largely to the subject of motive The police from the beginning begin-ning have been of the opinion that Taylor eras slain for revenge, but it Was admitted that up to late today It had not been determined thai an one entertained any animosity for Taylor of such a degree that would appeal to be an incentive to murder. Th' possibility thai Jealousy might have been the cause of the slaying still was receiving attention, it was declared. The discovery that Taylor had once gone bv another name w.:s received by the police with much interest and it was said this might prove an Important Import-ant element In the case inspection ol the Taylor residence was completed by finger print experts, who announced they had found impressions im-pressions or other clows. BVLEET I WSI L. The bullet which was taken from Taylor's bodv was produced at the in- , quest, then returned to detectives who Were endeavoring to learn Us history'. The missile was found practically ln- j .ti i-rli'inal shape. . due, t'otintv Autopsy Surgeon A I Wagner said, to lt-s not having struck a bone during Its passage through Taylor's body. The bullet wa declared to be of unusual un-usual tvpe, t distinguishing feature being a groove around Its circumference circumfer-ence near the base Funeral services for Tavlor will be held Tuesday afternoon In a local church, the Motion Picture Directors' association announced Taylor will be buried In his uniform of a captain In the British army which he wore during the world war and military honors will he paid by other British eterans living in Eos Angeles u Is -at' d BY CHARLES V. HI GHJES (International News Service) L8 ANGELES Feb 4 Now and important e Idence gathered late this afternoon by detectives was followed Immediately by the launching of a relent,.-. . viir. h r.r Edward I' ands, former valet of William Desmond Pay-lor. Pay-lor. noted Los Angeles motion picture director, found murdered Thufl.ji i morning In his bungalow home here That Sands Is known positively to bo in los Angeles and that he Is regarded as one of the most Important witnesses In the probe, were statements made tonight bv Investigators- Every available officer Of the police department and experienced manhun-ters manhun-ters of tho sheriff's office, were detailed de-tailed to the s. h Sheriff William I. Traeger assigned deputy ph.jnffs Pos und Joe Nolan, noted rime experts, to aid the police In locating the former' x:.lri n( flip slnln film director. An inquest Into the deith of Taylor held at a local mortuary today was concluded wllh all dramatic sudden-ness sudden-ness much to the surprise of the crowd of morbidly curious people who had gathered to hear the testimonies of a i number of film stars widely known tc movie fans. ONLY FIVE WITNESSES There were only five witnesses questioned, ques-tioned, one of these being Mabel Nor-mand Nor-mand The Jury returned a verdict that Taylor was Killed 'by a gunshot would Infllc ted by a person or persons unknown to this ury with intent to kill, or commit murder." It was said th. principal reason ! for the sudden termination of the In- quest proceedings was to enable the (detectives and other police officers present to hasten awa to In.estlrate a clue regarded of great importance Reporters were not able to leirn ; the destination of the detectives as great seerocy was observed. The police and Coroner Nance BVl-I BVl-I dently took great enre that only known facts In the case would be placed be-1 be-1 fore the Jury to enable It to return a! I formal verdict, that Taylor had been killed by an unknown assassin. ROOM is CROWDED The room In which the Inquest was held was crowded to the door'; .f n . who wore unable to gain admittance stood about In the street in order to gain a glimpse 0f the famous film SC tors and actresses present at the proceedings pro-ceedings There was n hush of expectation expec-tation when Coroner Nance called the name of Mabel Normand as a witness. The attractive picture star appeared, calm as she walked to the witness chnlr and formally gave her name. "I saw Mr. Taylor nt his home on Wednesday evening'' she stated ' I called at 7 o'floek that evening nnd left nhout 7 : -1 5 "Mr Taylor escorted me tn rny auto-I mohllo at the curb and we chatted 1 bnth people the British and Russian This man Radek Is an extraordinary type with a tinge of reddish brown hair all around his face He speaks In a harsh voire and has a sense of humor to which he gives vent in shrill laughter He I, a famlW min md lives with his wife and small boy In a great barrack-like building Inside the RTe-it fortress palace of the Kremlin which with Its golden domes and high bat-tlemented bat-tlemented walls looks le the .scene of an Arabian night s dream Not being be-ing provided with pass I was arreted arret-ed three times Inside the Kremlin gates, belntr passed on from post to post. But the name of Radek which I am told means scoundrel" in Russian Rus-sian acted as n magic pass-word. These two men Tchb herln and Radek Ra-dek are at the opposite poles of char acter. On Is cold as lee the other Radek like a tongue of fire. But they! are both men of considerable Intelleo- 1 tual brilliance and seeing now that Communism has failed are ready to adopt a policy of "realism" In the hop-oi hop-oi saving Russia, and themselves, by a return to western methods of co-1 nomlc life and International trade. Copyright. 1922 b the McClure Newspaper Syndicated a moment After the car started away and as it was turning around I turned and waved my hand at h'lm He was standing on the sidewalk " ONI5 SERVANT THERE Miss Normand was asked who was present at the Taylor residence during the visit. She replied that the only other person there besides herself an d the slain man was Henry Peavey, the colored servant. "He left tho house within five or 16 minutes before I did." said MLss normand, referring to Peavey. Miss Normand sold that Taylor had promised to telephone to her late, jn the evening. She said she wont home undressed and went to bed and did not again hear from Taylor Charles Eyton, manager of Lasky studios, where Taylor had been employed em-ployed as chief director testified Taylor Tay-lor was 45 years of age and had one been married Evt..n said he received a summons Thursday morning t0 the layior bungalow and that he assisted Detective Sergeant Seigler and Deputy Coroner William McDonald In making a preliminary Investigation Coroner Nance questioned the witness wit-ness very briefly concerning the ca- uei oi me oialn man SURGEON TESTIFIES Anothor witness was Fred A Was ,?hnt;' ftutoP83' surgeon He testified tes-tified the bullet entered Taylors body ;'l the left side, penetrating between eth.b1c lho ,"ft ",n ;ind ,odln I uJ uai0j tho nS' servant, testified , he had been employed at the Tavlor house for six months He described (the house and Its furnishings ' ?r ,th" ,ho at quarter after 3Si goinKOUt ,he MSrmind" , Peavey Said he returned to the house at ,.80 8 m Thursday, when he found the body. He became historical for a moment then regained enough oom- E0" ?wfly S far as h0 COUld observe ob-serve nothing had been disturbed bl SaloS Wh" ln-Ta'lo"'-'' bun' Tom Selgler. detective sergeant who nfaV,hMflm J""'1 l" " us,, witness Thurst,a wa the final hrZ D0H.Cen?an formally explained how he made ,he preliminary police n- esigatlon at the Taylor home on' Thursday nmrninj VERDICT RETURNED Coroner Nance then i.-.,i ,h. . . an adjoining room and Instructed then how to arrive at their verdict Many of the spectators, antlclnatlnc the questioning of Douglas mS? Mrs sUeLean. Man Mies Ulnte .,, ann?,r,rP7,V "tnt i"0tIn pitturo app.nred to bo dazed by the ahrup termination of the proceedings Declaring that a motive for the crime had been established and that the irr.st ..f a m.u, whom the po dee be eve to be the murderc, of tv , slbli e m ',"' W,.thln 24 hours. IL. less Captain David L d an m -d of ,he deteetl.-o bnrenu at . ' into 5!!aStto threw bombshell Working secretly and while the suspect of the murder believe, . suspicion was falling on another ,?r son. detectives from my office have WOVep a chain of evidence that we he-n'ounoed8 he-n'ounoed8 anbrekW." Adams an-"The an-"The net of evidence is tightening about this man like the tenacles Cf a deep sea monster," he continued The motive has been established h!ACl V',Ue,K0f the SUSect havo been checked to the night of the murder and detectives win locate his hiding place eoaily when tho links m the chain of evidence are tojnplete " Captain Adams refused to dlvulse the new motive for the crime uncovered uncov-ered by the police but said HINT is t.RKN ' If a man had something on you something that was worth thousands of dollars to you to keep from the eyes and ears of the world, an Intanc-IMc Intanc-IMc something that couldn't be ex- J 111,11 Ul possessor re- rusd to barter for its silence " The captain of detectives did not finish his sentence. Adams stated a little later. I'' woman or women are Instigators Insti-gators of the murder, as mam news-KJerJn6n news-KJerJn6n uelleve. this will come out A special detail of police In charge of Assistant County Attorney A YV Murray will be assigned to handle the vast crowd expected to attend the funeral of Taylor next Tuesday afternoon after-noon at 2 p m Predictions were made tonight that the attendance will be the largest at any funeral ever held in this city 7 he services will take ph.ee in St. Paul's I ifhodral opposite Pershing Square und will be conducted by Dean U u -Corm.ack Interment will bo Jn Hollywood Hol-lywood cemetery. I A" preparations for the funeral are being made by the Motion picture Directors Di-rectors association. Plans for special mllltao honors for Taylor who .vas a veteran of Canadian army during! the world war. loomed tonight when British nrmv vtr ,no .- ...j formation of a firing sdjuad to fire a salute over the grave. Among tho vast throng expected to attend the funeral are several thousand thou-sand of tho motion picture people AM the film luminaries in the city are expected ex-pected to be pres. nf DAUGHTER is heir. Close friends of Taylor stated tonight to-night that his daughter, Ethel Daisy Taylor, said to be attending a fashionable fash-ionable school at Ifamaroneok, n v would probably bo brought 'hero to become his legal holr. A letter from the gr was found among Taylors effects. It was filled with typical schoolgirl observations and hinted of the tender love und devotion that existed between the two. It was evident from the missive that Taylor visited his daughter whenever when-ever possible und that he u aid the en-Itlre en-Itlre expenses of his child's educa-I educa-I Hon. An examination of Taylor's safety deposit box revealed that his known j assets amount to approximately $20- 000. but oarch is being, conducted j for valuable oil and mlninjf stocks which he Is known to have recently purchased and which have not been , found. The cloak of mystery covering the pa-st life of Taylor was gradually being be-ing removed tonight. U EES I 11 Nt.E NAME Following the disclosure that Taylor Tay-lor lived for years as William Deane-Tanner, Deane-Tanner, under which name he managed man-aged an antique furniture und urt .-hop in New York. Investigators probed fur Into the murdered man's past. In this Investigation the question came up aji to why Taylor suddenly had changed his name and practically practical-ly started his 1 1 f anew. Eastern advices ad-vices slated that In 1908 he disappeared disap-peared mysteriously, leaving a business, busi-ness, number of friends and a wife and daughter. His wife was formerly Miss Ethel May Harrison, a member of the orlg- inal Floradora company, to whom he was married secretly, according to friends in tho east, in 1901. It was ' the couple intended lo admit no one except Mrs. Tanners mother into in-to their confidence until they had sailed on a honeymoon nip to Dublin. Dub-lin. Tho news leaked out. however, and hH friends and his wife's wero informed of the marriage MAN OF MYSTERY. It is the belief of some of Taylor's Eos Angeles friends that he was divorced di-vorced from his wife ten years ago Ho waa a "man of mystery," one of these friends said tonight, and only portions of his past were ever re- all d by him In regard to his family ' affairs. Corroboration of the story told by eastern dispatches of Taylors other life was given b Mrs Ada D. Deanc-Tanner, Deanc-Tanner, of Monrovia, who. claimed , that she is Taylor's slster-ln-luw and j that she has been receiving an allowance allow-ance from the famous tilm director. She said that her husband Introduced Intro-duced Taylor to her as his brother Eater, however, she said. Taylor denied de-nied that ho WSSI her husband's brother broth-er although he gave her an allOW-i allOW-i ance. At one time the Monrovia woman .sought out Taylor at a local moving picture studio. K.i, ing her. Taylor uk-nled uk-nled any relationship, according to Mrs. Ada D Tanner's story. Her husband, she wu- quoted as saying, like tho Tanner of the N v. Vork art shop, disappeared mysteriously myster-iously many years ago. She did not 1 behevo him dead and spent large sums of money searching for him It 1 was while she waa seeking her husband, hus-band, according to hor narrative, that Taylor started to give her a regular monthly allowance, 8 PORY oi' IDl I NT I RE. That Taylor partially acknowledged his kinship with her missing husband. In a letter to her, was a statement made by Mrs. Tanner, who said Taylor Tay-lor wrote that he had not seen his brother in 3lx years." Taylor w :s aald to have met In Los j Angeles some acquaintances of the "yesterday" ho apparently wished to forget Asked by them regarding his disappearance ho was said to have related re-lated that he had been shanghaied and taken aboard a icsscl bound around Cape Horn Several months lat. r he reached a port on the Pacific northwest coast. Taylor was said to havo worked in I a clerical rapacity on a trunscontlnen-tal trunscontlnen-tal railroad being constructed through Canada to Port Prince Rupert Later he came to Los Angeles. His rlso In the film Industry was rapid. At the time of his death his salary was about $Go 000 a year. His Income In-come for seieral years was said to have exceeded $100,000 until the slump came in the film industry. |
