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Show VERDICT REACHED! IN WOODILL . INQUEST FOUR JURORS RECOGNIZE ELEMENT ELE-MENT OF TRUTH IN LETTER Decision Is, "Eactman Killed Mrs. WoOdill or Was Accessory to the Murder." $ St. Michaels, Md.. June 2S Tho verdict of the coroner's jury in the Woodill murder case was that "Eastman "East-man killed Mrs. Woodill or was accessory acces-sory to the murder." It was a compromise verdict, as four of the members of the jury refused to sign until the words "or accessory to the murder" were added, St. Michaels, Md., June 2S. With the compromise verdict of the coro-J coro-J ner's jury that Robe! R. Eastman either killed or was an accessory to the murder of Edith May Woodill.and tho declaration of State's Attorney Taylor that he was through with the case, the strange dual tragedy which has for nearly a week focused the eyes of tho entire country upon this little out-of-the-way hamlet of Maryland's Mary-land's famous eastern shore, became a closed Incident today. Four of the twelve jurors refused to sign the verdict, and the words "or accessory to the crime" were added to the draft which, approved by the majority, bluntly accused Eastman of the murder. The four dissenting jurymen jury-men merely wished to protest, they said, against the manner in which the inquiry was conducted, declaring much available evidence was not adduced. The letter left by Eastman for his wifo in which he said that Mrs. Wood-Ill Wood-Ill had been killed by a woman in a Jealous frenzy, was not read. There was Just a bit of petty politics mixed up in the verdict, for some of the members mem-bers of the jury 'nave been bitter political po-litical enemies in Talbot county affairs. af-fairs. The Jury sat for a time today in the bungalow Itself, with Eastman's , un-barked un-barked grave not fifty feet awav. Mrs. i team and drove them home. The witness wit-ness presumed he meant the girls' "home." Rcbtrt Seth testified that Eastman aj peare-l at his place Sunday, between be-tween 11 and 11:3 p. m., saying his launch was ashore, that he had "lady" aboard, and that he would not havo Sc-lli know who she was fc $1,000. Seth agreed to let Eastman have a team and to place it where he and the girl could reach it without bt iug seen. Tho ie:m was placed at the point agreed upon, but remained there uncalled un-called foi all uigl'i.. Eastman wanted to take no chances of the girl being teen with him at that time of night. Next day he told Seth he had decided to take the Ayler's team instead, and that he had taken the lady to her home. The jury adjourned to go to Mc-Daniel. Mc-Daniel. where additional .testimony was taken. Mrs. Eastman, widow of the suicide, came to St Michaels this afternoon to claim . the money and property of her late husband. In absence of proof of her wedding, the authorities would not give the property up. They declined" de-clined" also to honor a draft of $50 by Mrs. Eastman against the money found on Eastman. Mrs. Eastman then went out to the bungalow and stood In yard for a time beside the grave of her husband. Some one with ill-judged humor had planted a tomato vine on the new-made mound. Mrs. Eastman asked what sort of a flower it was. No one in the party told her. j Eastman had visited the place earlier in the day and had stood dry eyed for a time beside tho new-made. mound. Some one with ill Judged humor had planted a tomato vine on the grave. Mrs. Eastman, thinking the vine a native flower, asked what it was. No one had the temerity to tell her. She stood by the grave until at last a convulsive' con-vulsive' shudder shook her shoulders. Then she was led away. From tho testimony the autorities have formed this final theory: That Eastman was in need of money; that he probably had been getting money from Mrs. Woodill for some time; that he undoubtedly knew something of her past life arid that he had been blackmailing her; that he attempted to continue this practice and that the woman rebelled, intimating inti-mating that she, too, had found out certain things about Eastman and that if driven to it she would expose him. Eastman's dread of serving a term in the penitentiary is-well known. His wife has said That he told her he would rather commit suicide than be locked up. As to why Mrs. Woodill went to the bungalow there was no evidence. An Interesting development was the finding find-ing of tho scraps of a torn letter In the cracks of the bungalow floor. Little Lit-tle sense could be made from the fragv mcnts. The letter evidently was about the visit of someone to some place, to be "chaperoned or not, as she saw fit." Tho compromise verdict declared that on Sunday. June 20, on Broad creek. "Robert Eastman feloniously killed, or was accessory to the crime of murdering Edith May Thompson Woodill, wife of Gilbert Woodill of Los Angeles, Cal." The four dissenting jurymen were deeply Impressed when thev first read Eastman's letter giving his stoiy of tho crime, and while they morally believed be-lieved hlro alone guilty, they desired that every oilier possible factor in the case should bo eliminated. They complained com-plained that no testimony showing that Eastman and Mrs. Woodill met at Royal Oak station on Saturday ancr were last seen together In a motor" boat was officially shown. There was talk today of having an analysis made of the contents of the bottle fouud in the bhack yesterday and which is believed to" have contained con-tained narcotic drugs which may havo been used upon Mrs. Woodill prior to her murder. But tho analysis was regarded as unnecessary in view of the finding of the jury, and the coroner remarked re-marked that the county had " spent enough money on the lamentable case Mrs. Eastman was granted letters of administration and all of her husband's hus-band's real and personal property will bo turned over to her. She soon will return to the stage. Three witnesses gave interesting testimony before the coroner's Jury, but developed nothing to change materially ma-terially the complexion of the strange ca.c. William Sutton, who went to the Khack to ask Eastman to attend a le-ligious le-ligious meeting, definitely fixed the time of bis visit as Sunday afternoon, between 5 and 6 o'clock. This also definitely fixed tho time of the murder as occurring on Sunday night Sutton Sut-ton swore that he hoard Mrs. Woodlll's voice. There was nothing to Indicate that she and Kastman were or had been engaged iu a quarrel. George Powell testified that ho spent all day Sunday at Sutton's farm, within view of the bungalow, nd that he saw no one go near llu-shack llu-shack that day. Powell said lie mot Eaptman on Wednesday in front of the bungalow, and that, for the tlrst time in their acquaintance, lias) man did not ask him to come in. 1'astman said lie had just returned from the greatest trip of his life, and that he had had experiences which would make "great reading." Powell's testimony testi-mony seems to do away with the story j that a party of people In a launch visited the bungalow on Sunday. I Powell said Eastman told him lie I had picked up some girls at St. Mich uclfl op Saturday, and had asked them 1 if they would go to the bungalow hi 1 his launch. They agreed and every-! thing went well until tho launch I j grounded off Robert Seth's place. I I Then the girls got "cold foot," Easi- man Fald, and wanted to co home. Kastman paid he wanted the ruIs to take off their shoes and stockings and wade JiMhnre. This they refused to : do. He then wa led ashore and tried to borrow a boat to protect the ladies Fast man vai:! ho eventually ho gills us-uoje. stole George Taylor'. |