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About Roseburg news-review. (Roseburg, Or.) 1920-1948 | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1921)
)MEWS-IRHIEW WKATHER RUnett rf"4T Lowest last adfht 41 Tonight and Wednea TOG ITS ALL HERE I and Irrs ALL TRUE day fair. ill Which b Included III Eroinf News and The Roseburg Renew VOL. XXVI, Xo. Ill, OC HOSEBUR G REVIEW. ROSEBCTUJ, OREGON, TUESDAY, JULY IB, 1H1. VOL. X. No. 167, OF THE EVENDH3 KSWB IQM: MURDER MYSTERY CASE STARTED TODAY COURTROOM CROWDEU 1 0 CAPACITY AS GRUESOME ra. BrumfieldU First Witness tion ol Body; Breaks Down Frequently On the Witness Stand. With the court room crowded to paclty and hundred unable to tain admittance, the coroner a in unwt over the headless body In the (iorgue. atarted shortly after 10 o -lock this morning.. Before nine o -lock the crowd began to gather at he courthouse, and when the oourt oom doors were swung open at ten ilnutes to ten the corridors of the nilding were Jammed. f Many Women Present ' Although the majority of epecta rs were men, the women attended I large numbers. Everyone seemed be breathlessly waiUug for some tartling development, and the sole tplc of conversation prior to the senlng of the Inquest was the mys wy case. . i Mrs. Brumfleld Attend. . I Shortly after ten o'clock Mra. R. t Brunifleld entered the courtroom, torapanied by Mrs. C. 8. Heinllne. j whose home she has been staying, frs. Brumfteld wore a heavy veil, attorneys Rice and Orcutt repre nted Mrs. Brumfteld at the in Best. Jury Sworn la. , The coroner's Jury wn sworn in it 10:10 a. m. Tho" Jury consisted ( Robert Kldd, John Throne. O. C. laker, Napoleon Rice,- Barton Helll ell and Paul Bubar. . - - k Case Is Complicated One. -f With two men ruUslng. . and one nan dead, the case is a most compli ktted one. The coroner's inquest tury faces a big problem in solving the identity of the headless body, fhe dead man could have met his leath by any one of four methods: gun shot, auto accident, dynamite r fire. Conflicting testimony re tarding Identification of the body gas much In evidence. According to die testimony many marks on the odyv resemble both Russell and Brumfteld. ; - Standing Boom Gone. : By the time the first witness was placed on the stand, the aisles were trowded with people. Never In the alstory of this city has there been Mch Interest in a case. Even the nany sensational homicide cases lied In the court room have never ttractd such crowds. s Saw Account in Newspapers. ' District Attorney George Nc-uner. Finger Print Expert Is I Convinced Dead Body Is That of James M. Hunter, Bertlllon sot- art of the Portland notice depart- kent, who was called to the scene of he mysterious mnrder to examine Inger prints and secure new onea. s Informed the local officials that is was unable to obtain rood results rom the enlargement of prints. Ac- black. Hunter advised that the hair ordlng to Mr. Hunter, he wa called fOUnd be sent to August Vollmer. the scene of the mnrder too late. !chlef atld criminologist of the Ber l Huflter. though thoroughly tired : keley. Cal.. police department, who tm two days and nights' of work re, returned to Portland Sunday, att wss In possession of nothing thlch will be of value In solving the ystery. After searching over the teene of the crime and tho home of Oennls Russell, supposed to have keen Dr. Brumfleld's victim. Hunter obtained a small mirror that may field a finger print He got a print trom the dead man's left thumb out Jbe print Is so fragmentary that it frill be of little service. It was ob tained by injecting embalming fluid Into the badly burned members and taking a print of a tiny section of the kin. The photo of the mirror print Would not enlarge and the officers yesterday mailed the mirror to him and he will attempt to enlarge di rect from the object Aa Interview of Mr. Hunter's ap pears as follows in the Portland IVlegram: James M. Hunter, head of the Identification division ot tho Port land nolle department I of the firm opinion that the body In the Dongla enanty morgue si Roseburg that of Dennis Rasasu aaa not nr. tramfleld. who Is balag sought as & marderar. ' Haater spent two day en the Men sad white h was aaabl to get TESTIMOIIY IN CASE IS HEARD Called; Is Positire In Identifica who returned last night from Los Angeles, lost no time In acquainting niiuielt with the case. The district attorney received his first news oi the mystery murder case from a Los Angeles newspaper. Be purchased a paper and glanced at the headlines. In bold type was displayed the latest features of the case. He was at first dumbfounded but soon realised that his home town was the center ot na tionwide attraction. He caught a train and hurried to Roseburg In time for the inquest v Mr. Brumfteld Testifies. Mrs. R. M. Brumfteld wai the first witness called- She stated her residence as Melrose. Mr. Brumfield was 38 years at the time of his death, she testified. He had been a practising dentist in Roseburg since 1911, she said. The family moved to Roseburg following Or. Brum tleld's graduation from a dental col lege lu Chicago. She told of their three children. When giving a por tion ot the testimony Mrs. Brum field broke down and sobbed. "I last saw tny husband on the morning of July IS. I talked with htm later in the day by telephone. He called me at noon and again at about six o'clock p. in. He told me ha wouldn't be home until late in the owning and would eat a lunch In town. He had not been feeling well since Sunday he was troubled with his stomach. - "On Sunday before the accident we visited the Meredith homestead. My three boys wont out into the hills with the men during the day. We re turned to our home that evening. 1 have never noticed anything wrong with my husband lately. He always tried to get home from work as early aa possible from 5 to 5:30 p. m. "The doctor was six feet In height He was dark complexloned and weighed 182 pounds. He wore a 15V4 sized shirt, and a aboe about 8 H In size. He ' wore no special make of shoes. He had no especial marks or scars on his body. He had dark hair, some part or It gray. He wore a fraternity ring the only one he ever possessed." At this point the district attorney handed her the ring taken from the dead body. She readily identified It as the doctor's. "He possessed an Elgin watch," Dennis Russell tallvlna- flnser nrlnla. he sars that nihr inHir.tinn. tmd him tn huv tnat the body is that of Russell. . The hair on the pieces of the scalp which was found Is an iron gray, and that was the color of Russell's hair, while Dr. Brumfleld's hslr wss very has a method of making Identifica tions from the hair. The coroner stated that he would do that Im mediately. The body was so badly burned that It was cooked, Mr. Hunter says, and for that reason It was impossible to get a good finger print He did ob tain one print which might be traced on, but as yet he has obtained no finger prints of either of the men. Ho did get one from Russell mir ror, but when the film was devei oped the print did not ahow. He has wired to the coroner to send up the mirror. The sheriff of Douglas county Is working on severs! good clue In the ease, of which Mr. Hunter Is not at liberty to (peak. I o nir.fTW AT WORKER HTRT. A highway employee, who gave the name of 8mlth, was quite badly hnrf yesterday when cable of donkey engioe struck htm In the face as the dark was being drawn out. Hla teeth la the front part of his month war mashed and broken, and the injury was very painful. The broken teeth and bone were re moved br Dr. Bath rick, wh t treat ing th Injury. she said in continuing her testimony,. "He had a lie pin Flour de Lis shaped with a chip diamond. "He had no oxford shoe. He has been weariug black shoes this sum mer. The doctor hsd a Remington .30 automatic. . it was In the car on Sunday on our trip. He had no other firearms. It was carried in a hunt- ! ing case. "We had made two trips to the Meredith homestead. On our first trip to the homestead we met Den nis Russell. He had dinner with us. Dr. Brumfield had no conversation with Mr. Russell about any work to be done on our place. "My husband drove an Elgin au tomobile. I do not know the license number." She slated that Dr. Brumfield never hunted a great deal but had been on several trips- , "My husband purchased some dynamite some time ago and placed It on hla desk in his office . He in tended to blow out a stump on our farm. "Dr. Brumfteld did not drink nor use any drugs to my knowledge. I was familiar with his office work. "The doctor always was a careful driver sometimes he drove rather fast but he never took any chances. , "I viewed the body In the morgue and it Is most certainly my husband. I know every line, every curve and the general build of the body and the body Is like the doctor's even to the callous the ring made on his fln Ter. He was of athletic build, al though his legs wero rather slender, "its skin was dark, sort - of light irown- He had fairly thick hair on lis Chest and below the knees on bis eg. "I can't think ot any thing more that will prove to the jury that the body Is Dr. Brumfield. I know It Is he. t saw Dr. Brumfield and Den nis Russell together. Mr. Russell was very, very thin, his neck hollow ind much broader than be was thick. Mr. Russell's hair was thin. "My husband carried about 114. 040 insurance that I knew abouf. lie had one endowment policy. He took '.one policy out that I knew nothing of.. He went partly in debt to buy our ranch; He was always optimistic about everything never melancholy. His practice has been specially good during the past two weeks. The district attorney asked again concerning Dr. Brumfleld's gun. She utld the gun was almost new and had only been used once. - "I was In the garden when the lector left home on the morning of fuly 13th. He was about 10 mln ites late and was In a hurry to get o the office. He was wearing light imiimer underwear and usually wore white sox. I think his white ones vere all gone, though, and he had tome black ones to wear. He usually arrled an extra pair of socks In fats pocket "The doctor always kept his fin ger nails well trimmed. I viewed tho body early Thtirs- iay morning." she said In answer to luestiona by Attorney Rice. I lu?n' If led the body at that time. The bottom of Dr. Brumfleld's feet were Weavlly calloused. He had followed i plow In his boyhood while bare- ooted and his feet were very tough "On Wednesday be was wearing a gray Palm Beach coat. He wore the lame coat Sunday to the Meredith homestead and he has had a clip of '.artrldges in his pocket "In speaking of the dynamite used on the farm. Mrs. Brumfield tald the doctor had helped In blow- Inr out the stumps. She said the palms or tne aociors hands were not calloused, except on the ring finger. She also stated that Or. Hrumiieio carnea an ezira pair f overalls in the car. She was shown the watch and chain found in the wreckage aud Identified them as the property or her husband. She also Identified a burned portion of a necktie and a jcarf pin. A leather key case and a knife were handed to her for Identi fication and she ssld they belonged to the doctor. i.ktyd Davis Trstltle. . Lloyd Davis, one of the boys who first discovered the burning auto wreck on the Melrose road, testified next. He told of seeing a light glar ing on the trees. They drove psst the blase and saw the wreck and recognised the car as that of Dr. Brumfield. The time was about 11 o'clock. "We stopped at tb wreck about two minutes and then hurried to town." he said. "We saw no bodl around the wreck while there- We notified some people In town and then went back to the wreck. On the way to town w saw no one on the road. On the second trip to the wreck the headless body was found by Jim Fletcher and Bill Dolan, who had gone out with us. When wo first nassed the wreck the car wss all aflame, all parts of It The body was located In a little creek between the burning car and the end of the culvert We heard no explosions." Voting Campbell on a land. Dan T Campbell, the lad who with Lloyd Davie, testified nwat H told of th discovery of th flro- wkleh he thought at first to M I (Conttsaed en peg I.) Officers Believe They Have Brum field Surrounded BEND, Or.. July 19 (Spec- lal to the News-Review by L'nl ted Press) At - three o'clock this afternoon a uiun driving a Chevrolet car. suspected of be ing Dr. R. M. Brumfield, ot Roseburg, Ore., whom the offi cer are searching' for to clear up a suspected murder mystery, was surrounded near the town of Crescent The sheriff, ln- eluding doputle from Klamath Falls and Bond, have tho man hemmed tn and will be taken befoio nightfall unless he has managed to slip by Orescent od a aide road, persons seeing tho man, ' whose car has been do- laved by broken springs, de- claro the description tallies to that furnished ttn officers and the photograph of Dr. Brura- field, the missing dentist ED. WEAVER'S CLUE Mystery Car Carried Victim tc Private Road and Stopped For Several Minutes. BOYS SEARCHING RiVEf youthful Divers Searching Bottom of Deep Hole In Effort to Re cover Teeth and Jawbones. Which May lie There. The cluo offered yesterday by County Commissioner Ed. Weaver proved to be correct lust evening when the officers found conclusive evidence thut the Brumfield car fil tered Weavers private road snd Iol-ianT told tll9 house committee Inves lowed it to a point near the Weaver ,i..i- th win. nf Drover Cleve home and then turned uud went back toward the highway, stopping about a half mile from tho Weavor home and remaining there for a fault or three-quarters of an hour. er heard a large car approaching bllvoun Borgdoll freedom home. It drove up within a tew yards ot tne uuuaing ana tuen lurnco. in turning around In the narrow road It nearly went over the grade, the rear wheels going over tho bank and spinning for a fow seconds be fore traction was secured. Mr. Weaver says the car then started back towards the Myrtle Creek bridge and went about a hair or three-quarters of a mile before It topped again, remaining there for a long space of titno and then started up again going at a rapid rate to the highway. Mr. Weaver's road leads to the highway at the Myrtle Creek bridge, following up the right side of the river for a mile and a half. It la presumed that the car, follow ing the murder, dodged tho bowman jcar at Vandyne Creek and then fol lowed Pearce's car to the Myrtle Creek bridge, taking the private road there. A bis Dool of dried blood was lo cated and It Is possible that the teeth and Jawbones were removed at tbls point. There Is a big deep bole in the river to tue rigni oi me road and it Is poss'ble that the re moved portion or tne neaci couki have been weighted and dropped In tbls hole. Acting on this theory Sheriff Stsmvr has a largo number of boys searching the bottom of the river In an priori 10 secure me i reward he has offered for the recov- ry of the bones. o Roberts Arrested On Robbery Charge Lnnla Roberta was placed under arrest In the city Jail last night af ter be was srrcstr-d by H. D. Rob erts, Southern I'sctric oraxeinan. who states that he appretiendeo Louis Roberts In th act of stealing suitcase from the room at tn Roseburg apartments." The brnke man returned from bis run at mid night and about 4 o clock in tne morning he says h mw a man stand ing in front of bis window. Th employee's room Ij in the. southwest earner of the lower floor of the building. - The brskeraan lift bis room and quietly clrekd th build Ing meeting Roberts, be says, at th east aid of tn prtmnt nous. Robert started to run and went up Douglas street followed by th B. r employe who had the better wind and soon caught the young man. He told the officers that Robert at tempted to pull a gun but was knocked down. Chief ot Police 8hambrook this morning searched the home ot Louis Roberts and a large amount ot sil verware was found hidden between the mattress and springs of the bed. This silverware was positively iden tified hv Mrs. B. W. Strong and Mr. 0. K. Pickens aa that stolen from the Baptist church several nays ago. A suitcase taken from the Rose burg apartments wn found to be long to two women residing there. It had been left atandlng on a dres ser where It was possible for a per son to reach through the window and remove it, which it is believed was done. As soon as the value of the ion tents can be ascertained a charge will be placed against Roberts. A number of milk bottles found at the Roberts home were admitted hv Mrs. Roberts to have been stolen (ram porches on Mill street Local Masons En Joy Meeting A number of Masons motored from this city last evening to the temple at Myrtle Creek, where they enjoyed the regular session of the Masonic lodge. The third degree was conferred on candidates, and all enjoyed a very Interesting gathering. Those from this city were Simon Cnro. D. B. Bunnell, William Bell, and N. T Jewett A delkious banquet, served at a Into hour, was enjoyed by the visi tors, together with the Myrtle Creek order. Shows A Drop Of Nine Billion .-.WASHINGTON, July 19. The government's expenditures during the flsfal year Just ended dropped off nine bllllou dollars compared with last year. Mother Bergdoll Aids Slacker Son WASHINGTON, July It. Mra. Em ma C. uergdoii of Philadelphia, to- land Dergdoll. that she gave rive thousand dollars to Major Bruce Camtboll. army officer at Governor's Island, for use "anions Man officials i at Wnlhlngton" to taslp obtain Recognized Man Missing Dentist Sheriff Charles Terrlll passed through Roseburg this morning on his wav from the north, euroute to Medford. having in custody Phillip Forester, who recently escaped from the Jackson county Jail. Sheriff Terrel said that as tho train passed through Centralis. Wash., last night a man approached them asking whether or not the finger pilnt Im pressions taken' at Roseburg - had lead to th Identification of tho p nn responsible for the murder com mitted Thursday night - Both the sheriff's and the prisoner's suspicions were aroused at the actions of the man, and a close oDservsnce oi nis build and general looks were made. They had never seen a picture of the mlsi-lng dentist, and npon being shown bis likeness here today were nosltlve that the man who accosted them on th train was Dr. Brum field. He was traveling south. Conference Will Consider Question fny Associated Press) TOKIO. July 19. It I reported ! that Japan will likely aubmlt t tbe proposed far eastern conference tn adandonment ot cxtra-terrltorlallty in china and also ask for fixation or emir ration rights to countries Ilk r' 1 . . -. 1 1 K'nM X I n n and Indo-Clilna sn tn genersl raise the question of racial eouallty, o OBTAINS DIVORCE. Mrs. I.nella May French, of Olen flale today secured a decree of di vorce from her husband Loale L. n. ' .. .u. . roe mwm kiihj n i ii uw ."i-"; - two minor children. j o . GWihil Resident TJsn I declared h recognised tn fh picture' for th fugutlve throughout tho day. Us W eillam of Oloodal. I In of Brumfield. printed In a Portland Ptep were taken tonight for cou th city 'for several day attending TPr, an autotat whe had accosted , tinned vtgllaoe throughout tho to bualnee matter. jhlm on th trt yesterday after-j county. CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER THIRTY MINUTE PARKING ORDINANCE NEXT MEETING Measure Introduced to Limit Time Care May be Left Standing on Main Streets; Counciimen Appear to " Favor Ordinance. ' A parking ordinance, prohibiting the parking of car on Sheridan, Cass, or Jackson streets, between the hours ot 8 a. m. and 6 p. m., for a period longer than SO minutes will be presented to the city council at It next meeting, with a good chance for passage. It is quite probable that the ordinance will also Include Main atree, from Ijine to Douglas In order to keep that thoroughfare open In the event ot tire, aa it Is used almost entirely by the tire de partment In going either north or south. Tho matter was brought np for discussion upon the recommendation of Chief of Police Shambrook, who stated that the time Is rip for inch a measure. "The streets are frequently block ed" he said, "and business 1 greatly hindered. Our (treat are narrow and when cars are lined up on each side there Is scarcely room for two marhinea to pas. The delivery wag ons, or farmers loading or unloading produce have to stop out In the mid dle ot the street to get Into the stores and then it la practically im possible for other cars to get by. 'Many people owning cars are In the habit of leaving their machines landing on the streets all day long na as a resttt traffic Is greatly Ira' neded. It Is lime this practice was Hopped and some effort made to keep our streets clear." It was the concensus of opinion -if the counciimen that such an or- llnance Is needed and considerable lscussion on Its extent wai held. It vaa proposed to Include Sheridan itreet, Crss Street, Jatkson street 'rom Cam to Douglas and Oak from he bridge to JackRon. To this was 'dded Main street from Lane to Douglas. After much argument, however. It vas decided to ellmlnnte restriction' n Oak street and It will not be In hided In the ordinance. The conn i apparently Is divided at the pres nt time on Main street. It Is feared 'owsver, that If parking Is allowed here the street will become blockeC nd In the event of a fire the fire rtirk would be held up by traffic Eastern Oregon Officers Conduct Thrilling Chase To Apprehend Murderer (fly United Prssa.) PORTLAND. J"'- (Spe- clal to th New-Revlew) The police authorities of Bend and Laplne are In pursuit of a man reported to answer the de- 4 script Ion of Dr. K. M. Brum- field. Tho nan wss seen at Bend, and other points In that vicinity and the police are en- deavorlng to surround htm. They reported arly this morn- Ing that they had surrounded htm and expected his capture at any moment Although the 4 suspected person may not be Brumfield. It Is said the doctor' 4 description tits th msn per- fectly. The suspect's cheap automobile is said to taavo been disabled near the Jame Black ranch. SHERIFF'S CAK BREAKS. BEND. Or., Jnlv IS. Piirsnlt of Dr. R. M. rtrumfleld. Roseburg den list wanted for the murder of Dennis Russell of the same city, ended this afternoon 40 miles M"'"' ' nena. warn inv mr in wiihh Dnnnn Roberts was cond'ictlng his solitary rhase broke down at Paulina Creek Word of the accident was relsved to Bend, and Deputy Stokoe speeded south on th state blghwav witn an other car. Communication with the officer Is Impossible until they start narg. Brumfleld's Presence In central Oregon ws first announced when ' offl' lal of Cmstlll oounty and Pen Dennr Sheriff Adams of Redmond . dleton polir fcent a clos lookout Jams, while there would' be a greater liability of accident, not only to ' autos and the fir truck but to pedestrians. The thirty minute restriction. If the ordinance 1 approved, will be in force between the hours of 8 a. in. and ( p. m. Th city attorney will be instrucied to prepare th measure this wock and it will be In troduced before th council at Its next meeting. It I believed that the ordtnano will not only prevent traffic Jama, but will eliminate some of th dan- genr from accident Tb chief ot no narrowly escaped serious injury be- tice stated tnat many versona have cause of their Inability to see up and nown tne streets, when they are , lined with parked car. In stepping out from between auto pedestrian have been run down and hurt, al though fortunately none hav been seriously injured from this cause re cently. The danger exists, however, he states and should be eliminated. Another feature I that on hot day. ' cars when left on th pavement sink Into the soft surface leaving deep hole. Tho street repair crew is now making repair on Jackson street, where such damage ha been caused during th past few year. . It Is expected that there. will be -onslderabla opposition as th meas ure will not meet favor with om, neople. Whether or not this oppo sition will be strong enough to de-. feat the ordinance la questionable, is the counciimen appear to be flrm 'v convinced that some such measure . I needed. It was also proposed tl.at th curb it the main Intersection be moved hack, giving two or three feet mora oora for autos rounding the corners, "he smsll corners at the present are somewhat difficult for a large car snd It I very possible that the curbs it some of the principal comers will he moved back, allowing more room n which to turn. Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Newman, of Voncalla, are spending th day In own visiting and attending to busi ness matters. noon and asked for direction to (lend. The man had Inquire.! if be had to pass through Redmond ta reach the Deschutes county seat, and Adams, unsuauectlnx. hsd given hlin full Information. Th man was at tired In khaki, and except for the fact that he wore no glasses be was ! apparently th exact original of the picture. Adams said. After the port to Uobrt by the deputy sher- . Iff other information aaa received hy the sheriff leading to the belief 'hit rtrumfleld nsd continued south on The Dslles-Callfornla- highway. According to Adams' deectiptlnn'tba man he identified as rtrumfleld wss driving a Chevrolet or Maxwell car. Another man. for whom no descrip tion was given, was In th machine. I-ArUVE SEKS SI MPECT. LAP1NE. Or.. July !. A msn h dleved bv local authorities to be Dr. Ilrumfleld, the Roseburg dentist rho Is wanted for murder of Dennis Russell, passed through I.sptne to day enronte to Silver Lake from Hend. Telephones were kept busy In an sttempt to trace the man who hsd hla car repaired and purchased gasoline at Laplne this morning. FMATII.I.A ON LOOKOIT. PENDLETON, Or., July 1. Fol lowing receipt today of a detailed j description of Dr. R. M. Bmmfleld Roebnre dentist, wanted on charge of murder, together with Informa tion throurh press reports that It was thought the suspect might n heading for eas'ern Oregon, sheriff 1