Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 1943)
January 25, 1043 PAGE THREE. ; 0 Four Give Statements in Tourist Car Slaying of Mrs. James on Saturday Pvt. Harold R. Wilson Stutomorit of Plivuto Harold It. Wilson, U. S. Marines, com corulnu the murder of Martha Urlnnon Jiiiiiuh on (ho Klamath buuncl Went Count Limited Hut urclny inoi nliiK. Privalo Wilson was detained huro ovor tho wockmid us a matorlal witness. Q. Your name? A. Private Harold R. Wilson. Q. Wlmt wim your berth on thin ti n In? A. Uppor 13, Car D. Q. You not on at Portland? A. Soattlo, v Q. Wlmt time did you no to bril? A. I'd aay botwoon 3 and 4. Q. Hud you pulled out of Port land ynt? A. Yel, Ii30 p. m, Q, Wlmt wim tho first tlilnit you know of thin? ' A. When the lady aereamed I rose up end turned light on, lean ed over and looked through cur tain, pulled it apart and looked down. Been about hall a man get ting out ol her berth, itlll 10 sur prised from that acroam kind oi ' glanced at him. He went to rear of car on run. Ai he ran ha kind of turned little aldewayi o 1 could get Just light of till face. Pretty full. Had on brown pin atrlpe. Think about 6 feet 10 Inches. He Siad abort hair kind of pompadour, combed straight back. Light so dim I couldn't toll whether light negrp or dark white man. Then when 1 glanced down seen this lady sitting on the floor with her loft elbow on the left side of the arm of 14 lower bunk. 8he was sprawled out with right arm resting on bunk Itself. Q. Which way fuuliiK? A A. Head toward roar of car. And then 1 was already on deck at that time. Put on my trousors and shoes. Jumped down and grabbed a pillow from lower 14, placed it in the aisle and with my hands grasped her below the armpits and lowered her to pil low. And I saw the left side of her neck. I saw the scar. 1 ateppad back and said this is murder, stop the train. About that time the lights came on. The porter came and atopped dead' in his tracks and says, "She is dead." I said, "Grab a sheet," and he got a sheet from 14 empty and placed it over the body. The last 1 seen of her she was gasping for air and the blood was gushing out of her. Bo I told him. "You stop the train. You go that way." In the meantimo I gave him the description I recalled Oand said "1 am going this way," and I wont to the rear and in doing so I went to the last car. Coming back, mot with cook In the ((alley, and stopped and lukod him how lontf been work liili. Suid ho wuk Inter than usuul. 1 told him this was mil itary information I have to have, inurdor committed. Ho asked mo If I had been drinking1. I asked If ho had seen a man pass with blood on him, save him description, said ha hadn't. Then 1 went on talkinu about the murder and when I camo back tills other inurlno was just not ling up. They were In 11 or 12, and he says "aro you u marine?" 1 soys, "Yes," Wo shook hands. Wo talked about tho murder thou, Q. You sent tho porter Xor- Owurd? . , A. Yes, to got aid. Q. Did you hear any words. ' A. No sir. When I awoke it was from hor scream, and that is how I woke, that's how I woke. Q. Pretty dark In tho cur? A. The end dim lights were on, and it wasn't pitch black, but sort of dim so I could sea what I was doing. When ho wont, got about fivo feet, so from the door, the light was brlghtor ,, and I distinguished the color of his suit. I imagine he was about five, five ten. . Q. -About how heavy? , '. " A. Very hoavy, 175 or 185. Of course his suit coat might have l been lorgor than lookod. It was looso. Ha could have been moro slender. Q. Seo any blood on his cloth illK? Q A. Didn't notice didn't ' sea, or a weapon. It was a whlsh, and he was gone. Q. Hnvo blood on you? , A. Had blood on my hand, Q. Look In her berth? A. No sir. After the body had been taken out the porter was in the car. I wanted to show the young lady the berth and he wouldn't let ma in, Q. Seen anybody slnco that you think might bo lilmV A. No sir. ' TOPJEKA, Kaa. (IP) Gale Thompson of Topckii, dreaming of Xor-nway lands, enlisted six months ago as a yeoman third class. In tho navy. Ho promptly was sworn In and ordered to recruiting duly nt nearby Kansas City. His, long awnltod transfer fi nally urrlved. Ho was assigned to Topoka,, ?as on Stomach uSSI?. . ""f "M mi nunir back i. ... ...... . """" nalnrtil. infTorat. Sirrlh'ii i ? 1 ,n,l,h',''l""n. ilMlora uMlallr Mi. A f'll'f mtdlrlni tlkn thou In IMMna BVorrttuinboUI. lo ui fcr doubla uuuar back. Uft. Heard Scream ffW...i . f-i A : ')- I. -.Ij'i 'ft "Si-"'" f 1 William Van Dyke, wounded marine corporal, who occupied lower 12 and heard Martha Brin son James scream Just before she was killed. Cpl. W. Van Dkye (Below arc questions and answers put lo und given by Corporal Willinm Van Dyke, Oakland hospital, a marine who was with his wife in berth 12.) Q. Wlmt did you first hear? A. First thing I heard was a scream this morning, Q. Any words? A. Just, Oh Cod. he's killing me, and this blood-curdling scream. Q. Did you look out? A. Not immediately, about a minute, I was a little dumb founded. I lookod, leaned over, and saw the streak, blood streak, shoved tho curtain back. My wife said, "See anything." And I said, "Yes, but honoy, don't look. Just as I rang the bell the marina above hollered this Is murder, stop the train. Q. Did you hear tho other fel low hit the deck? A. Nothing but the scream. Q. Did you hear - something about can't stand It? A. Yes, I can't stand it any moro. Oh God, he's killing me. Q. When this boy (marine) hol lered whero was he? A. That I don't know. Tho minute I looked out I asked if he was a marlno, he said yes, I shook hands with him, he had blood on his right hand, but not on his left. Whether he was In his bunk whon ho hollered I don't know. Before I stuck my head out the berth. Q. Wcro his shoes lied? A. That I wouldn't know. Well, the lady screamed, I wait ed about 60 seconds before I let out a peep, I was too damn norvous. Then I didn't ring the bell until I saw the sheet and it took a mlnuto to ring the bell. The minute I ring the bell he hollers. Let's put everything to workl Sell tho articles you don't use through a classified ad. p I' fT II if SxW., Y , I MISERIES OF laby's Cold Relieved As He Sleeps Ensign G. A. Kearon Statement of Ensign Glenn A. Kouton of Eudora, Ark., mem ber of Ensign James' squadron, last of Mrs, James' friends to seo her alive. Q. Whut is your namo? A. Ensign Glenn A. Keaton, US navy air corps, Q. Did you know Ensign and Mrs. Jamos7 A. Yes, mam, I had known the James about one week. He joined our squudron at Anu cortcs, Washington, about a week ago, Q. Was Mrs. James with him there? A. Yes, sho was. They were both from Norfolk, Virginia, and had been on the west coast for a couple of months. Q. Did you know Mrs. James vory well? A. No, I didn't. Sho lived ncur us at Anucortes but she'd only boon thoro about one week. I didn't know her first name, Just called her Mrs. James. Q. Cun you describe Mrs. Jumcs? A. Yes, I can. She was a beautiful blonde girl. Not very tall, maybe about 5 feet 21 or 3. Not a big girl, small and awfully pretty. Q. Did you seo her in Seattle? A. Yes, I saw her in Seattle as we were all ready to leave and then they told our wives, Mrs. James and my wife, Janice, that they couldn't board the train with us as It was a troop train. I got Junlco Pullman res ervations but Mrs. James couldn't get reservations. We left Seattle at 4:10 and they left around 4:30. Q. When did you next seo Mrs. Jumcs? A. Well, they told us that our trains wouldn't stop in Portland at tho sumo time, but I thought maybe they would and I waited tip in Portland. That was about 1:J0, I guess. I was worried about Janice and wanted to see If she was alright. When I got olf the train I didn't aee Janice as she had gone to bed, but I saw Mrs. James and she was up set because she hadn't a place to sleep. Sho was awfully excited and worried. I told her If she couldn't get a berth to go and get In bed with Janice and she'd bo all right. Then she turn and run back to her train and that's the last I saw of hor. Q. What was she wearing when you saw her, Mr. Keaton? A. She was wearing a leopard coal and some kind of a grey suit with a brown "bcunle," a littlo cap on tho back of her head. Eugene W. Norton Herewith is statement, in part, of Eugcna W. Norton, 153 Win chester street, Daly City, Calif., who was a passenger In upper berth 7 of the death car. Q. What do you know about It? A. The first place I was get ting off at Eugene, my destina tion for the day, got on the train in Portland. I was on berth 7 upper In car D. Then about an hour before we got into Eugene I was awake but just a few mo ments after that, can't tell ex actly, this woman hollered and says "I can't take it any longer." Immediately following she screamed my God, this man is killing mo. The "killing me" was a very wheesy sound, whis per; and then I immediately put my head outside the curtain and tho first thing I seen was seemed like a dark object back there. But I was in upper 7 and look ing at an angle. Thought it was a person. Then, looking down closer, seen it was a mar ine with hand underneath her putting something white under her head. Then he got up and was evidently trying to find a light, then hollered stop this P I L E S SUCCESSFULLY TREATED NO PAIN - NO HOSPITALIZATION No Loit of Tlmt PtrmiiHflt Rttulttl DR. E. M. MARSHA Ohlropractle PhytlelMt tM No. 7th laqulra Thiltrt aids. I Ptionr 1061 Now . . . here's a wonderful home proved medication that works 2 ways at once to relieve distress of , child's cold even while he sleeps, lust rub throat, chest and back with VlcksVapgRubaebedtlmc. Instantly VnpoRub goes to work to relievo coughing spasms, case muscular sore ness or tightness, and invite restful, comforting sleep. Often by morning, most of the misery is gone. For baby s sake try Vicks VnpoRub tonight. It must be good, because when coldsstrike, most mothers use Vlcks VapoRub. COUGHINQ SPASMS To relieve dis tress, melt a spoonful of VapoRub In a bowl of boiling water. Inhale the steaming, medicated vapors. Feel re lict come right witn tne nrst oreaini train and then he says "This Is murder, stop this train." Be lieve he repeated. Then I ask ed the porter and this marine to block the train on both ends, afraid somebody might pull cord and stop. That was first thought in my mind. After getting hold of conductor he came back and took statement off of me and I believe one of the MPs came back about that time. Q. This first cry you heard warf it very loud? A, Quite loud, loud, enough to be more or less audible from that distance, and don't believe it was more than half a minute until she said "This man is kill ing me." Q. Did you look out immedi ately after that? A. Yes, it looked more or less like a man going through the back but it might have been a curtain bulged out. Possibly it was a man. Q. Was tho marine dressed? A. No, he had on a white un dershirt, a pair of pants and I believe a pair of shoes. PROBE CENTERS IN K. F.; THREE HELD IN CASE (Continued From Page One) 4, soon to go overseas. Officers were looking Into his background seeking any clue that . might have a bearing on his story, which he told repeatedly and easily, -, , Tho point which seemed to concern officers, particularly, was the speed with which Wil son pulled on pants and shoes and got from his upper berth after hearing Mrs. James' scream. First witnesses who looked out saw tho marine placing a ptllow under her head, an act which ho described in his story. Sequence Reconstructed . Police said that, essentially. tho following Is the sequence of events on the West Coast Lim lted: Mrs. James, daughter ' of a prominent Norfolk, Va., family, was following her husband of four months, Ensign Richard F. James, also of a prominent Vir ginia family, after a routine navy transfer from Seattle. He was on the southbound - train ahead of the West Coast, which sho took at Portland alter, some difficulty in getting accommoda lions. About 4 a. m. Saturday as the train ncared Tangent, Ore., two men in berths nearby heard Mrs James exclaim: "I can't take this any longer," and then, "My God, this man is killing me." A scream fol lowed. Eugene W. Norton, who oc cupied upper berth 7, said he heard all of this and looked out of his berth. - (See statement on page 3.) He said he saw the marine placing a pillow under Mrs, James' head. Col. William Van Dyke, a wounded marine who occupied berth lower 12 with his wlfe also heard the words and scream from lower 13. Police at Los Angeles today quoted Robert Folkes as follows In an Associate Press dispatch: Folkes told police ho board ed tho train at Portland last Friday night, had a few drinks and went to bed after setting his alarm for 3:13. Ho said the alarm did not go off and he did not awaken until 4 a. m. Officers said the cook told them he started through the cor'ln which Mrs. James was sleeping, and as he got near hor berth ho saw a man wear ing dark clothes. He said he heard later- the man was a chief petty officer. This man, Visitors Welcome! OLYMPI wiffi pnj -fance ff ll1 GCD Lfl WAR g&If B0ND$ Finger " "vy I . rn v.; -ID ': m-. f7lV ) This picture was taken In H. Adler, coroner, took material ployes in the James murder case. waiter, who was detained as a in the picture were questioned p r- - v ; This picture shows the tourut sleeper in which Martha Brinson James was slain on the south' bound West Coast. Picture taken dark circle. Group at left is made up of passengers and trainmen he said, was climbing out of Mrs. James' birth. Before going back to t h e dining car, Folkes said,' he was in the front of the train and, had talked to a porter for 15 minutes. . This story, the officers said, conflicts in some details, with information of other wit nesses, l State Police Sergeant Earl Tlchenor said here that Folkes made no such statement as this while being questioned here. Officer Tlchenor said that Chief Water Tender R. M. Kelso was on the West Coast, and was in the death car talking to the porter at the time Mrs. James was killed, according to infor mation gathered by the police. - Kelso had gone to get the porter help him with a zipper on his traveling bag. Kelso told officers he saw a man with a cook's cap stop at the front end of the death car, and then go through the car toward the A BREWING COMPANY, Nail Examination in Train Case the Southern Pacific station Saturday afternoon when Dr. George from under the finger nailstof The man at center, looking at material witness. At light is State Officer Thomas. Other men but not detained. Here Is the Death Car in the station here. Location of diner, some time murder occurred. before the , Could Have Jumped ' Private Wilson said the scream awakened him. . "I looked down and saw half a man getting out of the lower berth," he said to a reporter at the Southern Pacific station here. "I could have jumped on him if the curtains had not been but toned." . Wilson said he quickly pulled on shoes and pants and slid out of the berth to the aisle. He did not at first know Mrs. James had been wounded, but when he saw blood gushing from a large wound in her neck he yelled for the porter. Wilson said he saw the dark man in pin-stripe running from the car toward the rear. Wilson had blood on his hand, he said, after propping up Mrs. James with the pillow. - Towel Found Police looking over the train Olympia, Washington, U.S. A. several passengers and train em camera, is John Funches, 30, her berth is indicated by the discussing the case. . here Saturday afternoon found blood specks through the cars behind the death car to the rear of the train. These were both sides. There was some question as to whether Wilson might have left them while run ning through the train, or wheth er they could have been left by another man. A bloody towel was found in a washroom in one of the rear cars. Train authorities notified of ficers ahead and Mrs. James' body was removed from the West r ailing Ml OUTDOOR aln Clothes Sites Pants $5.95 Sou'wester 50 Wool Underwear$4.95 Dark Grey Underwear .... $5.95 50 All Wool ' ' . Y --..V"". Rain Proof Jackets $3.95 Heavy Weight Stag Pants $7.95 Heavy Weight Stag Coats $11.95 Boot Socks 49c Ws Give S&H Green Stamps ' . Oregon Woolen 8th and Main Store Coast at Eugene early Saturday morning. Lane county officers -got aboard there. Train Held Here The train came into Klamath Falls about 3 p. m. Saturday. Waiting It were state police, sher iff s officers, city police, District Attorney L, Orth Sisemore, 2nd S. P. Investigators. The train was held here for nearly five hours while witnesses were questioned In the front end (dead-head) dining car. Numerous statements were : taken. Several negroes, includ- ing Funches and Folkes, were . taken into the passenger station . where Dr. George H. Adler, cor- ; oner, removed material froirt un- der their finger nails. Investigation Continued i The train finally was released, - Folkes going south, but Funches and Wilson being held here as material witnesses. .. Police continued to work on the case here through the eve- ; ning and all day Sunday, They - followed several leads which a brought no developments, one of them taking officers to Che mult to check a report a suspect had gotten off the West Coast there. .' " . - ' Funches said his home is at . Oakland, Calif. He wore a brown suit, but not of the pin-stripe variety. Folkes, when brought into the station for the finger-nail scrap- , ing by Deputy Sheriff Jack v Franey, indicated great hurry. C He wanted to get back to his kitchen, he said. . He is of med- , ium height and .has a small moustache. ', Officers Here . The death car was set off on , a siding here and locked up be- . fore the train went south. It ' was returned to Albany, Linn county seat. " Herbert Shelton, Linn county z sheriff,- and his deputy, Clay. Kirk, came here Monday morn- Ing and -went north with the marine and Funches at noon. ' Sheriff Shelton said there were no new developments in thcase in i-iane coumy. There were reports that a door had been found open on the train: Head Brakeman Chester 9 Anders of Portland, formerly of - Klamath Falls, said that one of the doors was sprung. Anders - said he saw a negro in a pin-' strite suit on the train north of Salem, but had not been able 1 to find him after the killing. Not Ravaged . State police here said there was nothing to a report that U dCES All HNW ' ' JIUCIIb showed a man had gotten off one train" and taken another here. i . At . Eutfene. Dr. Josenh-.TtaA-: man, state police investigator, examined uie ooay ui ivirs. James and said she had not been ravaged. Robbery: was not be lieved a motive of the crime for $112 was found in Mrs. James berth. Police considered . tho possibility a man made insulting approaches to' Mrs.- James, re sulting in her comment that she couldn't stand any more of that, and then slew her when she started to. cry out or reach for the porter's bell. Always read the classified ads. How To Hold FALSE TEETH More Firmly in Place Do your faU teeth annoy and em ban-ass by Mpplns, dropplni or wabbling when you eat, laugh or talk? Juit iprinkle a little FASTEETH on your plates. This alkaline (non-acid) powder hdlds falsa teeth mora (irmly and more comfortably. Ho gummy, gooey, pasty taste or feeling. Does not our. Checks "plate odor" (denture breath). Get FASTEETH today at any drug store. RUBBER 38 to 50 Coats . $6.95 Hats $1.25 Phon. 6873 WORKERS
