Norwood Woman Found Murdered-This Day in Norwood History-August 18, 1930

Body of Missing Mrs. Zwicker Left In Walpole Woods—Police Start Search For Jealous Husband

WALPOLE, Aug 17 -The plaintive barking of a little white Spitz dog, standing guard for nearly three day by the body of its mistress, led this afternoon to the discovery of the body of Mrs. Gladys Zwicker, 22, bride of only one year, who had been murdered in her own automobile and then dragged about 50 yards through a narrow footpath and left in a lonely pine grove. The discovery of the body in the patch of woods, only q little over a mile from the Town Hall and business center, was a horrifying climax to the search for Mrs. Zwicker, who had been missing from her home since early Friday morning. Missing Husband Hunted A widespread hunt for the husband of the dead woman, Jerome Zwicker, 23, who la charged by the police with the murder of his wife, was Immediately Instituted by county and local police officials, who attribute the shooting to insane Jealousy. The slaying took place in the automobile owned by Mrs. Zwicker but officials were not certain tonight whether the shooting occurred at the place where the body was found or nearer her home.

The condition of the body indicated that she had been dead since Friday, probably soon after she left the house in company with her husband. Foul play was suspected by the girl’s relatives as soon as they learned she had not returned immediately to the home of her sister, Mrs. Claude T. Morse, with whom she has been living at 6 Stone Circle, Norwood. She was to become a mother In a few months, they said, and her husband had been so Jealous about her every movement that arrangements had been made for them to separate permanently last Saturday.

Stains Found in Car

Bloodstains had Just been found the automobile of Mrs. Zwicker, which had been abandoned in Charlestown and brought back to Norwood late Saturday night, when word was received this afternoon that the body of a woman had been found in Walpole.

It was the faithful little poodle dog, which had always traveled with Mrs. Zwicker – since she received It as a little puppy six months ago, that finally revealed the murder.

The slain woman would not leave the house without the dog on Friday, and apparently, it stood by the body from the time It was left in the woods until its continuous wailing attracted the attention of Oliver Yeaton, 18, of 128 Common st, a student at Hebron Academy, Hebron, Me.

The dog was in the car when the shooting took place and must have fo -lowed through the woods as its mistress body was being dragged from the roadway. All through the heavy downpour of the past two days the dog remained In the lonely section. When help came the dog was weak from hunger.

Relatiues Pistol Stolen

The fact that a 22-caliber pistol, owned by the slain womans brother-in-law, had been stolen from his trunk Friday morning was known to police Investigators when they started the search for Zwicker. It had been decided best for all concerned that the couple separate permanently. It was arranged to have Zwicker call at the Norwood house on Saturday and to take all his belongings away; later. It was believed, proceedings would be instituted to make the separation or divorce legal.

Zwicker, who was a quartermaster on the steamship New York of the Eastern Steamship Line until it arrived at the Atlantic-av pier in Boston Thursday morning on its trip from New York, came to the Morse home Friday morning soon after Mr. and Mrs. Morse had left for church. Persuaded Wife to Go He persuaded his wife to go In the car, probably to drive him as far as Forest Hills, which they usually did when he called at Norwood between his trips to New York.

Nothing was again heard of the woman until her body was found this afternoon. In the meantime, suspicions of foul play arose in the mind of her sister and brother-in-law and they told Chief William H. Sullivan of their fears.

The car was found abandoned yesterday near the Savannah Line docks in Charlestown and for a time It was thought that the pair might have left together. This theory was never accepted by the Morses and when the car was brought back and bloodstains found inside, the murder theory was offered and confirmed dramatically almost the same moment.

Barking Attracts Youth

When young Yeaton heard the barking of a dog as he walked along Stone st extension, he decided to investigate. He found a small opening among the pine trees and followed along, the barking becoming clearer and clearer at each step.

At a spot about 50 yards from the street, in a clearing only a few feet wide, was the body and the dog lifting its head in doleful wails. Yeaton rushed back to the street to summon aid. He was taken to the local police station, a little over a mile away, and informed Chief Levi V. Thompson.

Chief Thompson immediately thought of the missing Zwicker woman and notified Chief Sullivan of Norwood, who was at that moment examining the bloodstains in the car in the garage of Charles Flaherty, a neighbor of Morse in Norwood. With patrolman Michael Fitzgibbons, the chief hurried to Norwood, followed soon afterwards by Claude Morse, the brother-in-law, and Linwood Copeland, a cousin of Zwicker, whose home is in Washington st, Norwood.

Both of them identified her as Mrs. Zwicker, and Sergt Timothy Cullinane of the local police recalled her as a girl who worked at the Bird Manufacturing Company plant about a year ago.

The dead girl was wearing an orchid-colored slip-on house dress, indicating that she had consented apparently to take only a short ride with her husband. She had no hat or coat. On her fingers were a diamond and wedding ring and also a ring of Norwood High School, although she never attended that school. A leather-strap wristwatch was also untouched.

It was clear that the car had stopped in Stone-st extension where the narrow footpath begins. The body was then dragged from the right side door and pulled up the footpath to the spot where it was found. One fact which led police to believe that the shooting may have occurred on Stone st extension was that the car had passed by Gilmores Pond to reach the footpath. They believe that if the woman had already been slain it would have been easier to throw the body in the pond than to leave it out in the woods.

The slayer would have been unable to turn the car in Stone-st extension to bring the body back to the pond and after disposing of his victim was forced to proceed onward to Washington st, the old Providence turnpike.

State Officials Step In Chief Sullivan was of the opinion that the woman was shot as she and the slayer were riding along together in the front seat although bloodstains in the rear of the car gave rise to the theory that they may have parked and talked matters over in the rear seat before the shooting.

The shot was fired from close range, as powder marks clearly indicated, but death is believed not to have been instantaneous.

Asst Dist Atty Edmund Dewing of Norfolk hurried to Walpole as soon as news of the murder was received and State detective Michael Fleming came from Boston.

The body was moved to the undertaking parlors of John T. Walsh here and Associate Medical Examiner E. H. Ewing of Stoughton was called. The medical examiner made a superficial examination of the body and indicated that the condition showed that death had occurred many hours before, probably early Friday. He announced that he would ask Dr. George Burgess Magrath to conduct an autopsy at the Northern Mortuary, Boston tomorrow morning.

The center of the investigation shifted tonight to Norwood police station, where Dewing, Fleming and the two police chiefs held a conference. First, a message was broadcast on the police teletype to search for Zwicker and the aid of police everywhere was sought.

He was described in the broadcast as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, with dark brown hair, blue-gray eyes and probably dressed in a light gray suit. The theory that Zwicker might have boarded the City of Atlanta of the Savannah Line, which left Boston for New York at 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, was upset when the Globe received a radio message from Capt Diehl that Zwicker was not on board, to his knowledge.

The fact that Zwicker was a quartermaster aboard ship led authorities to believe that he left by steamer, and messages have been sent to all ships to search for a man answering Zwicker’s description. Husband Has Twin Brother Zwicker has a twin brother, Bramley Zwicker, who is also a quartermaster aboard the ship New York, on which Jerome had worked. Their father lives in New York, police learned. The family came from Grand Manan, an island in the Bay of Fundy, where the romance with Mrs. Zwicker, whose maiden name was Gladys G. Cossaboon, started. Gladys came to Norwood, July 20, 1929, and soon afterwards married her childhood sweetheart Zwicker, who had lived here before.

Morse, the girls brother-in-law, sald today that Zwicker had always been insanely jealous of the girl. Before his marriage, he said, he continually warned her not to look at any other man and when little arguments arose before their wedding date, he is said to have threatened to kill her if she did not marry him. Their married life was very unhappy- according to the Morses. The husband was continually accusing her of being unfaithful.

The car is known to have parked in front of the Savannah docks as early as 5 o’clock Saturday morning. It is entirely possible that it may have been driven there Friday.

The pistol owned by Morse and believed to have been used in the killing has not been recovered. The keys of the automobile are also missing, and it was necessary to have the machine towed from Charlestown to Norwood.

Edwin Lewis of Norwood appeared at the police station and requested that the Norwood High class ring worn by the murdered woman be turned over to him as it was the property of his sister Julia, who had loaned it to the woman. He was told that he would have to wait some time until the ring would returned.

POLICE TO ASK COURT FOR MURDER WARRANT WALPOLE, Aug 17 Chief s Thompson will appear tomorrow morning in the Walpole District Court and ask for a complaint charging Jerome Zwicker with murder in the first degree.