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Post by Michael on Jul 29, 2014 5:18:50 GMT -5
That discovery of the private phone lines in 1933 is interesting. I would think that Dwight Morrow Sr. might have had a special phone line because of the government positions he held while alive. Guess we will never know anything else about these lines! One private (non-published) line was situated in Mrs. Morrow's sitting room. The other was in the "chauffeur's apartment" in the Morrow Estate where they determined Staff had frequently used this phone as well.
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Post by Michael on Jul 30, 2014 8:45:27 GMT -5
I remember you telling me that the FBI Summary report was made up of a combination of reports and investigations from several sources. The summary report has a number of pages on Violet Sharp. They have a couple pages listing the names and addresses found in Violet's notebook. On page 123 one of the people they mention is Miss Edith Marshall who resides in New York City. She says she met Violet Sharp when they were both employed by Robert K. Hass of Scarsdale N.Y. Miss Marshall says that Violet worked for Mr. Hass just before she became employed at the Morrow Home. I have read Violet's March 10 statement. Violet claims that when she came to America from Canada she registered with Hutchinson's Employment Office in NYC. Ten days later she was interviewed by Mrs. Graeme from the Morrow residence and hired to work at the Morrow house. Violet does not mention her employment with Mr. Hass. Does she mention this previous employer in any of her other statements to the NJSP or is this something the FBI found out through their investigations of Violet Sharp? You're right about the FBI Summary Report. It relied on all known sources of information at that time, some of which was bad intel and dubious newspaper reports. But under the circumstances they really had no choice but to include certain angles because information was not only being kept from them they were also given, at times, false information on directly on purpose. As it concerns Sharp, they did do much of the "front line" investigative work up until the complaint from the NJSP. Here the Special Agents would write reports concerning their specific investigations. Later, the SAC would then summarize everything up, at a certain point, to Nathan, or even Hoover in very lengthy Memos/Letters. It's why it can be so hard to find information as it concerns the FBI because if you don't have the reports, these Summary Letters contain so many different subjects its hard to remember where they might be. So the FBI Summary Report is in this style - as it sums up the entire case from their perspective up to that point in time. It appears to me this Summary Report reference you mention on page 123 relies on Special Agent Murphy's Report written after the investigation he conducted based on some of the items which were discovered in Sharp's room. SAC Fay wrote a Memo on these items, then Murphy immediately began a phase of the Sharp angle by investigating this information. As a result, he interviewed Miss Edith Marshall who provided this information to him: Miss Marshall advised that she met Violet Sharp about two weeks after she came over to this country at Scarsdale, N.Y. where she obtained employment with a Jewish family by the name of Hass (Robert K. Hass). Violet was a waitress at this place for about two weeks when she obtained employment at the Morrow estate in Englewood, N.J. Miss Marshall stated that Violet has visited her several times since the Spring of 1930 and on tow occasions since March 1, 1932. On one of the last two visits, Violet was accompanied by her sister, Edna, who was about to return to England. Miss Marshall stated that at no time since the murder of the Lindbergh baby, or since March 1, 1932, has Violet made any remarks about the Lindbergh baby, with the exception of stating that all of the employees at the Morrow home in Englewood, and in the Lindbergh home at Hopewell, N. J. were doing everything possible to assist the State Troopers and to provide them with lunches, etc. Miss Marshall state that during the time she has known Violet Sharp, she has appeared to be an upright girl of excellent moral character and has always had good associates.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2014 10:44:33 GMT -5
Thanks Michael for posting this information. I wasn't sure if the NJSP were doing all the investigative work on the numerous addresses themselves or if the FBI spent considerable time following up these names and addresses. It is funny though that some of the addresses noted in Violet's book when they were checked out the proprietors say that don't know Violet or Edna Sharp. I have to think that these addresses meant something to at least one of these sisters.
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 20:56:23 GMT -5
I have noticed that while a lot of books refer to the investigation by the British Consul, Shepherd, I haven't seen his report cited in any of the references. So I decided to order a copy of the Foreign Office files on Violet Sharp from the British Archives and I just got them this week.
Not much is startling, but there is some interesting points, and I think I can comment on some of the earlier questions posted under this topic.
Among other points,
(1) Shepherd believed that there was no third degree in the sense of violence or deprivation of sleep, food or water and that the questioning did not go beyond reasonable bounds. But he did believe that the questioning was aggressive, perhaps cruel and offensive.
(2) Shepherd interviewed Schwarzkopf, Walsh, and Keaten - he had a low opinion of Walsh and suspected him of deliberately slandering Violet to him to taint his perception of Miss Sharpe.
(3) Shepherd thought it was reasonable for the police to suspect Violet given her inconsistencies.
(4) Contrary to what Condon says in his book, there is no evidence that Shepherd or any one tried to interview him about his treatment. If Shepherd had made the effort, he would have recorded it.
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 22:04:28 GMT -5
I messed up the editing here too! This pertains to why Violet's parents did not have her body sent back to England....
Springer made the funeral arrangements and checked with Violet's parents for approval. They approved his arrangements, presumably including her burial in the US. Mrs. Morrow later paid for all of the funeral arrangements once the British government satisfied her that Violet's father was not going to drink away any money he got from Violet's estate.
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 22:16:39 GMT -5
Here is something that I think might add to my previous post: I found the Sharp family to be poor but honest, respectable and hardworking. Nothing is known against them and they are held in the highest esteem locally.
I formed a good opinion of Miss Emily (Edna) Sharp and firmly believe that every part of her long statement was given honestly and that she would only be too glad to assist the authorities were she in a position to do so. (Horwell, J. Chief Inspector. New Scotland Yard Police Report. June 13, 1932, page 3) Here's something interesting he wrote in a later Report: I am not acquainted with the regular normal conduct of Mr. Sharpe, but on the 11th and 12th of June, 1932 when I visited his cottage at Beenham, Berkshire to obtain a statement from Emily (Edna) Sharpe I found him to be in a drunken quarrelsome state.
However, Mr. Sharpe was quite respectful to me and in consequence I attributed his condition to the recent sad news of the death of his daughter and to the free drinks which had undoubtedly been put before him by the crowd of press repoters and photographers I found surrounding his cottage.
On the other hand I gathered information that he was a hard working man and from my observations of the mother and various members of the family I formed a good impression as to their respectability.(Horwell, J. Chief Inspector. New Scotland Yard Police Report. July 25, 1932) Since Horwell only met Mr. Sharp once, the Foreign Office also asked for the opinion of Inspector Braby of the Berkshire constabulary, who said:
"at the time of my visits to the "Sharpe" on 11th and 12th of June last,... I found Sharpe under the influence of drink, though not in a bad condition. This was, however, largely brought about by the presence of a number of newspaper reporters in the village, who had taken Sharpe into the adjoining "Six Bells" P.H. and plied him with liquor to get a "story" out of him regarding his daughter and their part in the above case.
Sharpe is a coal merchant in a small way, carrying on business by means of a small meter lorry, hawking coal in the village around, and although he undoubtedly is a very regular customer of the "Six Bells" P.H., I should not describe him as a heavy drinker.
The home is of the usual Country cottage type, comfortably furnished, and in view of it's condition, and the fact that Sharpe keeps his small business going, I should not describe him as improvident. His wife appears to be a very respectable, quiet living woman.
I have also taken the opinion of Sergeant Plumb, Officer-in-Charge of the Section in which Beenham is situate. He reports that Sharpe appears to lead the life of the average Country working man; he has never seen him the worse for drink, and he has never received any complaint as regards his conduct at home."
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 22:26:49 GMT -5
Sorry I messed up the editing here - this was supposed to pertain to who was at the funeral....
Mrs. Morrow had already left for Europe, but a large number of the staff from Englewood were present at the funeral. Shepherd went directly there after the burial to question them for his report. Shepherd said he interviewed Lindbergh himself and since he seems to imply the interviews occurred after the funeral, that seems to suggest that Lindbergh was present. However, a newspaper article included in the file says that 18 members of the Morrow household attended, without mentioning Lindbergh.
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 22:38:03 GMT -5
I have a question about Violet and Ernie. Violet was never able to tell investigators what Ernie's last name was. She said she didn't know. If this is true, then how is it that Septimus Banks was able to tell investigators that the Ernie Violet was talking about was actually Ernie Miller. He told them this after Violet's death. Was Banks ever questioned as to why he knew this but Violet didn't? In Shepherd's report he notes:
Shortly before Miss Sharpe committed suicide the butler, Septimus Banks, telephoned to the Police that Miss Sharpe had told him that whilst she was waiting at table, the name "Miller" had been mentioned and she wondered whether that was the surname of her companion of February 28th and March 1st, and the butler, after her suicide, admitted that Miss Sharpe had informed him that this was the surname of her acquaintance and that he lived at Closter, N.J., where the Police succeeded in tracing him within two hours, when he at once corroborated Miss Sharpe's statements and declared that she in fact knew the surnames of himself and their companions of the evening of March 1st and he knew of no reason why she should have withheld these names from the Police.
This information appears to have come to Shepherd from his interviews with Schwarzkopf, Keaten and Walsh.
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Post by feathers on Mar 17, 2017 22:59:53 GMT -5
I was checking through the FBI Summary report on Violet Sharp when I came across something I wanted to ask you about. On page 119 it mentions that during Violet's May 21, 1932 interview (which I think took place at Hopewell) she mentions that "since her previous interview with Lieutenant Keaton, Ernie had called her on the telephone again and endeavored to take her out, but that she declined the invitation." Is this statement actually in that May 21 interview? If so, was any followup done, like checking the phone records at Englewood to see where this call came from? The May 21st Statement does not exist, or if it does, I have been unable to find a copy. This was the one which was stopped due to Sharpe's health. There is a summary of it in an early FBI Report but it only contains the "usual" stuff. According to the FBI this interview was conducted in Hopewell. During follow-up interview, which was again taken in Hopewell, she says he called her again but, in essence, couldn't remember when. In her March 10th Statement she says they did have a 2nd date planned but that she could not keep it Colonel Schwarzkopf gave Shepherd copies of all of the interviews with Sharp (so he said anyway). Shepherd noted this with respect to the May 21 interview:
Colonel Schwarzkopf volunteered the information that no written record was kept of the preliminary questions addressed to Miss Sharpe when she arrived at Hopewell on the afternoon of May 21st and which only occupied a few moments, because the hearing had to be abandoned owing to her physical and nervous collapse.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2017 8:16:13 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your excellent research on Violet Sharp. This information certainly helps me to understand more about her and the events surrounding her. I am glad that you could shed light on the May 21st Hopewell interview. I have seen the other interviews but never anything on this particular session.
Great work, feathers!!
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