TIME MACHINE ... 1937

　(Reader-friendly viewing of newspaper archives material)　

　For many weeks in early 1937 the news on the Eastern Shore centered upon the investigation of the death of the owner of the Stockton Power And Light Company and as the story unfolded it drew attention from across the nation.

(Charlston Gazette- Charlston, W.Va.)

G-Men Aid Asked In Death Inquiry

Want Fingerprints Taken From Gun Found By Body

Snow Hill, Md., Jan. 16. - (AP)- State Police asked the aid of the fingerprint division of the federal bureau of investigation today in the inquiry into the death of Clarence J. Trader, Stockton utilities operator.

Sergt. Marlin Brubaker said the death gun-a small calibre pistol-was "en-route" to Washington. With the gun, Brubaker said, were sets of fingerprints taken from "principals in the case" whom he would not identify.

Mrs. Trader, estranged wife of the owner of the Stockton electric plant, admitted she picked up the pistol when she found Trader's body. The officers said there was no incriminating evidence against her.

Trader was found dead Thursday night.

State's Attorney Johnson quoted Mrs. Trader as saying her husband shot himself. Acquaintances said Trader was despondent over his pending divorce suit against Mrs. Trader and was worried over the affairs at his electric plant.

Summary of press reports from various newspapers:

Jan. 18 .. Police and physicians study autopsy reports. Two local physicians who examined the body of 43-year-old Trader , Dickerson of Stockton and Waesche of Snow Hill, say it was possible for him to have inflicted the wound himself. But a coroner's jury came to a verdict that Trader came to his death from a pistol in the hands of a person unknown to the jury. Trader's funeral was held the previous day with his widow and three sons among those in attendance.

Jan. 20 .. Trader's widow gives straight-forward answers in a 4-hour grilling by State Police, and State's Attorney Thomas F. Johnson says he lacks evidence on which to take any action against her at this time but said his investigation would continue and his findings would be presented to the Grand Jury in late March.

Jan. 22 .. In a surprise move, Trader's 18-year-old son, Richard Trader, is taken into custody for questioning by county authorities.

Jan. 28 .. The Worcester County grand jury is ordered to reconvene in a special session although neither Judge James J. Crockett nor the States Attorney would link the session directly to the Trader case. However, Trader's 21-year-old son, Estel Trader, who has been operating the Stockton Electric plant since his father's death, is among those expected to be a witness. State's Attorney Johnson, after conferring with Judge Crocektt at Pocomoke City, says that since the October Grand Jury session, "several deaths have occurred in circumstances which are rather suspicious."

Jan. 29 .. Trader's 3 sons and two other relatives are summoned to appear before the grand jury. Trader's widow is not included in those to be questioned.

Feb. 2 .. At the close of the first day of the Grand Jury session Trader's 37-year-old widow is arrested on a warrant sworn by State's Attorney Johnson and is held without bond in the Worcester County jail, charged with the murder of her husband.

Feb. 4 .. State Police disclose they are working on a "new lead" in the Trader case. Sergeant Marlin Brubaker states: " We have always believed that someone else is in this case and we have been working along those lines. However, we don't know who he is."

Feb. 5 .. Mrs. Trader pleads innocent in Circuit Court and is returned to jail where she is awaiting the arrival of New York criminal attorney Samuel Leibowitz to aid in her defense. Leibowitz was one-time counsel to the convicted murderer of the Lindbergh baby. Mrs. Trader says the participation of Leibowitz is "without obligation or expense" to herself.

Feb. 7 .. Attorney Leibowitz says proof of Mrs. Trader's innocence is buried in a grave and calls for the digging up and further examination of her late husband's body.

Feb. 11 .. Former State's Attorney Godfrey Child, a member of Mrs. Trader's defense counsel, says the effort to have Mr. Trader's body exhumed will be dropped, following the State's Attorney Johnson's agreement to provide him with a copy of the autopsy report, and that it would not be made public. Child also states he has learned the identity of a third party reported to have entered the Trader home on the night of the fatal shooting but says he doesn't think that person has much bearing on the case and his identify will not be disclosed.

Next week on The Time Machine: A twist of fate brings an abrupt conclusion to the Trader case!　

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