GREBEL

Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Saturday, February 03, 2007 at 14:48:52 :

The Marin Journal
Thursday, December 22, 1927
Page 1

Murder Theory Advanced for Club Man’s Death

Conrad Grebel, 48 years of age, treasurer-manager of the Tourist Club, was found unconscious Wednesday night between 10 and 11 p.m. at the foot of the stairway leading from the upper story of the Club House, located about two miles from Mill Valley, in Muir Woods.

When found, Grebel was lying in a pool of blood, with a fractured skull and lacerations about the face. A pick handle was found leaning against the wall of the building not far from where the man lay.

Clarence Kohl, member of the club living in Page street, San Francisco, reported the case to the Mill Valley police, and also called Dr. G. M. Landrock. The man was pronounced dead by the doctor at 3:15 this morning. He had not regained consciousness.

Coroner J. Ray Keaton was notified and he with Under Sheriff Frank Sherman, and District Attorney, Henry E. Greer, and other officers went after the body and are conducting an investigation.

Two theories are advanced as to the cause of death. The fractured skull and the presence of the club indicate murder; while on the other hand some members of the club cling to the belief that Grebel fell down the long flight of stairs. The stairway is broken, which might happen in case the man fell heavily, or it might indicate that there was a fight between two men.

The Club House is located in the midst of thick timber, in the bottom of a steep ravine, and Coroner helpers had a hard time in getting the body out. They were assisted by the Mill Valley police, and the body was carried up the slopes of the ravine and brought here this afternoon.

Autopsy Surgeon J. H. Kuser this afternoon at 4 o’clock examined the dead man’s wounds. He found that the skull was fractured over 7 inches, from the crown of the head to the base of the brain, and that is quite possible for such a fracture if the man’s head hit heavily upon the concrete floor of the club house, but he says this is not probable.

Sheriff J. J. Keating will leave tomorrow morning for San Francisco where he will question Clarence Kohl, a waiter in the Clinton Cafeteria, at Geary and Stockton streets. He will also question Rosalie Todd, an art student living at 2nd and Geary, …(illegible)… telephone this afternoon Kohl told Coroner J. Ray Keaton that the woman told Kohl to go to Mill Valley, as there was some mail there. Kohl, however, says he forgot all about his mail, and members of the club say that Kohl did not mention mail at any time to them.

The statement of Dr. J. H. Kuser, that such a fracture was not probable, and that the fall was too short down the stairs and other detail of the case, leads the officers to the belief that the man was murdered, and arrests may follow in a short time.