ARREST ON STAGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 365, 28 May 1928, Page 11

ARREST ON STAGE

FATEFUL FINGER-PRINTS CURTAIN FALLS ON MURDER CHARGE Dressed in the gorgeous uniform of “Captain of the King’s Guards." and all unsuspecting, Kdward Slrot had handcuffs clapped upon his wrists, as the curtain came down on the second act of “His Majesty Anastase,” at the Chatelet Theatre, In Paris. They were real handcuffs, Inspector Lerey, of the Paris detective department, having identified in the person of the “brilliant officer” a man, aged 25, who was wanted on a charge of murder. The crime was committed ia Neuilly, just outside Paris, recently. A lime. Desterbeck was murdered in the house of her employers during their absence. The criminals ransacked the premises and escaped unnoticed with jewels and cash. Finger prints found on a chest of drawers led the police to search for a man named Sirot, who two years previously had been sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for theft. After vainly trying for several days to find a trace of the man he wanted. Inspector Lerey had the idea of casting an eye on the numerous crowd of figurants on the stage of the Chatelet Theatre. During a short inspection lie recognised the man he was seeking. On being questioned at the detectives’ headquarters, Sirot confessed to the crime. He said: “I was penniless —mad and drunk.” Another arrest, that of a cafe waiter, has been made in connection with the crime.