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The Murder of Arny "The Fence" Huston
Clue Sheet
Police found Arny "The Fence" Huston dead in his apartment on a Tuesday morning.
The coroner said the cause of Arny's death was a bullet wound through the heart.
Dr. Chillington's neighbor, Fritz Zukerman, told detectives that he thought he saw Mrs. Chillington or someone who resembled her leaving her house at about 10 o'clock on the night of the murder.
Dr. Chillington said he suspected his wife was being blackmailed, possibly by Arny, but had no proof.
Inspector Freedo found one set of fingerprints matching those of Dr. Chillington, a local psychiatrist and another set that could not be identified on a pipe and lighter in Arny's apartment.
Miss Hamilton, Dr. Chillington's secretary, said a Mr. Huston had a regular Thursday appointment with Dr. Chillington.
Dr. Chillington's wife, a brunette, flew out of town from the Central Airport at around midnight on the evening of the murder to visit relatives out of state.
Dr. Chillington was speaking at a local university from nine o'clock until ten on the night of the murder. After his speech, he attended a reception that lasted until eleven thirty.
Arny's friend "Big Luke" told the inspector that Arny said he was blackmailing someone with a collection of love letters he had stolen.
Arny Huston, a regular patient of Dr. Chillington, visited his office once a week.
Miss Hamilton said the last time Arny visited the office he mentioned to her that a woman was threatening to kill him.
A cab driver said he drove a woman to Arny Huston's address the night of the murder. Although he could not identify her, he remembered picking her up at Dr. Chillington's home around eleven that evening, waiting for her at Arny's, and then driving her to the airport around 11:30.
The coroner found strands of blond hair on the clothing of the victim.
Dr. Volker, Chillington's colleague, said he thought Chillington left the reception around eleven thirty. Volker did see Miss Hamilton at the lecture, but couldn't recall seeing her at the reception. He did say that he might have just missed her since the crowd was large and Miss Hamilton always attended events when Chillington was speaking.
The cab driver reported finding a gun in his back seat the morning after the murder. Ballistics tests identified the gun as the murder weapon, but no prints were on it. The serial number had been partially destroyed with only the numbers 408 remaining.
Dr. Chillington told the inspector that he left the reception around eleven thirty or eleven thirty-five. He added that Miss Hamilton left about the same time, but not with him.
Big Luke said Arny was seeing some shrink to help him overcome his kleptomania, an obsessive impulse to steal. He said Arny would pick up anything--- even if it was not of any value. Luke said Arny once came home with the shrink's pipe.
Inspector Freedo found a blood-stained blouse in Tonya Chillington's closet the day after the murder.
Miss Hamilton said Dr. Chillington believed that Arny Huston was blackmailing his wife, but he did not know why.
Tonya Chillington, Dr. Chillington's wife, owned a 45 automatic with the serial number 940887321.
Big Luke said everyone liked Arny even though Arny had a habit of stealing - even from his friends.
The coroner placed the time of Huston's death between eleven and eleven forty-five.
Miss Hamilton said she spent the night of the murder at the lecture given by Dr. Chillington.
Pierre Cardin, owner of the French Coffee Shop told police that Dr. Chillington and his secretary often had lunch and sometimes dinner there.
Big Luke was once been arrested for armed robbery. Around town Luke has the reputation of having a hot temper.
Mary Slater, a former nun who left the church to go into teaching, is very close with her sister according to friends. Friends say she would do anything to help her sister.
Police found a 45 automatic identified as the murder weapon in the back seat of a cab, but it contained no identifiable fingerprints.
Tonya Chillington denies owning the blood-stained blouse, although it is her size and a popular item at an exclusive clothes shop where she shops.
Tonya Chillington's sister, Mary Slater, said Tonya spent most of the evening (from seven until eleven thirty) at her house on the night of the crime. Mary says her sister left town that night on a vacation.
Dr. Chillington confirmed that Ms. Hamilton attended his lecture the night of the murder. He recalled speaking to her on his way out of the lecture hall.
Mary Slater is blond. Miss Hamilton owns a blond wig that she wears sometimes.
Dr. Chillington said he was treating Arny for moods of deep depression. He said Arny once told him someone was trying to kill him, but unfortunately, he thought the statement was just a delusion. He said he now wishes he had taken his statement more seriously.
Pierre Cardin, owner of the French Coffee Shop. said he once saw Dr. Chillington and his secretary kiss, but did not make anything of it.
Mary Slater told the inspector that she suspected Dr. Chillington and his secretary may have been more than friends, but she had no proof.
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