As Walter Brixton, chief of United States secret service agents in New York City, stepped off the Washington Limited in the Jersey City depot, the newsboys were calling, “Extra, extra, all about the murder; extra!” Brixton bought a paper. As he settled himself in the “L” car he read, under flaming head-lines, the following account, written in the short, paragraphic style which usually denotes that “copy” has been prepared in a newspaper office in a rush:
“Shortly after six o’clock this evening, Bridget Martin, one of the cleaners employed in the Empire Building, discovered the dead body of Lawrence Marchburn in his private office.
“The screams of the frightened woman brought to her assistance the janitor and some of the tenants, although nearly all of them had left the building for the day.
“A hasty examination showed that Mr. Marchburn had been shot.
“When found he was sitting at his desk, his head dropped forward and resting on his left arm, his hand clutching the receiver of the telephone with the death grip. This would seem to indicate that Mr. Marchburn had been shot in the very act of using the telephone, which was affixed to his desk. The body was still warm, but life was quite extinct.
“The murder must have been committed within an hour of the time of discovery.
“A small wound just above the heart indicated that death had probably been instantaneous.
“The police were immediately notified, and an officer appeared upon the scene. He questioned the janitor and his assistants, but learned nothing additional to the above facts. A search was made for the pistol, but it could not be found, which proves conclusively that it is a case of murder and not suicide.
“None of the persons had heard the sound of a pistol shot, but the woman, Martin, said she heard shortly after five o’clock what sounded like the violent slamming of a door. At that time she was on the seventh floor, and paid no attention to the noise. Mr. Marchburn’s office was on the eleventh floor.