The Republican

RICHARDS RELEASED FROM CUSTODY; IS SENT HOME
Bigamy Charge is Not Preferred By Mother of Girl He Brought to Oakland and Married
LIVES IN MINNESOTA

William King Richards, 24, who was held by authorities in Morgantown, West Va., pending an investigation after he had brought an eighteen-year-old girl to Oakland and married her when it is alleged he already had a wife, was released from the Morgantown jail last Friday evening. The mother of the girl did not ask that he be held on any specific charge, although she conferred frequently with the State officers.

A telegram from Richards' mother at Mankato, Minnesota, pleaded that her son be sent home. Richards stated that he was from Akron, Ohio.

The woman who swore out a warrant for his arrest because he had failed to pay a board bill, said she was willing to withdraw the charge, and the only other charge against him, that of using an assumed name, was heard and the minimum fine of $1 and costs rendered.

When arrested last Sunday night, October 2, he told officers that he was "George B. Smith." The Monongalia county lunacy commission declared Richards sane, clearing up any doubt about his mental state.

Richards and the girl came to Oakland on Friday night, September 30, and were married on Saturday morning by a local minister. The couple then "thumbed" their way back to Morgantown, after which the girl disappeared, later turning up in Philadelphia, Pa., where she is visiting her father, a former Morgantown resident.

Fingerprints Taken

Richards was fingerprinted at the Morgantown city jail, despite threats that he would not submit to the printing except under force. None was used, however, but the prisoner attacked Chief Smith verbally with what was declared as one of the most bitter outbursts of scathing criticism ever heard in the Morgantown City building, when the ordeal ended. The prints and pictures taken of the suspect were broadcast to Federal and State police bureaus.

A money order for $40 was received at the Western Union under the name of Smith, which was being held pending the final outcome of the proceedings.