From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/15/1944, p. 11, c. 6

Gun’s Owner Identified At Tredegar

Detective Chief O. D. Garton revealed yesterday that the .22 caliber gun found on the grounds of the Tredegar Company Tuesday belonged to one of the company’s employees.

But it has not been determined yet if it was the weapon used in the slaying of John Ernest Krengel 10 days ago.

The spot where the gun was found has not been disclosed by police detectives, but Chief Garton said that it was kept in such a place as to be available to anyone who worked in the plant. He added that the gun has been kept at the Tredegar Company for some time and has been handled by so many people that the possibility of using fingerprints as a means of identifying the killer is pretty much out of the question.

The role that the gun is to play in the solving of what has become a mystery killing hinges on the findings of the FBI in Washington as to whether the bullet found in the brain of Mr. Krengel compares with bullets shot from the weapon found at the plant.

Secrecy still surrounds the investigation which detectives have been carrying on at the iron works. They are continuing to question employees in hopes that some heretofore hidden information will be divulged. The pattern supply building and Mr. Krengel’s workshop are under the detectives’ padlock.

Although the reward has climbed to $725, no one has been so much as hinted at information which might allow them to share in the money.

Chief Garton made it clear, however, that the Detective Bureau intends to keep working on the case until the killer is arrested.

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