o
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A clean-shaven man wearing a blue, short
sleeved sport shirt stood before District Judge
D. R. Mounts in Holt county district court Sat
urday. At 10:28 a.m., the judge pronounced
sentence upop the 3 3-year-old man, father of
two small children, who a few days before had
confessed the slaying of O’Neill’s Police Chief
Chet Calkins.
Joseph Emmett McLimans, minus his char
acteristic mustache, stood motionless as Judge
Mounts intoned:
It is the judgment of this court, that you,
Joseph Emmett McLimans . . . are hereby sen
tenced to spend the remainder of your natural
life in the Nebraska state penitentiary^, in or
near Lincoln, Nebraska, and Lancaster coun
ty, Nebraska, at hard labor . Sundays and
holidays excluded . . . and none of which will
be in solitary confinement. You are (further
ordered) to pay the costs of this prosecution.”
A J_ -1 . .1
A deep sigh swept across the courtroom
from the people packed into the auditorium.
A large crowd was denied admittance at
the public hearing for lack of seating space.
McLimans’ wife, Mrs. Pearl McLimans of
Long Pine, put a handkerchief to her eyes and
wept. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Alice Coen,
also of Long Pine, seated beside her daughter,
tried to console Mrs. McLimans but could not
contain herself.
M rs. Chester Calkins, widow of the slain
police chief, sat with members of her family.
Her face was serious and stern. There was bit
terness, but obvious relief was registered when
, the sentence was pronounced.
Mrs. Calkins had told The Frontier, fol
lowing McLimans’ confession, she felt the
slayer of her police officer-husband should be
punished to the maximum. She made the state
ment after the second degree murder charges
hau been filed.
£>v
A bright sun shone through
the courthouse windows. Birds
darted and chirped in nearby
trees as a hush spread over the
courtroom when Judge Mounts
ordered McLimans to rise from
his seat and stand before the
bench. Beside the prisoner was
Dave Jewell, a ^oung Norfolk
attorney, who originally had
been engaged to defend McLi
mans on the larceny charges.
When Judge Mounts opened
the court, the prosecuting at
torney, William W. Griffin, a
man who had a great deal to
do with the breaking of the
case and gaining the confes
sion, read to the court the
chajrge and the oral admission
of guilt.
It was an almost routine pro
ceeding until Mr. Jewell spoke
in behalf of the defendant. The
defense attorney in general
terms classified McLimans as a
casualty of the late war, in
which McLimans was a B-17
Flying Fortress engineer-gunner.
His airplane was shot down over
Germany and McLimans existed
in a German prisoner of war
camp 15 months.
“This same condition could
have happened to your son or
mine,” he told the court. Young
Jewell was functioning as a de
fense attorney in a famous, in
terest-packed case the like of
which some attorneys never ex
perience.
“McLimans was a vicitjn of the
time and conditions,” Jewell
pleaded, “and this man had been
trained as an excellent soldier.
Sometimes these qualities of an
excellent soldier are not those of
a good civilian citizen.”
Only one photographer was
admitted to the courtroom, The
Frontier’s John H. McCarviilo.
George Hammond, “Voice of The
Frontier’’ announcer, stood in the
doorway—neither inside or out
side—with his special events mi
crophone. The court had ruled
only one camera would be al
lowed in the courtroom and pic
tures from that camera were to
be made available to all news
papers.
Finally, McLimans was escort
ed from the courtroom by Sheriff
. Leo Tomjack, who, like Griffin,
had spent hour-on-end on the
case. Also escorting McLimans
into and out of the courtroom
were Capt. H. D. Smith, chief of
the Nebraska safety patrol bur
eau of criminal investigation,
and Lt. Harry Brt, head of the
patrol’s Norfolk area, both of
whom had contributed substan
tially to the solution of the
crime.
Judge Mounts had asked
Tomjack, Smith and Brt if they
had anything further to offer
before the sentence was pro
nounced. All arose from their
seats and said crisply, "No,
your honor."
Back in his cell, McLimans
stared at the walls and contem
plated his lunch—and a life of
hard labor in the state peniten
• tiarv.
McLimans got his lunch about
1:30 p.m. Sheriff Tomjack said
the man was dejected and weep
ing
Before the sentence was pro
nounced, Judge Mounts asked
the defendant if he was aware
of his legal rights and if he fuliv
understood the information filed
against him and if he had had
the contents of the charge ex
plained to him.
“Yes, your honor,” came the
reply.
“How do you plead?” asked the
judje. hGuilty or not guilty?”
“Guilty, your honor,” came the
quivering voice.
“Before passing sentence on
this man, I ask the defendant if
his admission of guilt and his
confession were obtained by
bribery or threats?” the judge
continued.
“No, your honor,” was the
slayer’s soft-spoken reply to each
question. Date Jewell, the attor
ney, stood beside the slayer. He
responded to a similar question
and said he had nothing further
to offer.
McLimans was escorted from
the courtroom. The trial,
scheduled to start at 10 o'clock,
was five minutes late in get
ting underway and ended at
10:28.
The taut and tense crowd that
filled the courtroom visibly re
laxed, almost in unison, and the
district courtroom began to emp
ty.
The drama, which O’Neillites
will talk about as long as they
can remember, came to an end.
Brother of Calkins
Sees Man Briefly—
Walt Calkins, oldest brother of
the slain police chief, had found
Chet’s body on his tour as night
marshal.
Walt now is the chief. And
Wednesday night, like Chet
used to, he went to the depot to
make sure the hotel mail got
onto the train for Omaha.
Walt had said, “I want to be
the man who gets him.”
But he seemed satisfied Wed
nesday night, even though he
had no part in solving the case.
“I didn’t say anything to him,”
he said.“ I think it is better that
way.”
'Noi Going to
Pen Today—
County Sheriff Leo Tomjack
said Saturday afternoon he
would not be transferring McLi
mans to the state penitentiary at
Lincoln today.
“Possibly in a day or two
We’ve all been so keyed up over
this thing that we’re going to
rest awhile first.”
Visited by Priest—
McLimans was visited Thurs
day midmoming by the Very
Rev. Timothy O’Sullivan, pastor
of St. Patrick's Catholic church.
The visit was at the request of
his foster mother, Mrs. Lillian
McLimans, 68. of Norfolk a de
vout church woman.
“I want him to repent and
clear his soul,” she said.
News 'Tonic'
to 111 Mayor—
News of the confession was
wired as a “tonic” to Mayor J.
E. Davis, who is recovering from
an operation at Rochester, Minn.
Capt. Harold Smith, tiead of
the criminal division of the Ne
braska safety patrol, said Mc
Limans engaged in his car prowl
ings and burglaries to get extra
money for his family.
“He was quite a gambler,” the
captain said.
★ ★★ * * * ★★★ ★★★
EXTRA! - McLIMANS TRIAL EDITION - EXTRA
FOUR
PAGES
EXTRA
¥
(Includes reprints from
regular 12-page
weekly issue.
North-Central Nebraska’s BIG Newspaper
Vol. 73.—No. 8. O'Neill, Nebraska, Thursday, June 25, 1953. (Published 5 P.M., Saturday, June 27, 1953.) Seven Cents
Joseph Emmeii McLimans, 33 . . . to prison for life.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Slayer’s Wife Says:
‘I’ll Stick By Him’
•n IT- T>-1 H,T~r ___ , CL-T 11 >1 1 I. ..
U< A VUi X v WU1I -
wife of the slayer, told The Fron
tier Friday afternoon at Long
Pine that she would “stick with
her husband.” The slayer’s moth
er-in-law, Mrs. Alice Coen of
Long Pine, who wrorks at a rest
home there, echoed the same
sentiment.
Both women spoke to Cal
Stewart on the “Voice of The
Frontier” special events micro
phone and the contents of tne
interview were aired in a spe
cial program Saturday morning.
The McLimans cweiling in
Long Pine is a few hundred feet
west of the depot. An oil tank
car literally sat in the back yard
when The Frontier reporter call
ed, accompanied by Joe Biglin,
“Voice of The Frontier” radio
engineer.
Joe McLimans' adopted son,
Bobby, 5, and his own 16
monlhs-old son, Don, were
playing in a sandpit beside the
house. Four neighbor girls had
congregated there and play
went on — the tender minds
completely unaware of the sit
uation.
★ ★ ★
uuc wuuiun t iictiin ci uug, tut:
mother-in-law said. “I’ve been
riding down the road with him
in the car and he’d slam on the
brakes to avoid hitting a dog or
a chicken. He was not tough.
He’d been doing a lot of drink
ing. Some of the loot that has
been found wan’t worth any
thing. I don’t understand it.”
The slayer’s wife, who had
been married before, told The
Frontier a bit about Joe’s war
record.
“He wouldn’t talk much about
the war,” she sobbed. “He dia
say that on that bombing mis
sion in which his plane was shot
down over Germany one of nis
buddies, who had been wound
ed, died in his arms.
“He said the food In the Ger
man prisoner of war camp con
sisted of rotten potatoes and
stale bread.
“I met him in Long Pine four
years ago when Joe began com
ing into Long Pine as a brake
man on the railroad. We were
married in Winner in 1951 ”
Finally, she scooped up her
children and went into the
house and closed the door. She
(Continued on page 4.)
As the McLimans Trial Comes to a Close
Harold Calkins (front row, third from left), son of the slain police chief, sits in courtroom near his mother (front row, with
dark gloves, second from right). Another son, Donald, is in the navy and Mrs. Calkins’ daughter, Mrs. Walter Lyons, this week
was enroute to New Mexico. “We’re grateful to everyone for their cooperation and we’re glad it’s over,” said Mrs. Calkins.
~ 2 ' * * ‘ s ---- -
ine aeienaant s ioster mother, wife and mother-in-law sat m the front row on the right hand side of the courtroom. Mrs. Lil
lian McLimans (with silver hair and wearing light grey dress) is in the center ground. Seated next to her (reading left-to-right) is
the slayer’s wife, Mrs. Pearl McLimans (wearing d»rk dress), and seated beside her daughter, weeping, is McLiman’s mother-in-law
Mrs. Alice Coen of Long Pine. ’
The charge of murder in the
second degree carries a penalty
of from 10 years to life imprison -
, ment.
i McLimans brushes away a tear when sentence is pronounced. (Sheriff Tomjack at left.) 1
‘No Brakeman Would Do That!*$
Joseph McLimans had a habit
of sleeping in the caboose of his
train at Bonesteel and always
parked his car near the depot.
Mr. and Mrs. Bill Meyers, Bone
steel depot agent and his wife,
live in an apartment on the sec
ond floor of the depot and the
McLimans vehicle invariably is
parked in easy view of the
Meyers’.
On the night of March 6 the
McLimans car was gone. The
next day the Calkins slaying was
the talk of the town and Mrs.
Meyers jokingly accused McLi
mans, in his presence, of perpe
trating the murder.
Authorities did not check with
Mr. and Mrs. Meyers until this
week when they were checking
his story. He had insisted dur
ing the interrogation that he had
been playing poker that night at
Bonesteel, but the contact with
Mr. and Mrs. Meyers substantiat
ed he was away.
He subsequently chopped • up
the suitcase and burned it in the
stove in the caboose. He remov
ed the “D.D.” plate and threw i*.
in a toilet. The pistol, which was
believed to have been gotten in
Norfolk, was hidden and author
ities have not divulged where it
is located.
The “Voice of The Frontier”
special events microphone was
hastened to Bonesteel Friday af
ter a letter was received
from the Meyers, telling details
cf their contact with McLimans.
Mrs. Meyers said McLimans
sat in their apartment the morn
ing of the murder and listened
>
to Cal Stewart telling the news
to the world that Chief Calkins
had been slain.
McLimans, she said, was un
moved. Finally, when the broad
cast was over, Mrs. Meyers turn
ed on McLimans:
"You're the man they want.
Joe . . . you drive a late model
green Kaiser and you were
gone way into the night. You
killed Chet Calkins!"
McLimans stared at the floor,
shrugged h i s shoulders and
walked away, saying: “You’re
crazy. No brakeman would do a
thing like that!”
The next day—Friday—the
Meyerses saw McLimans drive
up in his Kaiser. Mrs. Meyers
again turned on him, saying:
“Joe, aren’t you afraid coming
across country in that green
Kaiser . . . aren’t you afraid
they’ll pick you up!”
McLimans said no.
Mrs. McLimans was undecided
as to whether she will remain
in Long Pine with the children.
They are Bobby, 5, by her pre- 0
vious marriage, and McLimans’
children, Don, 16 months, and
Mike, 2 months.
Frontier for printing!
*Best We Know How’
Both in the columns of The Frontier and on the “Voice cf Th«
Frontier” radio programs it has been the aim of the editors to
treat the Calkins slaying and McLimans trial stories with
straight, objective reporting. We have intended also to present the
human interest side of the news and relay to our readers and lis
teners all the facts as they were made available to us under
varying conditions and circumstances.
« In retrospect, we will look back, perhaps, on mistakes and
some slight degree of misinformation or unintentional innuendo.
But it has been an honest effort to report the news in the best
tradition we know.
If you appreciate this service, we shall be glad to hear from
you. Uppermost in our minds, naturally, is the development and
growth of The Frontier and fulfilling an obligation to our public.
This has been our straight-forward purpose.
—CAL STEWART
Publisher, The Frontier
O