THE BEE: OMAHA,- THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 191.
Kelly Defense Introduces Testimony to Show Little Minister
Mentally Unbalanced at Time the Ax Murders Were Committed
Was
STENOGRAPHER
TELLS HOW KELLY
. MADECONFESSIOH
Minister Declares Murderer
Must Have Been Insane to
Commit Such a Horri
ble Crime.
(Continued Croat Pas Om.)
sound mind when you got there?"
asked Mitchell.
"Decidedly of unsound mind," was
the reply.
Jackson testified Kelly appeared ill
and acted ike! a wild man. .
J. J. Ferguson of Council Bluffs,
court reporter, who took the conver
sation between Havner, Hess and
Kelly at Logan during one of the
meetings the latter par of August,
read the transcript of his notes.
I would hardly say he was entirely
fcound." was Ferguson's answer when
questioned by Judge Mitchell at the
conclusion of his reading. Following
are exclamations made by Kelly dur
ing the Logan jail session reported by
Ferguson and as read by him in
court: : : ,
"I am in an awful fix, Mr. Havner.
I will get down there and I won't
have any attorney."
"Oh, dear, my poor wife and moth
er. It will have to be a fight on sen
timent." "I mean if I did it, I wasinsane."
"What are you going to do with me,
Mr. Havner?" '
'Ohl Mr. Hess, you don't realize
my position. You don't claim any
.sane man would do a thing like that,
do you?" : -
"I have felt my mind was wrong all
of the time." V
"I thought I was going in there to
preach a sermon." (Meaning the
Moore home.)
"I came back here because Sutton
told me to do so."
Doubti About Wilkerson.
,"Ohl God, my poor wife and
moth." i , . , .'
"Honestly,! don't know where I
am."
"You have got me in an. awful po
sition," : , .-, .. -,
"Look at the mental shape."
'"Oh, dear; oh, God: you are talking
to a man in an awful physical condi
tion." ' N S ' v
"Oh, 'God! You can hang me and
I have no defense." ?.
"Take me, kill me, that is all."
"Oh, men I I have been suffering
five years." - , ,
"I am an insane man and have been
insane for five years and I know it."
"Wilkerson didn't do me any harm."
"I am without any attorney."
"I am at the mercy of Havner. If
Sutton were here he would guide me.
Havner has the power to put me
where I can be taken care of.
Characteristic remarks by Attorney
General Havner, as read by Ferguson:
"Haven't you preached, a sermon on
the subject of not punishing insane
people for murder?" lift'- v. . '4
"Tell me the truh about Wilkerson."
"You are pretty foxy, all right."
"Don't ytu tear that letter up." -
"Do you want a doctor to come
here and examine you?"
"Don't get excited. Just tell me
how you got out of the Ewing home."
"I cannot help you until you have
told the truth." . ,
"And you killed them with an ax?"
"We don't want a word that is not
the truth."
"Do you remember burning build
ings at Sutton, Neb.?"
, "Do you think you were Insane
when you did it?" "
"Do you remember following the'
' shadow around the house?"
Told to Tell Truth
"I think you are playing all the
time to protect yourself.
' "Has anyone in this room been un
kind to you?"
"Could you swear God told you to
slay utterlyf'" y v
. Ferguson s transcript now Is a mat
ter of court record. It shows that Kel
ly sent for Havner and that he was
warned many times during the meet
: ing to tell only the truth.
The reading by the court reporter
revealed a weird scene in the Logan
jail during the hours of the night. The
defense intends to show that severat
sessions with Kelly in the Logan jail
' preliminary to the confession, which
was received in evidence on Tuesday,
, were attended by third degree neth
ods and that undue suggestion was
used by the prosecution, .
Havner already has contradicted
that charge in positive terms and the
lawyers for the state still maintain
that even Fergusons' transcript as
read does not reveal any third degree
treatment. Following are t few con
nected excerpts from the transcript
read this afternoon: - ' .
t Kelly: "You are talking to a man
in awful physical condition."
Havner: ''That won't prevent you
from telling the truth." : ,
Kelly: "1 have been talking all
right." . " , .
Havner: "How do you know that?"
Kelly: "I heard my own voice. Oh,
Godl You are going to kill me." . r
Havner: "How do you know we
are going to kill you?" s
Sheriff Meyers: "I am in favor of
taking him back to the jail and let it
go at that." ;.'; ..
Never Have Money.
Asked if they paid his fare from
Illinois to Red Oak when he re
turned last May, Kelly said: "Preach
ers never have any money."
4 Hess: "I have told yon time and
time not to say anything but the
truth. All we want is truth.?
Mitchell examined Ferguson briefly
as to Kelly's, condition during the
night at the Logan jail.
, "He was nervous, under apparent
ucai nu awcai. i neira nun sob
bing at least once because I put it in
my notes. ; His speech varied between
low and loud."
"Tell the jury in your best Judg
ment whether Kelly at that time was
of sound or unsound mind " asked
' Mitchell
"He was rather nutty at that time."
"What do you mean, sound or un
: sound?" ; ?. r , , .
"I would hardly say he was entirely
sound."
HOW CONFESSION WAS MADE.
The feature' of the morning session
waa the testimony of J. J. Ferguson
of Council Bluffs, a court reporter
who was present when Kelly made
Witnesses for Defense in Ax Murder .
Case; Bots Who Last Saw Victims Alive
. Mr ,
his confession. He read from his
transcript -of the proceedings of Au
gust 31 taken in the office of the
sheriff in Logan, la.
Ferguson testified that he reached
Logan at 2:30 in the morning and
found Attorney General Havner,
Special State Agent. Risden, Sheriff
Myers, Deputy Sheriff Atkin, Kelly
and a woman stenographer in Sheriff
Myers' offiice. He read for an hour
and a half from his notes taken at this
meeting. He stated that he took down
the entire conversation.
Thl Is what his notes showed:
"Havner: 'Kelly, of course, if you
want your lawyers I will not deny
you that right, but you sent for me,
didn't you?'" i -
- "Kelly: 'Yes. Someone told me that
whatever you said would be alright.' "
Havner: 'Don t get excited, Kelly,
ust tell us how you got out of the
wing home that night when the
Lord told you to go on. . ,
"Kelly: JIf I could see Sutton or
Mitchell they would say that any man
who did that was insane.' " ,
, Heart Voice Calling. ;
"Hess: 'We don't want you to say
anything that is not of your own
free will.'
"Kelly: 'I know Havner has been
most kind to me. . I want to be tried
on insanity. What are you going to
do for me?'
"Havner: 'I cannot help you until
you have told me the truth.'
"Kelly i 'You are lawyer enough to
know a preacher would not do that
unless he was insane.' "
Referring to the night the crime
was committed Kelly said he did not
speak to Anyone in the Presbyterian
church. After he went to the Rev.
Ewing house and was shown to hit
room he heard a voice saying:
"Rise, Peter, slay and eat."
He heard this voice in the house.
He became hot and the room seem
ed to be hot so he went to the road.
He again heard the voice while in the
road. - . ,
"Kelly: 'I think I entered the
Moore house by the front door, be
cause I followed a shadow and the
shadow entered there. I heard another
voice saying, "Let there be light and
there was light.""
. Killed All of Them.
Kelly continued telling about find
ing a light when he entered the house.
"My head was in a whirl," he said,
"and it was hot."
"Kelly: 'I hard scripture pas
sages everywhere I went. One said,
"I am the door," and another voice
said, "Hurry up." Another voice kept
calling me by name.'" ' V
"Kelly: 'It seemed like Sunday and
the Lord said, "Suffer the little -children,
to come unto me." The voice
kept saying it over and over and I
suppose the Lord wanted me to
do it.'" . -
"Havner: 'And you killed them with
an ax?' -
"Kelly: 'I ' suppose so. When I
thought I was done I went down
stairs. I was very tired and had
to sleep. Then I Slew two more be
cause I thought the Lord wanted me
to do that. I had to do exactly as
the Lord wanted me. I have worried
five years because I could not see
how I could have done it I was in
sane that night I was the Lord's
grandson.' I did as nearly as I could
what the Lord told me and have been
doing that ever since. "
Havner inquired about the bloody
shirt, but Kelly said he could re
member nothing about it t
May Be Delusion.
"Kelly: You do not want to kill
an insane man do you? l am tell
ing what I believe to be the truth,
but if it is a delusion I cannot help
if v
"Hess. We do not want anything
but the truth. Is this your recol
lection of what happened? "
"Kelly stated that it was his recol
lection, but he was subject to. delu
sions. He eaid that . Sutton and
Mitchell would say that only an in
sane man could do it"
"Kelly: I remember hearing the
voice say, 'Slay utterly.' It seems as
though I did not know what was go
ing on until it was all over. It was
just like walking in my sleep or a
dream. The Lord told me to slay ut
terly. I slew the children first be
cause the voice said 'Suffer the little
children to come unto me.' "
"Havner: 'After you did the Lord's
work, where did you go and what did
you do?'"
"Kelly then told of going to the
Ewing house, where he packed his
S.rip and went to the station where
he caught an early train. He told of
thinking he was the best detective in
the country and talked about the
case' " '
4 . - ' Must Have Been Insane.
"Havner: 'Were you insane at the
time?'"
"Kelly :,'I must have been."'
"Havner: 'Do you remember all
that happened?'"
"Kelly: 'Yes, I do.'"
"Havner: 'I think Kelly ' that , you
should go before the grand jury that
is coming soon because a lot of peo
ple think that Jim did that. You
yould not want tt put on you if you
were innocent would you? " ;
"Kelly: 'You have in insane men in
an awful fix.'"
Havrier: 'Was it a delusion that
you followed the shadow, heard the
voice and took up the ax?'"
"Kelly: 'That was not a delusion.'"
"Havner: 'Have any of the men in
this room been unkind to you?' "
"Kelly: 'No.""
"Havner: 'Did you send for me?'"
"Kelly: Yes."r
"Hess: 'We have told you continu
ally to tell nothing but the truth?'"
"Kelly: 'Yes.'" .
"Havner: 'Are you sure that the
Lord told you to slay utterly?'"
"Kelly: 'He told me that for sev
eral days. I can swear to that fact.
Something told me that I was doing
the vUl of the Lord.'"
"Havner: 'You are the mark who
did that?"
"Kelly: 'I am the insane man. 0,
Godl O, Godl The voice told me to
follow the shadow. As long as the
voice told me to slay utterly I had to
keep going on.' "
In a letter written to Horace
Houghton, Sioux City, la., and sub
mitted by the defense as evidence,
Kelly stated that the Omaha tornado
and overstudy had contributed to
unbalance his mind.
Kelly's Mind Unsound.
"Basing your judgment on what
you have testified here in court do
you think Kelly was of sound or un
sound mind," asked Judge Mitchell
of Horace Houghton, the first witness
for the defense this morning.
"Unsound," was the reply.
Houghton is a probation officer of
Sioux City.
He told of meetings and conversa
tions with Kelly March 10 to August
24, 1915.
, "Describe Kelly's condition as he
appeared to you,'f asked Mitchell.
"He was highly excitable, face h'ag
gatd, eyes staring, talked incoherent
ly and incessantly. I took him to the
Young Men's Christian association
mm
Alice Willard of Villisca will be one of the star witnesses for the defense
when it begins the work of breaking up the state's case, according to state
ments of counsel. Mrs. Willard was the central figure before the Montgomery
county grand jury two weeks ago when an indictment was returned against
Attorney General Havner. -
This witness is said to have overheard conversations in Villisca on the
night before the ax murder and It is generally understood that her account of
those conversations involve one or more prominent Villisca citizens. The de
fense has' emphasized the statement that it intends to prove that Villisca
citizens were in the murder plot and that a man now living in Kansas City
was implicated in the crime.
Vina Tompkins of Marshalltown is alleged to have overheard what is
known as the "slaughter-house plot" in Villisca months before the ax tragedy
occurred. She was a Wilkerson witness in the Jones-Wilkerson slander suit
last fall at Red Oak.
Ed Landers, now residing at Shenandoah, will testify as to the identity
of persons seen near the Moore home on the evening of the murder. The
defense is not ready to outline the testimony which Landers will offer, but
enough has been told to indicate that he will offer something sensational in
connection with the belief that the state is on the wrong track when seeking
to convict Kelly of the crime.
-
Detective Lloyd W. Longinecker ot
Omaha, and the two boys who last
saw the ax murder victims alive. : The
pictures were taken at the time of the
murder and were exclusively furnished
to The Bee by Detective Longnecker.
for dinner and he appeared sick and
nervous." '
Witness referred ! to a visit oi
Kelly to a doctor, who advised him
to go to a farm to relieve his nervous
breakdown. f g r '
"I sent him to Mr. Jekyll's farm in
South Dakota and, arranged foe his
ticket," said Houghton. - ':
"What did Kelly say during a later
conversation?" i ;
Said He Was Persecuted. )
"He denied having made improper
proposals to a girl. He said he was
being persecuted by a detective. I
suggested he should go to a farm, but
he insisted he was innocent and
wanted to sue a. newspaper." '
Cross examined by Faville, the wit
ness said "Kelly gave me a book he
wrote before he was 19 years of age;
said he had been expert stenographer
and had won a prize. He wanted me
to stand by him until he could get on
his feet again and wanted me to un
derstand he was an extraordinary
preacher. He told me of his arrest at
Winner, S. D., for writing to girls
and was sent to the federal hospital
at Washington, D. C. He told me he
lost his memory. He referred to
charges against him for asking girls
to pose in the nude and told me he
was a friend of Dr. Edwards of the
Christian Advocate, He said he had
reported political speeches. I dictated
to him three , nights and his work
was good."
Was in Hospital. -
"What did he say about being at
Washington?"
( "He said he was in the hospital for
eight months, had had nervous pros
tration and did something at Winner
he could not recollect."
"Did he correctly transcribe short
hand notes he took from you?" .
"He did." ,
"What else did he tell you?"
"He said his father and grandfather
were English- Congregational min
isters; that his wife was giving music
lessons in South Dakota and asked
met to get his clothes and watch out
of a pawnshop. He said his mother
is Mariam Kelly of Hillside, Royston
Herts, England." . ,
"Did you visit Kelly when he
opened a stenographic office in the
low building at Sioux City?"
"Yes, the first time I called he was
dictating to a girL He explained that
he was writing a novel. The second
time I called he was to have been
arrested. He told me he had been
-1 I !.L t t .
cuargcu wiin asKing a gin io pose in
the nude, whereas, Ire said, he asked
her to pose in drapery. He said a
public stenographer in the building
wanted to get him out an4 Dick Rich
ards of the detective department was
persuading him." . r
Did he tell you his purpose for
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having the girl pose for him?"
"He did not"
"Preaching is Blood Shedding."
A sermon on "Dynamic Personal
ity," written by Kelly and presented
to Houghton at Sioux City in 1915,
was offered in evidence as exhibit No.
37. Houghton befriended Kelly and
the sermon was in token of apprecia
tion. It was neatly written. The last
paragraph follows-
"What is life? It is virtue giving,
virtue shedding. It is not to get some
thing, but to give something; not to
gain, but to be. It is a sacrifice ot
blood and tears and sorrow and pain.
It is a sacrament of rich, red wine.
Dr. Parker said: "Men, preaching Is
blood-shedding." And he meant it was
the giving of man's whole strength
onto exhaustion even ior His mes
sage and his master and we are not
truly living unless we are giving far
more than we are getting. "Sell all
thou hast and give." "It is better to
give than to receive."
As Lowell says: "A gift without
the giver is - bare." ( '
Persistent Advertising Is the Road
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Sues for Doctor's Bill '
Contracted by His Wife
An rnn nf the Distelhurst di
vorce case, aired in district court last
spring, ws heard in law court. Judge
Redick presiding, Wednesday morn
ing when the suit of Dr. John W.
Koutsky against Leopold J. Distel
hurst was begun before a jury.
Dr. Koutsky is suing Distelhurst, i
well known business man, for a doc
tor bill of about $400 incurred by,
Mrs. Distelhurst. Attorneys for Dis
telhurst allege the bill was contract
ed after the couple had . separated.
Thev were divorced last March.
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