The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-12-12
LAID BARE.
The Murder OF Frank Hunter
Mrs. Hunter Tells All
Burners Story to Her-What a Little Note
COntained-0t Testimony
In The Case.


In The Case.
The trial of George Drummer for the
murder of Frank Hunter, at Paul's Sta
tiOn, on the 9th of last March, has been
In progress for eight days, during which
time large number of witnesses for
the prosecution have been examined.
Intense interest has been manifested in
the case, and the court room has been
crowded daily with an eager thrOng,
anxious to catch every word dropped
from the lips of witnesses. startling
turn was given the case Monday after
noon by the revelation of Mrs. Hunter,
in regard to how the murder was COM
mttted, as told to her by Drummer him
self. Having signitied her willingness
to tell all she knew of the affair, she was
taken into court, placed on the witness
stand, and related her story, which was
listened to with breathless attention hy
the vast crowd of spectators present. At
its conclusion she was taken back to
Jail, there to await her own trial on the
same charge as BrunneT's. Below will
he found her testimony in full, and
that of her daughter, by her first hus-
band, Elista Bliss:
MRS. REBECCA HUNTER.
L
deceased, and am thirty years old [ have
known the defendant to speak TO him
since about two months before the muir
der; we went to PauIS Station to live in
January 1888; l was at the home of my
father, Samuel Crook, the day before the
murder; BruneT was there all day, and
between l and ? O'Clock had talk with
him about my husband; BTuner, Hunter
and | were up stairs sitting on the bed;
Inn r1Fa uaiH hn no ~, 4
go to MassillOn to settle that assault and
battery case; BTuneT asked why; Hunter
said Mr.. COXey told him they wanted to
get him down there and then have him
arrested; Hunter then went down stairs
to get drink; BTUneT said if he would
not go and settle the case he would mas
sacre him and put him out of the road
under the earth; ! said he should not
talk that way; my husband came up
then and Bruner went down; that even
ing / told BruDer he had better go down
and settle the case and put an end to it;
that Sunday evening Matilda Crook, my
brother, mother, and father, Bruner and
myself were at my father S; Hunter and
VIM. Retsky came in about 10 o'clock;
Hunter and | went TO bed. then my Sis
ter Tllda, then father, mother and broth
er followed; Bruner and my daughter,
Elista Brooks came up about / o'clock,
lamp was burning in the room; my faith
er was the first one up; my husband
next, and then myself; when | got
down my father was making fire
and my husband had gone out; he
went out at half past five; Bruner
came down after my mother and went
out the back door; ne had all his clothes
on; got up right after my husband, |
and he had gone out when went down; |
I x mir off
husband left till Bruner followed; Bru- |
ner stayed out from a quarter TO half |
hour; 1t might have been longer; | saw |
him when he came back; he did not say |
anything, but he looked rather pale; he |
warmed his hands a few minutes and
then went up stairs; | heard my hus-
band was in the tank about "a half an |
hour after that; / called Bruner; he ask |
ed me what | wanted, and [ told him |
that Frank was in the tank; he said, |
us that SOP" and came down stairs and |
went to the tank; he came back after |
wards and asked for a cup of coffee; ne |
said he was going to MassillOn to see a |
lawyer, and started off; he did not say |
what for; Bruner, ] and my father and |
mother were arrested and taken to Mas |
sillOn and locked up; my cell was next |
To Bruner; while there on Saturday |
night after our trial, l had a talk with |
him; we were brought to Canton Mon |
day, and my father and mother dis |
charged; George came to the door of the |
cell and asked me what / was crying for; |
said 1t was no wonder / cried; il was |
enough to make me cry; said did not |
know what | was locked up for; he said |
1t was too late to talk about it, and that |
1t was done; he said l should not worry |
for would be all right; | asked him |
how he knew that, or if he knew any,
thing about 1t, and whether he had any |
thing to do with it; ne said "hush, don't |
you know / did?" l asked him where he /
did 1t, and he said he had done it up in |
the sand house; | asked him what he /
had done it with; he said he and Hun
ter were up there and they got into a
dispute,and Hunter drew off his OvercOat |
and drew a cTOWbaT at him, and that he /
took 1t from him and struck him with |
it; asked him what he shot him for and |
why ne put him in the tank; he said he
had done that to make people believe he
had committed suicide; asked him how
he got him out there; he said he took ont |
half of the window and showed him out;
| asked him who put his coat out there;
he said he did; | asked him how he got
him up stairs; he said he went up him
self; | asked him where he got the DOW
der, shot and gun; he said he got the
powder, shot and gun ill my house Sat-
urday afternoon; / asked him when he
got the gun; he said on Saturday after
noon, and that he had prepared it for
Sunday evening; | had no further talk
with him there; BruneT, /, Hunter and
Tilda were at our house on Saturday;
we kept the powder and shot on my sew
ing machine in my bed room; Shot and
powder flask presented), they are the
ones; (gun presented); that gun was at
our house on Saturday; it had been at
our house for about two months; Hunter
got it from Bruner; our house was not
locked on Saturday; Bruner said in jail
he had finished him with the crow bar;
the grating from my cell looks into the
hall below. "a paper presented) got
that paper from George Bruner on Aug.
26th; got it up through the grating;
Bruner handed it up on a broom; he
spoke but l did not; he said Mr.. Ulman
should read it; L cannot read nor write.
The contents of the letter are as follows:
"Mrs Hunter ( know Won did not do |