Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1883-10-25
THE INDIANA TRAGEDY.

Jacob Melting COnfesses Having Murdered
Ada Atkinson and Declares Ladd En-
tireIy InnOcent-The Excited POpuIace-
Anxious to Lynch the Murderer.
FOWLER, IND, Oct. 16.
Jacob Melting made full confession to-
day of the murder Of Ada Atkinson as fol-
lows:
Jacob Melting being duly sworn, says: do.
my pocket-knife, shown to-day in open court
in the Benton County Court house. l killed
her under the following circumstances: Be
lore started from the fence something came
over me that enticed me to do / started
from the fence on the east side of the orchard
to the house. 1 entered the south door of the
mouse. went upstairs and found Ada up
there. 1 said to her: Il am going to kill you"
TO die that way. told her had to do it.
don't recollect what she said. took hold OF
her and threw her down on the floor; then I
cut her threat; then l became frenzied and
made the other cuts. 1t seems my mind left
me, and did not care what l was doing I
can not explain the raising of her clothes, or
the rest of the cutting, but suppose done it
all Ihad no motive that 1 remember of for
killing her in this manner and did not at
tempt to ravish her and had no desire to do so.
AS left the house / went to the milk-house
and washed my hands in the basin which had
laying on the nilk-tank near the door. IthreW-
the water into the yard, and likely it soaked in
the grass; l did not get my clothes bloody,
because the blood did not fly. 1t seems to me.
that had hold of the handkerchief which was
around her neck, and might have twisted it
=
blood off my hands and knife went back
through the orchard to my work
do SOlemnly swear that Jacob Ladd is in
nocent of the murder and that he did not visit :.
me that day, and that the previous statements 4.
]. have made about him are false in every par
ticular. JACOB NELLING
Witnessed by JOHN G. HARRIS Chicago.
PAUL. E. hitter,
Coroner of Benton County.
P. 81 will state that have not been forced
to make this confession and that make it VOL
unfairly without any expectation Of any inn
munity from justice. JACOB MELTING.
The statement that he did not attempt to
raYish her is not believed; every indica-
tiOn proves he attempted this. While be-
ing examined this morning he was as cold
and feelingless snake. During court
all the room doors were locked by the Sher-
lift and Melting was hustled down the back
way to jail before the audience was allowed
to go out of the courtroom. This prevented
certain lynchings The excitement was in
tense.
This confession explains the most myste--
rious and heinous murder ever committed
in Indiana. Melting alone knew who COM
mitted the murder, and had he remained
silent the mystery would never have been
solved. He is in jail strongly guarded.
Hundreds of people are in town TO see the
lynching expected tonight.
There was an exciting scene when Nell
ling was removed from the courtroom to-
jail. Spectators rose and were ordered to-
obey, but moved toward the prisoner, mutt
tering. He was taken out the rear door,
which was Immediately locked, and the
Deputy Sheriffs announced ''No man leaves
the courtroom for five minutes" The
Sheriff placed Melting in the most secure
cell in the jail and went inside with a
tTusty, well-armed force Of eight men,