Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-05-27
MAXWEI.L,S YARN.
The ST. Louis Murderer Makes State.
ment Of the Circumstances
Of the Crime.
He Gave Preller ChlOrOfOrm In Medical
Treatment-The Fatal
Result.
[st. Louis dispatch.l


st. Louis newspapers print a statement
made by III. M. Brooks, alias Maxwell, now
on trial for the murder of G. Arthur Prel-
Ter, which will constitute his only defense,
and which will be urged by his attorneys
IN the trial. In word, he will confess to
killing Preller by accident, while acting as
his physician, and that, being excited and
frightened, he concealed, instead of making
known the fact of death. He declares he
has always wanted to tell the facts, and
only refrained by advice of his attorneys.
The following is Brooks statement:
"Mr. Preller was suffering from an acute
malady, for which had previously pre-
scribed, mixing the medicine myself from
the bottles in the medicine chest carried
with me; but his ailment had reached stage
when 1t was necessary for me to perform an
operation" Brooks then tells of the pur-
chase of chloroform, which was spilled in
the sink on Sunday afternoon while he was
washing the instruments preparatory to the
operations; of his going to Fernow's drug
store and buying more, denying incident
ally the statements that he there showed
evidences of hurry and excitement, and
continues:
About D. m. We began the operation.
l administered the chloroform in the usual
way, holding a saturated cloth to the nose.
Mr.. Preller passed through the first stage
all right. 1t took several minutes, / don't
know exactly how long. Then he entered
the second stage, and here the terrible re-
suit came. discovered, too late, that he
was dying. Imagine my horror when this
fact dawned upon me. was wild with
fright, but had proGeneo of mind enough
to cut the shirt and undershirt from the
body, and, getting a wet towel, 1 beat him
around the neck and shoulders for
a half hour or more. / did not
give up until 1 was ready to drop
from exhaustion, and my efforts were
not relaxed until he had been dead some
time. All the clothes he had on at the
time were his shirt and undershirt; he had
stripped for the operation. What did 1 do
when 1 saw my friend was dead? What
could do? didn't know what to do ex-
cept drink, and / drank freely. drank
everything | could get-wine, whisky,
everything. What were my thoughts2 1
had not any. All remember, that / drew
on a pair of drawers first thing that
fell into my hands-and put the body into
my trunk, from which 1 had removed
everything. Il put it in the trunk an hour
after Preller's death. What was done be-
sides this have no recollection of. Liquor
and CONSERVATION had possession of
me, and 1 knew only that my feelings
were those of the utmost horror. remain
ed in my room that night-the same room
in which the remains were-and it would be
a lie for me to say slept, for did not, and
Was sE qd eSER EhsR NM m05ag 05g yS Rsow Wfhat WfUf
has all been printed"
He says he supposed the post-mortem,
when the body was found, would disclose
the nature of the operation and the cause of
death. According to his own story the cut
ting off of Preller's mustache, the inscrip-
ton about traitor" found in the trunk, and
all the other queer incidentals connected
with the tragedy are to be attributed to his
liquor and fear -crazed condition after the
fatality.