Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-05-27
BROOKS DEFENCE.
The Alleged Murderer of q. A.
Prener at ST. Louis
Outlines His Defense to a Local Reporter
He Admits Preller's Death at His
Hands, But Declares 1t Was
Professional Accident.

which has just begun in this city, the
following statement, the first that the &C
cused has ever made, will be of interest.
1t is made by an attache of a local news
paper:
visited Hugh NJ. Brooks. mora widely
known as W. II. L. Maxwell. in Jail yester-
day, as have frequently visited him in the
interest Of the Post Dispatch, and fou nd him
as calm, composed, self possessed and self
when he left the train at the Union Depot
after his long, tedious, and, might say. tri-
umphant trip from Auckland
He came from his cell with more than
usually cheerful smile upon his face, and,
though he wore a new white straw hat,
Which heightened the paleness OF his com s
TIE soft melancholy of his features. and the
effeminate delicacy of their outlines. he
still looked well, and was in all essentials
unchanged.
He is wearing his beard short cut. dow n
to almost the same proportions as he wore
1t during his stay at the Southern in Holy
Week of last year, and he tells me he looks
DOW very much as he looked then, so that
the question of his personal Identification
by the attaches of the house and all who
came in contact with him at that time will
be rendered all the easier.
If anything, Maxwell is much improved
since his advent in st. Louis, not, perhaps,
physically, but in such traits as are readily
recognizable by the casual observer. He Is
little more subdued in his speech and does
not run to fiippancy and sarcasm as much as
he did in the first few weeks when he was
called upon to breast his earliest notoriety:
lie was always open, frank and unreServed
in his talk, and frequently in his converse
tions with me has to some extent disregard
ed the ban placed upon him, first by Napier
his New Zealand attorney; next by Lawyer
Cluney in san Francisco and latteriy by his
attorneys here each of whom told him in
most positive language that, innocent or
guilty, his safety lay in silence
In my opinion the great mistake OF the
whole thing-after the crime, of course-was
Nantpr,S advice.
hadn't been for this, and If Maxwell hadn't
come TO st. Louis committed to a policy
him, the story of the killing of Charles Arthur
Pre1er would have been known long ago,
the prisoner ever since might have been
lifted, or frightened at least.
Maxwelrs explanation of the death of
Preller is his only defense. That explanation
was made in writing to his attorneys.
Messrs. Martin and Fauntieroy, many months
ago, and Maxwell Will go on the witness
If he makes the statement on the stand in
the same candid, free and convincing
manner in which he made 1t to me, do not
see how it can fail to favorably impress the
jury.
He gave me the statement yesterday-not
in IT'S entirety-because he expected that his
lawyers would consent to give me the state
ment which he wrote for them-and it has
not differed materially from the Impressions
/ gathered concerning his defense from all
the bits and shreds of facts that he gave me
on other occasions.
In giving it he said his desire all along had
been to unburden himself to the public, and
allow his actions previous to and after the
crime to suhstantiate his declarations. These
actions show that he neither premeditated q
crime or tried to conceal one, for froa, the
moment OF his arrival at the Southern Hotel
until his departure for San Francisco every
act and almost every word of his had been
the property of the public, and these acts
and these words form the strongest links in
the chain of circum stances which they have
forged to hold the cuprit to his crime.
"The only act" said Maxwell, "about
which there has been any doubt Mt all has
been the act of which l am now accused.
/ recognize now as much as anybody could
that l made mistake in withholding my
defense: but what could do? / was here
alone in a strange world, with no one to ad
vise me but my counsel. and followed the
advice they gave me. to the letter. Messrs.
have made n statement when I was first ar
rested, but as had not done this and as
had been in st. Louis some days before they
had time to consult with me, had better
continue the policy which had started In
on and say nothing at all about my case
believe this statement because Maxwell
give out his defense but could not afford to
ignore the advice of his lawyers. and so the
to come to trial before learning the defens e.
After a little talk of this kind yesterday
Maxwell came to the conclusion that as, as the
say something about his defense, so he told
me in so many words that his attorneys
would not deny the identity of the remains,
at Maxwell's hands. and insist that the
death was due to accident. arising from cir
cumstances which Preller hal himself in
vted.
Maxwelrs honesty is reflected in the fol-
lowing letter which he gave me to hand to
Mr.. Fauntleroy for the purpose of having
Mr.. Fauntleroy give me the written state
ment already referred to:
"FouR COURTS CITY. Mav17
I'D. NJ FAUNTLEROY: If you think it adj
visable to make the defense public, 1 shall
be very glad If you will give the statement
of mine to Mr.; Jennings. of the Post Dispatch.
Jennings has been very friendly to MS. Some
time ago promised that L would give him
the defense when 1t was to be made. Under
all the circumstances think it advisable to
make the defense public. Believe me, dear
sir Very faithfully! W yS ~ srooxs
"P H. Fauntleroy, Esq"
His sentIm. mt and feelings in regard to
the statement are fully set forth in the last
sentence of his letter.
After receiving the letter, ana before de-
parting from the jail, Maxwell told me the
"Mr. PreIler,'" said he. not using exactly
the language here attributed to him, but ex-
pressing these ideas: Mr. Preller was suf,
previously prescribed, mixing the medicines
myself from the bottles in the medicine case
reached stage when it was necessary for
me to make certain investigations. l was
obliged to use a catheter, and In using a
catheter when the parts were fnf1amed had
previously applied chloroform in order to
produce a condition of narcotism. used
named Harrison in Liverpool without
anv serious result / explained the process
to Mr.. Preller and told him what | should
was very anxious for me to treat him in this
manner. During the day l purchased fout
ounces of chloroform, which was standing i'll
a bottle on the edge of my washstand when
] was washing some surgical Instruments.
This washing of the Instruments took place
Sunday afternoon and was intended as q
preparation for the operation. In washing
the instruments l overturned the bottle OF
chloroform and it went headlong into the
basin, the cork coming out and all
but about one ounce and quarter or
an ounce and half going down in the sink
This was probably three O'Clock, and after
getting my instruments ready went out to
secure some more chloroform: went to the
drug store-I don't know where-but the
store near the hotel IFernow's and asked
for the chlorOform. The clerks or som
persons there have said that was excited
a, and in hGrry I d was a not So SAT t now
quarter of an hour. and was altogether very
lelsurely about my business: for there was
no hurry If am not mistaken had long
conversation with some one in the drug
store.
"When got the chloroform l repaired to
my room. PreIler had been in and out of
my room and his own all afternoon. About
p. m. we began the operation. admins
tered the chIoroform in the usual way. hold
ing a saturated cloth to the nose. PreIle err
passed through the first stage all right; it
look several moments-I don't know exactly
how long; then he entered the second stage,
and here the terrible result came. 1 discov-
cred too late that he was dying. Imagine
my horror when this fact dawned upon
me. was wild with fright, but had pres
senca of mind enough to cut the shirt and
Undressing from the body aud getting wet
towel, / beat him around the neck and
shoulders for Il half hour more. / d id
not give up until was ready to drop from
exhaustion. and my efforts were not relaxed
until be had been dead some time. All the
clothes he had on at the time were his shirt
and undershirt: he had stripped to these for
the operation
e What did 1 do when I saw my friend was
dead2 What could I do? l didn't know
yCIa at fn In ri T dray IL FRI w.