Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-04
Harry King 5 Slayer.
libbie 8eechler's Trial Com.
menced at Omaha.
A SENSATION TO BEGIN WITH.

zen. COWihB reference the De6O MAN
as Her Husband Sends the Prisoner into
Mysteries for IA Short Time-Statements
of the Counsel-The Defense Puts in
the Insanity Plea-Brief Review of the
Testimony.
OMAHA Neb., April A jury was OBJ
tanned Tuesday for the trial Of Libbie
Beechler for the murder of Harry King, and
yesterday counsel made their opening state
ments The defendant was present in widows
weeds, and the court room was packed
County Attorney Mahoney in his statement
said the connection between Miss Beechler
and King was purely voluntary on both
sides, and was carried on at Quincy, Ills. +,
where Harry went by the name of Legard to
conceal the state of affairs from his friends,
and at Chicago. Kings relatives at last
heard of the liaison and persuaded King to
give the woman up and she was paid $500 on
consenting to a separation. The connection,
however, was resumed, and during the CORE
spondence which resulted in its resumption,
Miss Beechler wrote letter to King in
which she said: eff you ever 60 back on me,
God help you. l will never let you live"
Another separation was procured by
Kings friends, the consideration to Miss
Beechler being $1,000 The counsel then
told over again the story of the shooting,
while the prisoner sat calmly in her chair
and listed closely, and even critically to all
he said. When he referred to her ruptures
with King as an alleged breach OF promise
she dropped her eyelids scornfully and her
lips moved as if making some comment on
Mr.. Mahoney's remarks.
Gen. Gown, for the defense, then arose,
and after outlining the facts said: "The pur-
pose of the state seems to be not to establish
the guilt of the defendant, but to prove that
she was not the wife of Henry w. King.
God knows" exclaimed the general, as he
turned toward the fair defendant, who up to
this point had been listening calmly, "it's no
credit to her that she was the wife of Henry
w. King" 4.
As the words, "She was the wife Of Henry
W. King" fell from his lips the little woman
in black hid her face in her handkerchief and
began 10 sob. As the general turned
to resume his address the sob increased
to loud moan, and as he
opened his lips to speak his fair
client, with a shrill cry. sprang from her
chair and ran distractedly in the direction
and rushed past Judge Groff's desk, while
her lips emitted series of crescendo "Ohi
OH" Her long, black veil streaming behind
her, her head thrown back, and her arms
tossing wildly, she presented a most dramatic
picture. All the reporters rose 10 their feet,
the audience craned their necks, and Judge
Croft turned calmly is his revolving chair
and surveyed the room with q where are the
bailiffs expression on his face
As Miss Beechler was turning the corner of
Judge Groff's desk Sheriff Coburn took her
by the arms and half pushed and half car
ried her toward the Judges private room
Mr.. Coburn is small and rotund, and it was
with great difficulty that he retained his hold
upon his captive At the farther corner of
the desk he was REINFORCED by bailiff, and
a moment later by another. The three off,
GERS succeeded in getting the prisoner into
the private room The door was closed, there
was the usual rushing for water, and a gen.
eral hustle about the room, and after few
moments Miss Beechler again appeared
leaning on Sheriff Coburn's arm, and quiet
~ took her seat. Gen. Gown then resumed
his address to the jury.
In the course of his remarks he said the de-
Tense expected to show that soon after Miss
Beechler came to Chicago, which was shortly
and asked her to marry him She told him
frankly that her previous life had not been
without sin. She told him she had been be
trayed under promise of marriage, but that
her life subsequent TO this false step had been
pure. King, knowing this, asked for her
hand. and they went to Missouri with the in
tention OF being married. On arriving there
they found that, contrary to their SUPPOSE
ton, license was required, and, going to
Quincy, they agreed, in the presence Of wit
nesses, to be man and wife, and signed a
contract to that effect. Her conduct after
that obligation was entered into was all that
a wife's conduct should be-
Through the persistent effort of Kings
father and friends she was induced to re-
nounce her claims on King. After her final
separation from him and shortly before the
tragedy, she passed several days without
either food or sleep When she heard that
King had another wife her mind gave way
completely, and it was while in this condi-
ton that she took the life of King.
Gen. Gown said that he did not offer the
defense Of insanity in trifing or frivolous
spirit, and he was convinced that when all
the evidence in the case had been offered the
jury would agree that the shooting was the
act of a woman whose reason was dethroned
whom she had given the richest love a
woman can ever offer
The remainder of the day was occupied in
taking the testimony of employees of the Pax
ton house, who testified as to the circum-
stances of the shooting, and of the doctors,
who described Kings wounds, and Others
George w. Scott testified to seeing King
after he was shot, and the next instant the
defendant appeared She seemed gasping
for breath and cried out 1--WE killed my
husband who was living in this house with
another woman My God, what shall doe'
The witness then took Miss Beechler
back TO the private office, where she
frequently implored those in charge to al
low her to see the body. Once she ex-
claimed: "Ive killed my husband, but God
knows did not intend to-" At the police
station Miss Beechler said King could not be
married to Miss Duffie. She said that only
four weeks before King had told her that
Miss Duffie was coming to Chicago, where
she would work in a dentists office Harry
King, she said, wanted Miss Duifie to room
at their house, but the defendant objected be-
cause she did nut want to lie responsible for
a young girl in large city.
The witness then detailed the statements
made by Miss Beechier to him of her past
life. how she left Chicago and came to Oma-
ha; the story Of the pistol; the settlement
with II. w. King, ST., for his son, and her
maiden name.
Peace Probable In Hayti
NEW YORK, April 4.-Jimenes, Haustedt
d Co, the New York representatives of Hip
polyte saw they have information that Hin.