Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-02-13
THE YOUNGEST CONVICT
THAT WAS EVER GIVEN A LIFE
SENTENCE IN THIS COUNTRY.

OnAJ AWCANCs ouS nc AnAC0 Ills
Father and stepmother-How the
Murders Were Committed He
Saved His Baby Sister.
There has just been placed in the peni-
tentiary at Anamosa, Iowa, probably the
youngest convict ever given a life SEN
tence in the United States. This new
wearer of prison stripes is only few days
past twelve years of age, and the crime OF
which he was convicted was the murder
of his father. He had also murdered his
stepmother, but the charge of killing his
father was tried first and conviction and
sentence followed.
The boys name is John Wesley Elkins,
and his parents live on farm in Clayton
County. There were four in the family,
the father, John Elkins, the boys step
mother, Hattie, the boy John and an in
fant daughter. On the morning of July
II last one of the nearest neighbors no
ticed John driving by in the buggy with
the baby with him. They asked where he
was going, and he replied that he was
going to Mr.. Outcalt's, near Edgewood,
as his father and stepmother had been
murdered the night before. He was told
to stop with the neighbor and did so. An
investigation followed. and it was found
that the lads father and stepmother were
dead, the former having been shot and
the latter having been beaten to death
with club. A Coroner's inquest was
held, and all the witnesses testified that
Elkins and family were universally re-
spected and had no enemies. John stated
that the night previous, with the consent
of his father, he had slept in the barn;
that he was awakened by the sound of
gun shot and afterwards heard his mother
scream. When all became quiet he went
into the house, found his parents dead,
and had taken the baby, changed its
clothing, hitched up and started for his
grandmother.
The inquest did not develop anything
tending to fasten the crime upon any
body, but showed that the murder had
been committed with a rifle kept in the
house and heavy maple club, which had
been left in the old granary by former
occupant of the premises, was found near
the house. 1t was covered with blood.
The lads GOODNESS after discovering the
crime attracted some attention and de-
tectives watched him, and soon he was ar
rested and lodged in Elkader Jail. About
a week after his arrest he made the fol-
lowing confession:
81 had wanted to leave home for long
time. / once ran away, but father brought
me home. Two or three days before July
16 began planning to kill my parents,
and when / came in from milking on the
night of the murder l went to the gran
airy, got the club and blaced it on chair
in my room. About 3 in the morning
got up and went out of doors and looked
all around. / saw no one, and / then
went into my parents bedroom and saw
they were asleep. / went back to my
room, took the rifle from the wall, where
father always hung it, went back to their
room, put the muzzle within about two
feet of fathers face and fired.
81 ran back to my room, threw the gun
on the bed, grabbed the club from the
chair near the door, ran back to their
door, and saw that mother had jumped
out of bed upon the floor and was stoop-
ing over as it to light lamp. l struck
her on the back of the head with the
club. She kind OF sprawled backward
upon the bed, and / struck her several
times more until was sure she was dead.
Then father kind of groaned, and struck
him once or twice to be sure he was dead.
After / was sure that they were dead l lit
the lamp and took it to my room, and
then went back and took the baby from
the bed. l took off its bloody clothes,
and dressed it and quieted it. Then /
started to load the rifle, but after getting
powder in the gun / couldn't find the bul-
lets and other things. thought | was
fooling around there too long, and went
to the back door and knocked the powder
out of the gun by the door step, and took
the club and threw it out in the weeds. |
hitched up the old horse, took the baby
and drove down by Porter's and they
stopped me-,
At no time since his arrest has the lad
expressed the least sorrow for his deed,
excepting when he made the confession,
and he does not seem to realize the enor-
nifty of his offence, nor the terrible SEN
tence which justice has imposed on him.
Able lawyers were appointed to defend
him, but nothing could be found to ex-
tenuate the crime or to shed any new
light upon it, so that they were forced to
enter a plea Of guilty. Judge Hoyt pro-
nounced the sentence, but with evident
reluctance. The boy was as unmoved as
statue. He is slender, understood
child, with well-developed head, and is
intelligent beyond his years. Various
teachers to whom he has gone to school
state that he was naturally bright
scholar, and was always self-possessed and
composed. Nothing seemed to frighten
or startle him. He never evinced any
affection for any one, unless perhaps it
was for his little baby step-sister, who
was in bed with its parents on the night
of the murder and whose life he espared.
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