St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-06-28
MURDER IN FIRST DECREE
THIS WAS VERDICT YESTERDAY IN
ERMiScH CASE.
WILL HE BE HANGED ,

The Jury Find the Prisoner
Guilty. as Charged in the In
dictment, i'm Less Than Thirty
Minutes-The Summing Up Of
Lawyers and Charge of Judge
Very Brief-Grapic Report of
Testimony Yesterday. xssg I
1--WE, the jury, find the defendant,
Charles Ermisch, guilty Of murdersin
the first degree. as charged in. the In
dictment." !s7.4. -
This was the result of less than thirty
minutes deliberation on the part OF
twelve good men aud true, foremaned
by NJ. j. Bell.
1t was expected that County Attorney
Butler would introduce numerous wit
nesses IN the afternoon. but contrary to
expectations only two. Mrs. Ermisch.
now Mrs. Schneider. and Henry Gruber,
ex-eity detective, wers called. With
LuClL tCSttulCuy t1O otoiO ASoeSos NdA sNS
defense was given chance to call any
one they might wish to. DIR. Hanley
was recalled at their request and told
about the bullet holes and several other
things of little or no Importance. DE
was followed by j. II. Armstrong, the
civil engineer. who drew the plat of the
scene of the crime. He stated that the
marks on the drawing indicated all the
bullet holes found in the saloon. Law
yer Bigelow tried to get Mrs. kohlm1n
back on the stand. but she knew agood
thing when she saw 1t and refused.
Mr.. Butler then summed up for the
state and in as brief an address as he
has ever made. without going into the
testimony, placed his case clearly aud
concisely before the jury. So
"These two men went out to that sa-
loon for robbery" he said, "and there
murdered Lindhoff. That's the plain
Anglo Saxon for it. There are no de-
grees in this case. These young men
don't seem to know that il is wrong to
murder" Mr.. Butler then went on to
speak of the apparently feelingless &C
lions of ErmiSch in court and the laugh
ing way he has taken some of the testl-
molly. In closing he said: "There is
no ulan on this jury who dares say on
his oath that there is any doubt in his
mind as TO the participation In this
crime of these men. On your oath don't
let red-handed, bloody murderer walk
free from this court"
For the defense II. r. Bigelow made
as strong case as possibly could be
done under the circumstances. He read
the law to the effect that a man cannot
be convicted on the testimony Of an ac-
complete. unless the testimony is.cor
roborated in some degree. Mrs. Kohl
man he styled all excitable woman,
whose evidence contradicted that of
another states witness. Mr.. LOTUS.
AS for Otto Pankopf. he called him
Another German who wants to talk"
and ended by saying that he did not be-
lieve Pankopf ever saw the prisoner on
the night of the crime.
THE JUDGES CHARGE.
Judge Kerr explained that he had
been taken by surprise in the shortness
of the trial, and had not had time to
prepare any written charge, but as
there we're not many propositions. and
little or no conflicting testimony, in his
opinion there was no use i'll waiting.
His honor read as much OF his charge
to the jury in the Rice case as applied
to this one. He gave an outline Of the
case that the state had tried to prove,
and retearsed the crime.
The really most important point was
the tact that Judge Kerr gave the jury
only one degree, and that the first. they
must either find the indictment true OF
not. In voice stern with indie nation
his honor said; Il say that resistance
under such circumstances on Lindhotf's
part was lawful and right" cutting off
any idea OF seif-defense in behalf OF the
prisoner. 1t was little past :15 when
the jury went out, returning at 3:45
with the verdict given above.