Omaha daily bee., 1894-04-03
FOR A YOUNG GIRLS MURDER
Mrs. Emily Bennett on Efial for Killing
Miss Anna Weiso,
SENSATIONAL CASE At NARSHAlLTowN
Circumstantia Evidence Relied Upon to
Solve an iowa Tragedy Replete with
Awful Details story ms Arranged
by the Detectives.


MARshALLTowN, Ia, April Especial
TO The Bee.)-The most important case that
has been tried in this county for years was
called today in the district court. Novem-
Der ., 1893. the grand jury indicted Mrs.
Emily Bennett for the murder of Miss Anna
Wiese. Both parties were, at the time of
the murder, living in Vienna township in
the southeast part of this MarshalD county.
Miss Wiese was a young German girl about
20 years old and at the time of the murder
was living as a domestic in the home of
Henry Russie. She had always born Il good
reputation, and was a girl Of good address
and well thought of by her associates.
About shutdown on August 26 she went
to the home of a neighbor, Arthur Hin. to
spend the evening. Hill lived about half a
mile south Of Russie's. 1t was a moon
light night and about 10 o'clock she started
alone to return to the home of her en-
ployer. When she had reached a point
about half way on her return. In a low
piece of ground, she was assaulted by some
one who was secreted in the high grass by
the roadside and was killed.
Mr.. Russie heard her scream and told his
hired boy to go and see If that was Anna.
He soon returned and said that he was
afraid to go. Mr.. Russie then went with
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three more piercing screams. They ran down
the road and hearing a low moan were at
tracted to the spot where the girl lay, satu-
rated with blood from head to foot. Her
throat was cut from ear to ear. Later exam
ination showed twenty-five Stabs on her
throat and neck and that her skull had been
crushed by a club In the hands of the
assassin, which was still lying near the scene.
Her body was lying by the side Of the road
in the grass and the surroundings showed
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Mr.. Russie Immediately gave the alarm,
and in a very short time the entire neigh
borhood was aroused. The crowd was wild
with excitement and indignation, and threats
of terrible punishment were freely INDUCED
in should the guilty party be found. The
sheriff by midnight was on the ground. He
organized searching parties and systematic
ally searched the country. Several days
the search was kept up, but without success.
Sunday, the day of the tragedy, hundreds
of persons drove out from this city and
joined in the search for a clew. The citi-
zens of that part of the county offered n
reward of 81 1000 and to this the sheriff
added $500.
Suspicion first fell upon Albert E.senhart,
to whom it was reported the girl had been
engaged, but which had been broken of.
He was found in a few days near Rolfe, in
Pocahontas county, arrested and brought to
this city. He had no trouble in proving
that he was at the home of his employer on
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Several detectives commenced work on the
case. One of them soon arrested a young
man by the name of Horace Hill, but failed
to produce sufficient evidence against him
and he was discharged. Governor Boies
advised the county attorney to employ a de-
tective and the state would pay the ex-
pense. Barney Shultz of the Pinkerton
agency was put to work under the direction
Of the sheriff, which resulted in the indict-
ment against Mrs. Burnett.
DID NOT LOSE HER NERVE.
She was promptly arrested and placed in
jail. Her attorneys appeared before Judge
Weaver and asked for bail for the accused
on the ground that the indictment did not
charge murder in the first degree, or that if
it did so charge the evidence attached to the
indictment did not raise, u presumption of
guilt, such as is required by law before a de-
PENDANT can be held without bail. The judge
admitted her to bail, fixing her bond at $10,-
600, which was furnished by twenty-five of
the neighbors. The defendant, from first to
last, while under arrest and while in Jail. has
exhibited but little nervousness, has re-
tanned her calmness to a remarkable degree
and expresses herself as confident of an
acquittal.
The evidence against her will be purely
circumstantial. so far as can be gathered
from the minutes of the testimony taken
before the grand jury. A number of red
hairs were found in the murdered girls
hands, said to be about ten inches long,
which the state will undertake to show cor
respond with the hair of Mrs. Bennett. The
club that was found near the body, the state
will claim, was picked up by Mrs. Bennett
when she started from her house as she
went out through the COW yard. The
filth and manure Of the yard yet covers
the club. A dress waist taken from the
Bennett house will be introduced, which,
it is claimed, has blood spots on it. A but
ton is missing and a button corresponding
to those now on the waist was picked up
where the struggule occurred. They will
also show that blood was found the next day
on the door OF Mrs. Benefits house and
when parties went a short time after this
discovery to see the blood it had all been
carefully removed.
Mrs. Bennett lived little more than half a
mile from the house of Mrs. Russie, where
the girl stayed, and in plain sight of the
road leading to the house of Horace Hill,
where she visited on the fatal evening, and
the claim will be made that Mrs. Bennett
saw her go there. A piece Of ground Gov
cred with high weeds and grass extends
from the place where the murder occurred
to the yards back of the Bennett house and
could furnish the only means Of escape un-
noticed by Mr.. Russie and the boy, who
must have been at the spot where the muir
der occurred, before the murderer had time
to get fifty rods away.
One motive for the murder Is stated to be
the jealousy of Mrs. Bennett on account Of
her husbands attention to Miss Wiese. 1t
is also reported that several years ago a man
working near where the BENEFITS lived dis
appeared and has never been heard from. 1t
is charged that the body of this man was
buried in the cellar OF the Bennett house
and that Miss Wiese knew Of it and was
killed TO preserve the secret.
What the state will show in regard to
this fact has been carefully guarded and only
the trial will develop the facts.