Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-03-15
IT WAS MURDER.
The Coroner's Jury In the Olson Case
Bring In a Verdict Thursday
Morning.
Say It Was Murder by Some Per.
0 or Persons to the Jury
Unknown.
Circumstances Which Convinces the
Jury That There Was Foul
Play In the Matter.
Verdict Reached.

UAo u~osUIuCCiOu VI Cuo outlF0 family by
fire, and after entering as thoroughly as
possible into an examination of the cir
cumstances surrounding the affair, have
come to the conclusion that the occur
renee was the result of foul play. For
about fvs weeks, States Attorney Allen,
Coroner Webb, and Jurors Livermore,
Larson and DonneIly have held meet
ings at intervals, and taken whatever
testimony promised to throw any light
on the case. They have made several
trips to the scene of the fire, and have
gone over the ground carefully, in their
attempts to clear up the mystery. And
the result of their Investigations has con-
WINGED them that the deaths of the six
members of the Olson household we're
the result of a crime. And in accordance
with this belief the jury Thursday re.
turned the following verdict:
We find that Peter Olson, ST., Jennie
Olson, Christian johnson, Peter Olson, jr.
Theodore Bathga, and the infant son OF
Peter Olson and Jennie Olson, OIL the 3Oth
day of January, 1896, at Sterling, Burleigh
county, N. D., were by some person or per.
sons, to the jury at present unknown, with
force and arms feloniously killed.
WHAT LED TO THE VERDICT.
There we're q number of circumstances
which led to the verdict Of murder. In
the first place there was the position OF
the bodies, as they we're found after the
fre-especially that of Olson himself. He
lay IN n corne Of a woodshed, with
the door leading from the house into it,
locked on the inside, the key still in the
lock, as it was found in the ashes, and
the thumb latch also locked. The only
way he could have made his way into
the shed, therefore, unless dragged there,
was to have left the house from in front,
and gone around from the outside. The
jury dismissed this second theory as i'm
probable.
The second suspicious fact to the jury,
was that, although found in a shed
where the fire, from the nature of the
surroundings and the direction of the
wind, would have been less intense than
in the main part of the house, Olson's
body was burned by far the worst of the
six which we're found.
Third, a galvanized iron pail was
found under his body, and, although his
legs were completely burned off, hoops
of a tub were found, in which, from the
outlines Of the body, his legs must have
rested, as though the mans lower limbs
had been placed in a tub of oil or other
inhammable matter, which was set fire
to, to accomplish the destruction of his
body as completely as possible.
Fourth, a shot gun was found by bis
side, which had been discharged by the
hammer, as proven by the mark in the
end of the shell, which is still in the
barrel, and yet the hammer of the weapon
was cooked when found, which could
only have been done by some person
cooking the weapon after it had been
discharged.
Fifth, although there was known to be
silver money and some small change on
the premises prior to the fire, no trace
of it was revealed in the ashes, by the
most careful search.
Sixth, a chair was found IN front of
the house, burned in a way which could
have only occurred by the building of a
fire directly on the seat. Its presence in
front IF the house aud its condition can
be explained by no theory of accident.
Seventh, a rifle was found lying across
the bed springs of the bed in which
Olson and his wife slept, as though it
had been attempted to be used either in
assault or defense.
These are the principal facts revealed
by an examination of the ruins. There
are, of course, other circumstances which
have tended. to convince the jury that
the fire was not accidental, but the re-
counting of these would be an exhaust.
i've proceeding, too much so for publica.
ton.
The evidence which has been taken by
the jury covers a hundred or so of closely
written pages. The major portion Of it
is that of one William Pace, who shortly
after the fire, approached the jury with
the statement that he had something to
communicate. Before them he gave tes.
timony of the most startling character.
tending to implicate a neighbor ot
Olson's. It was in the nature of a dec
l~aration Of the neighbor in question, to
Pace, prior to the fire, in which Pace
said the neighbor had threatened to dc
Olson up, in just the way he had been
done up. Pace was before the jury d
number of times, and each time he elab.
Grated his story to a greater extent. He
seemed SO eager to convince the jury, by
his willingness to swear to lmost any
suggestion which was made to him, that
they hesitated to believe his story, and
it is probable that the most of it is dis.