Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1895-03-28
NINE AND A HALF YEARS.
VillerS Sentenced to Hard
Labor in the State
Penitentiary.
The utmost Penalty That the
Law Allowed Was
Given Him.

beng IN progress continuously for three
weeks, has finally been concluded, the
jury have returned verdict of ''guilty"
and Judge Rose has sentenced the
prisoner to nine and one-half years of
hard labor at the state penitentiar The
people of LaMoure and Stutsman coun.
ties, who have taken a deep interest in
the progress OF the trial, universally con-
cur in the verdict of the jury and the
sentence of the court in thus melting
out what is believed to be justice for
foul crime. The county in which the
deed was committed has been put to
great expense 10 the prosecution but has
seemed to spare no expense in the
endeavor to bring the guilty one to
answer for bis crime.
The day Tuesday was consumed with
the final arguments of the attorneys to
the jury and strong endeavor made by
The defense to mitigate the inevitable
conviction Of the prisoner and minimize
the penalty as much as possible. But
the effort, as the result shows, was USE
less for the jury after celebrating, but
three hours, returned a verdic; of guilty
according to the evidence introduced.
The final plea of the state was closed
during the late afternoon and then the
charge OF Judge Rose t. the jury de-
livered and at SIX O'Clock the jury re-
tired to deliberate upon the verdict.
The maximum limit allowed by law for
the commission of the crime of which
Villers was found guilty is ten years and
nearly the full limit was given the
prisoner by the Judge. Attorney Glas-
pell OF this city has taken prominent
part for the state in the conduct of the
trial.
LAMoURE, March 22.-The lntroduc-
tion of testimony in the Villers trial is
now in full swing and the court room is
daily crowded. Upon the opening of the
case and the introduction of testimony
Mrs. Pauline Tromer took the stand.
She is very weak physically and is
able to endure but little ezertlon. The
examination has to be stopped occasion
ally to allow her to rest. She was car
ried into the court room IN a large arm
chair and while reclining in shat gave
her testimony. Judge Rose wisely and
firmly over-ruled the objection of the de-
Tense to an interpreter, as the poor
woman with her limited knowledge OF
English was too weak to make the
mental effort In comprehending and en-
deavoring to answer the questions. Rev.
Chas. Schoenheider was selected as in
terpreter.
The entire DAY has been consumed in
the direct examination of Mrs. Tromer.
She identified NJ. J. Vlllers as the man
who assaulted her on the evening OF Nov.
9Th, last. She related that Villers came
to her house on the evening of the 9Th
OF Nov. and called her out stating that
his wife was out at the barn and had
brought her some food, and after she
(Mrs. Tromer) had followed him out
to the barn Villers seized her by
the shoulders, throwing her to the
ground on sume stones and stamped her
with his feet and struck her over the
head with stick of wood and after
wards threw her into the well. She says
the we'll IS about 40 feet deep and had
about 80 feet OF water in it. She after
wards crawled out of the we'll in some
way and got to the house, her little child
letting her in. She Immediately went
down cellar with her children, the Oldest
throwing their bedding down cellar. and
there they remained during the night.
In the morning she went to her neighbor
Mr. Jordan. She also said that Villers,
during the spring and summer, had bor-
rowed and never returned almost every
thing she had, enumerating the different
articles. She also said at different times
he made indecent proposals to her and
she objected, telling him that when she
married Tromer, her husband, she swore
at the alter she would be true to him and
she could not love anyone else; and at
one time she claims he came to her
house and took hold of her and pulled
her down in his lap and kissed her, she
screaming and crying all the time.
Fully so witnesses have been summon
ed IN the case by the state and defense,
and the estimated expenses of the trial
are placed at near $4,000. The statutes
do not provide for expert witness fees
and the county will save considerable in
that direction.
The grand jury, in connection with the
indictment OF Villers, recommended
that strenuous efforts be made to dis.
cover Tromer's body and the offering OF
a reward to that END.
A large number Of ladies are daily in
attendance at the trial.