Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-08-29
GREAT MURDER CASE.
Mystery Of a Millionaire's Death May
Be Solved

|
The grand jury at Hannibal. Mo-,
| which has been in session inyeStigat-
ing the StillNell murder, has made a
report TO Judge Roy of the court Of
| common pleas, returning true bills
against DR.. Hearne and his wife
charging them with murder in the
! first degree.
The arrests of the Hearnes We're the
] first intimation To the public that in
| dictment mad been returned. Both IN
| dictments are for murder in the first
/ degree. The news soon travelled over
/ the city and there was great excite
ment, although the action of the
| grand jury was almost, if not quite
/ universally commended. The prisoners
We're taken to Palmyra in hurry
where they were placed in the county
jail. 1t is supp ased that the grand
I jury has considerable important evil
dence in its possession that did not
come to light in the dispositions taken
in the libel suit of DR.. Hearne for
100000 against the Sar Francisco
Chronicle. The indictments and sub
sequent arrests give general satisfac-
tion.
! The Stillwell murder, now one Of
the most widely known crimes il the
| history Of the west, was committed in
! Hannibal, Mo-, on the night OF Dee.
80 1888, and was followed by a sue
cession of fomances in which the
widow always played a prominent
role. Amos J. Stillwell was a pork
packer. who had made his fortune.
Mrs. Fannie G. cStillwen was his Sec
ond wife, and by this marriage there
were three children. DR.. J. G. Hearne
! was Mrs. Stillwell's favorite physi-
clan. At the cofoner's inquest on the
day after the murder Mrs. Stillwell
!, testified that she and her husband
:, had attended progressive euchre
! party not far away from their home,
, and had returned about midnight.
, They went directly to bed, and SO IN
t afterward she was awakened and saw
ali eyil-lOOking person standing at the
foot of her husbands couch. She, was
W
two of the children. She heard a
whirring sound as the murderer
Whir!ed an ak over MS head and she
ducked down under the bed clothes
She tainted and knew no more for
some moments. Then she alarmed
. the servants in the house and went
across the street to the home of some
friends. They returned home with her
. and found Mr. Stillwell dead His
body lay partly out of bed, The head
and upper part of the body hung over
the bed and the toes were on the
floor. The left side of the face was
exposed, showing gaping wound,
made by an ak, four inches long. A
pGcketbnok from the cid gentleman's
trousers, at the foot of the bed, was
missing, but a bag of jewelry and
silver on the dresser had not been dis
turbed. Or. Hearne was notified by
telephone and came promptly, only to
find Mrs. StillWeu in an epileptic fit.
He took charge Of her, remaining with
her the entire night. ann ouncing that
she could not be seen in her present
condition. The cOrOnef's jury after
two weeks session decided that ''Mr
Stillwel died from the effects of a
blow from an Ak in the hands Of
person unknown After the funeral.
which the widow was unable to at
tend, she went to Battle Greek. Mich,
accompanied by DR.. Hearne and some
of the family. Mrs. r. II. Stillwell,
her stepdaughter-in-la was one of
the party, and it was on this trip she
claimed to see things that made her
suspicious of DR.. Hearne and her hus-
bands stepmother. A little less than
a year after the murder DR.. Hearne
and the widow were married, causing
considerable talk in the city of Hann;-
bal. They did not live happily and
on Nov. Is, 1891, Mrs. Hearne and
her daughter, Miss Mollie Stillwell,
started for Europe. DR.. Hearne fol-
lowed and overlook them after they
had boarded the European steamer
Mrs. Hearne consented to return with
her husband But there was a divorce
granted in San Diego, Cal, in August,
1894, though they were remarked in
the following September The cele-
brated libel suit of DIR. Hearne against
the San Francisco Chronicle grew out
of that newspapers full account of
the murder and subsequent suspicious
raya1a tionS