The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-03-28
SElFRED Is A FREE MAN
The Jury Finds Him Not Gully Of The
HsniOus Crime Charged.
JOE RILEY ALSO ACQUITTED
The Evidence Did Not Show That
He Caused LottIe WrIght's
Death-A Youthful Forger
Arrested.
Special Dispatch to the Standard.

NSoiSS ID. OeliTeu. accused OF incest VIII
his 16-year-old sister, Ada Seifred, were
the result of lengthy deliberations of q
jury of his peers. For six hours the jury
wrestled with the evidence and considered
the heinous crime charged against Seifred
in all its revolving phases. Three times
they left the jury room and filing into the
court room took their seats, while the
word passed around the court house that
a verdict had been reached. But the
crowd that quickly gathered to hear the
words of veal or woe for the accused was
each time doomed to disappointment, as
the jury only wished the stenographer to
read certain portions of the evidence. The
last time they asked the judge as to his
instructions and his honor read the same
again and explained any points that did
not appear to the jury to be
perfectly clear. 1t was o'clock this
afternoon when n verdict of acquittal
was reached, the jury having been out
since 10 IN the morning. After being
polled they were discharged and the
March term of the district court came to
an end. When the jury first retired the
members were about evenly divided as to
the guilt of the accused. 1t is understood
they were five for acquittal and seven
against and that five we're obdurate, being
which Seifred was tried was faulty and
that the state had failed to present the
case in the strongest light. 1t is hard ly
necessary to state that the verdict did not
meet with much favor among tho general
public. Nearly everybody with sporting
proclivities were willing to wager any,
thing from drink to new hat that
Seifred would be convicted. His acquittal
in the face of the evidence presented
against him, is considered a great victory
for his attorneys, VIM. Wallace of Helena
and Ransom Cooper and Stanton & STAN
ton of this city.
The autopsy over the remains of Lottie
Wright, the variety girl who died yester-
day afternoon under circumstances which
apparently reflected upon her husband.
Joe Riley, and led to his arrest on sus-
picion, was held this morning instead of
last night as at first intended. Doctors
Gelsthorpe and Ferguson were called in
by Coroner Weitman to participate in the
post mortem, after which the coroner's
jury, consisting of ]. j. Ellis, j. n. Bridges,
Harry Shipkey, Emmett Race, G. A. Good
haul and Meyer Harris, was impaneled.
The undertaking room where the inquest
was held was crowded when the investi-
CATION began.
tioning on behalf of the state, while
George Stanton appeared for Joe Riley.
Mrs. Wright, mother of the dead girl, tes-
titled that of late Riley and her daughter
had not lived very amicably together, es-
pecially whenever both happened to be
drinking. She heard something of a row
on the night when it was alleged he struck
Lottie. As to whether he hit her with a
beer bottle, as claimed, or cut her with a
razor as reported, she was not quite SO
certain. Sergeant Shea testified that
during a certain row between the two he
had taken Riley to Jail that he might So
Der up. Others testified to different
phases of Riley and his wife's brief mar
ried career, but brought out nothing of
importance.
The testimony of the physicians who
had examined the various organs of the
deceased, was most important, and prac-
tically settled the question as to the cause
of her death. They had found two clots
of blood in the right ventricle of the hear:
and were unanimous in the opinion that
heart failure was a remote cause of death.
while erysipelas was in all probability the
direct cause. The jury found accord
ingly, and Riley was discharged from
custody.
Gus Lovenash, a young man who has
lived here almost continuously for several
years, was arrested last night just before
midnight by Officers Shea and Germ,
They had been looking for him for an
hour and finally ran across him in the
Park theater where he was enjoying a
glass of beer with a painted fairy He
was locked up in the city Jail to answer
TO the charge of forgery. From the ev:-
dence in possession of the state it appears
that a week or so ago he went into the
Office of Gies Bros. to write a letter. Next
day n check for SO payable to Professor
Bauman and signed by Gies Bros, and n |
blank check of tho succeeding number
were missing from Gies' check book. |
Suspicion was naturally directed towards |
Lovenash but on the advice of Detective |
Germ to whom the fact was commune |
Gated, it was thought best to await until |
the thief attempted to cash the SO check. |
Every merchant and bank in town were |
notified and instructed to call up the po-
lice department IT man answering Love-
nash's description offered the check. The |
check showed up yesterday afternoon |
when c. L. Grove, north side merchant,
presented it at the Cascade bank. Pay
ment was refused. Grove said his clerk
had cashed it in his absence, not knowing
hat young Lovenash was under suspicion.
The latter, it seems, gave it to the clerk
Tor So cents worth of oranges and got
back the necessary change. When the
1ounG culprit was searched at the city
Jail, a 3S-calIber revolver, lot of blank
,hecks, the check stolen from Gies' check
book, which was made PAYABLE to the &C.
FUSED for $50 and signed Gees Bros, and
! list of names of we'll known Butte mer-
chants were found upon him.
To-day il was learned that Loyenash
worked Jack Pfefferly to the tune of Si5
and n meal ticket by representing that he
lad $500 IN money coming from Butte and
When the same arrived he would purchase
half interest in Pfeiferly's restaurant.
lie claims his mother lives il Basin. He |
5 about Is and recently returned here |
rom Butte after an absence of two years. |
Ie will be arraigned tomorrow and in all
probability VIII eventually be sent 10 the
efoTm school.