The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-08-02
PROBABLY INNOCENT.
The Case Against Jacob Freund
Proves to Be Weak
One.
No Violence Used on Clara ODER,
Who Probably Committed
Suicide.

Inc inquest over the remains or
Clara Ober, the young lady found
drowned in the mill pond at Blue
Earth City Tuesday, was commenced
today, and an adjournment taken I'M
til tomorrow morning after num-
Der of witnesses had heen examined.
The testimony thus far is strongly
favorable to Jacob Freund, who is &C
cusel of having murdered Miss Ober.
Attorney Lorin Cray went to Blue
Earth City late yesterday afternoon
to look after Freund's interests, and
returned this afternoon, and from
him we learn that the testimony
given at the inquest thus far is sub
stantially as folloWs:ss
At 200 o'clock Monday afternoon
Miss Ober asked to be taken back in
to Mr.. Freund's family, and he re-
fused, and a scene ensued
on the street. She was
greatly excited at that time.
She was staying with her
uncle and left his house between 300
a. M. and 5: 100 a. M. Tuesday morning.
She went to the mill pond, half mile
away, and her body was found there
at 100 p. m. that day. She was
dressed in nightdress and a colored
wrapper, her uncle's hat and her
aunt's shoes, and took bed quilt and
sheet with her. The hat was found
in the mill dam and the body was
found floating foot under water 100
| feet away from the dam in six or eight
feet of water, with the clothing on.
The bed quilt was found today in the
pond sixteen feet from the dam and
in sixteen feet of water. Fastened in
one corner of the quilt with hat pin
was stone weighing fifteen or TWEEN
ty pounds.
The autopsy showed that Miss Ober
had come to her death by drowning,
the five physicians testifying that
this was clearly the case. There were
no signs of violence, and the only
marks on the body were three slight
abrasions of the skin, one under one
eye, one on the neck under one ear,
rand one below the breast. The au
topsy also showed that the young
woman was not pregnant and that
there were no indications that
she had ever been. She was
twenty-five years old, bright, rather
prett, and with sweet and refined
face. Her physician testified that she
had told him that she had had inter-
course with Jacob Ffeund. She also
told him that she had disgraced her
self and did not wish to live, but
wanted to die. She said the physi-
clan was giving her medicine to make
her live, while she wanted medicine
to make her die. She asked him
whether he thought Freund had
doped her that caused him to have
such an influence over her that she
could not remain away from him.
The physician testified that for the
past two months she had been drift
ing toward acknowledgements and
tuis was more marked on Monday.
Her mother had been in the insane
ass I'M.
r. was testified that a scream had
been heard nearFreund'S house at 800
a. m. Tuesday and buggy had been
heard driven away from there, that
scream had been heard at the mill
pond, buggy heard there and wheel
| tracks found. This was the main
evidence connecting Freund with the
case.
There are any amount of rumors in
Blue Earth City, and the people be-
lieve Freund guilty.
1t is reported that poster was
found on Miss Ober's table, with in
coherent and almost illegible writing