The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-02-06
SAYS HE WAS CRAZY
EVIDENCE IN GIBBONS MURDER
CASE BEFORE CORONER.
James Gibbons Tells What His Mother Said
to Him at St. Francis-SIightly New
Version OF the Shooting-Poor Mrs. Glib
bons Could Not Account for the Rash
Act-She Tried to Avoid Meeting Her
Husband-Jimmie Gibbons Says Father
Was Not in His Right Mind-He Gives
the Reason.

Was Not in His Right Mind-He Gives
the Reason.
| The inquest in the Gibbons murder
case is still under way. Coroner Nc
Collister is making thorough investi-
cation and the verdict Of the coroner's
| jury is looked forward to with great
deal of interest
The jurors are George Hodgson, E. G.
Young, j. NJ. Cossit, c Richey, J. H.
Forbey, and ]. S. Sheppard, and each
member of the jury seems determined
| to ascertain all the facts in the case.
Coroner McColliSter allows a very
| wide range in the examination of wit
nesses The witnesses are even allow
| ed to state neighborhood reports, then
! it is trimmed down so that when the
witness igns and swears to his state
ment it contains little if anything more
than his personal knowledge of the af-
/ fair
There were number of witnesses ex-
amined yesterday and the questions
were directed in a way to ascertain
| the condition of Barney Gibbons mind
prior to and the day of the shooting.
/ The fact that Gibbons did the shooting
| is easily proved and the jury want to
know whether he was sane or insane
when he shot his wife
The entire interest yesterday CEN
| tered in the testimony Of James Glib
| bons, the second son of Mr.. and Mrs.
Gibbons. Barney Gibbons has several
times stated that Jimmie would swear
| his life away and that he more than
anybody eleSe was to blame for the
whole sad affair. This was one thing
that caused the interest to center in
Jimmie Gibbons testimony. 1t was
| supposed that he could reveal the
causes that led up to the fatal shooting
on the 14th day of last January
James Gibbons came from the fun
eral of his mother to testify as to the
cause of her death. When he took the
! witness stand and faced the jury they
| looked into the face of a nineteen year
old boy that impressed every one as
| being honest.
There were traces of grief in his boy
ish face but none of revenge. He told
| how he had been employed at All HOl-
| lows academy and of his father COM
\ ing there on the morning of the fatal
shooting and telling him that he ought
| to shoot him. How he rushed to his
! mother, and other particulars which
were published at the time in the Ea-
! gle.
James Gibbons had gone to st. Fran
els hospital and mother and son had
| talked over the shooting together, and
| the young man was able to explain
some things that were not fully under
stood before.
1t was reported at the time of the
| shooting that when Barney Gibbons
came to his wife's home that morning
that he asked the children where their
mother was. That he was told mother
was out doors, and that he followed out
and came in with his wife.
Jimmie Gibbons says that his mother
| stepped into the stairway when his
| father came in and that the children
! did tell him that she was out doors.
He did not go out but opened the stair
! door and his mother came out. She
| had told her son that she had tried to
| hide from her father because she fear
| e6 him.
James Gibbons also stated that his
mother had told him when she came in
| to the room and saw his father draw
| the revolver that she grappled with
him to prevent his shooting but that he
! fired five shots in rapid succession.
| The excited woman finally succeeded
| in getting her husband from the door
and ran out The sixth shot was fired
as she ran Off the porch and struck
| her in the left arm.
Up to this time il had always been
supposed that the last shot did not hit
Mrs. Gibbons but she told her boy that
| it went through her left arm.
What did you mother say your
| father shot her for, Jimmie" asked
Coroner McCollister.
she said she was unable to account
for it"
Did you ever hear your father
threaten to kill your mother?'
mo, sir, ] never did.
| DO you think your father was in
his right mind when he shot your
MOTHER
Il have thought for the last three
years that at times father was not in
| his right mind"
| Have you talked with your father
since he has been in jail?''
Yes, sir
Did he tell you that he shot your
mother?"
NO sir. He told me TO take care Of
| his stock and things but to remove
nothing
What did your father do that led
Won to believe that he was not in his
right mind?'
| He bought a road wagon and said II
was for mother and the children to ride
! in. j asked him to let me ride in 1t
but he would not. He got new set OF
harness to use with the road wagon
and took them in the house and cut the
| harness and cut the wheels OF the ROAD
wagon to pieces"
What eles did he DO to make you
| think he was not in his right mind?"
He would accuse mother of having
other men in the house when he was
there himself and ought to have known
that nobody was in the house
In regard to the team Jimmie thought
he had heard his father claim that II
| belonged TO his mother, but that his
! father did as he pleased with it
\ large number of other witnesses
| were examined but no new facts in the
case were developed In the meantime
Rarney Gibbons remains in the county
| Jail and on advice of his counsel refuses
| to give evidence before the coroner
| jury.
After James Gibbons had given his
testimony he told a reporter for the
| Eagle that he could not account for his
fathers feeling toward him any more
| than he could account for some OF his
| other notions.
1t seemed to hurt his feelings be-
cause his father had said that Jimmie
would be a hard witness against him.
! The honest looking boy declared that he
| would only tell the truth. If YOU see
| father at the JAIL he said. tell him
| that would do him no harm
! At a late hour last night the follow
! ing verdict was returned:
An inquisition holden at the court
house in Wichita, Sedgwick county,
| Kan, on the 18th and 5th days of Feb
ruary, 1895. before me NJ. NJ. McCol-
! lister. coroner OF Sedgwick county. on
the dead body of Kate Gibbons there
| lying dead, by the jurors whose names
are hereunto subscribed. The said
! Jurors upon their oaths, do say that
| from the testimony given, the decea sed
came TO her death from two gun shot
wounds in the left arm and breast. the
said wounds being produced by pistol