Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-08-23
MURDER WITHOUT CAUSE
That Was the Verdict Of the COrOner's
Jury in the Case Of Ed J.
'O'Brien.
The Woman in the Case Was Not Hi
Wheeler Story Varies Essen
tally From His.

AZ an earIy DOur MONDAY morning
a man evidently laboring under consid
cradle mental excitement walked int
the city Jail Office and inquired for a pc
liceman. Being directed to the Contra
avenue beat, he approached Officer Curry
and said that he bad just shot a man or
a ranch in Goodman coulee and wanted
to give himself up. He said he didn't
know whether he had killed him or not
Ills story to the officer and later to the
county attorney vas about as follows:
A man named Frank Bigbee had been
coming to his house and had insulted
his wife, who made complaint to him Of
the fact. He had ordered him to keep
away on two occasions, once us late as last
Saturday. Sunday he went out hunt
ing chickens with a Winchester. On
returning home about 8 p. II. he found
Bigbcc IN the kitchen with his wife. He
said to him, "Frank, | thought I told
you TO keep away from this house" Big
bee replied, "Wcll you red muzzlcd E.
Of "A b suppose you did, and at the
Balnc time grabbed a butcher knife and
made a slash at him. Thcrcupon he
siczcd his Winchester, which he had put
behind the door when he came in, and
fired one shot at him. His wife ran up
to take the gun away from him, and in
the struggle it went off Il second time.
County Attorney Freeman, the deputy
sheriff and Coroner Wcitman, with the
t,iit,,Il4r ,prt,t I,It tl W., ,-, e a..
TRACEY Monday and an inquest was
held, at which II considerably different
story was developed, and the jury, which
John A. Ross, Il. +. l%Ierrin, John r..
verdict that ''thc deceased, Frank Big
fired from Winchester rifle in the hands
Of Ed }. O'Ericn, without provocation.'
O'I'ricn testified TO the facts OF the
fore, and said that he was married to
his wife at GaIcsburg, H., by a Justice
of the peace.
Mrs. O'Br'on testified first that she
was married to q Brien at Maiden, Mont,
but afterwards said that she would not
lie about the matter and that she had
i''V' pooi ldiIiC AZ MI. I0IIt Ddl Dttu
an inmate ia Il house Of prostitution at
Fort Benton under the rant of Minnie
Fisher, and had gone to Maiden and
opened Il house there where she became
acquainted with O'Brien and mad lived
with him for some six or seven years
since. She had never complained to
OBrien Of being insulted by Bigbee and
never had been insuited by him. She
knnT fhuf (lItrInn tB,n .n.ln,,1 ~ I,r,
but did not think it would GAUGE an
assault. She had ridden to Sand Coulee
with Bigbee Saturday and this caused
the first objection from O'Brien, who
accused her Of being drunk with him, but
hfterWard WAS pleasant to her and she
thought he had cotton over his jealousy,
Sunday Blgbee came to the house and
offered to haul some grain 20 her for
chicken feed. Sne told him O'Brien was
jealous and had forbidden him the house,
tut he sad he was as good Il man Hs
DBrIen. When the latter came home
he made the remark quoted by him and
B'gbee made the reply testified to by
D'Brien. Here her testimony differs
from his materially, She says that
hs I;igbe- started to rise from the chair.
Wv 49, ~ v any fbilo u lie tuldI
but he might have made Il grab for one
which was near by.
The victim was shot in the chest
twice. Either of the wounds would have
been fatal. They went clean through
the body and lodged in the boards back
Of the chair in which l,igbee wAs sitting.
The board with the bullet holes was
brought away 10y the county attorney,
and furnishes conclusive evidence that
Btgbee was not standing up when the
shots were fired.
lioih O'I;rien and BJgheo are we'll
known here. The former worked for II
time at the Cascade mil, and later at
the smelter. Bigbee hab been living 90
a ranch II few hundred yards away
from the O Brirn shack, and has been
making hay, and selling it in the Great
Falls market.