Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-11
His Trial Will Take Place Next
Monday.
COU NSBL TO BE ASSIGNED
Trying to Fasten Other Crimes on
Elsie kregIo's Murderer.
HE MEETS HIS WIFE

AS predicted in The Star OF Friday last
| would be the case, Irving Ford. the ne
gro brute who killed Elsie M. A. Kreglo
| last Monday afternoon, was this afternoon
indicted for the murder, and then ar
raigned Immediately before Judge Cole, in
Criminal Court No. 1, before whom he will
| be tried next Monday.
The prisoner pleaded guilty, but as indi-
| Gated in The Star Saturday, Judge Cole re-
fused to accept the plea, directing the
| clerk to enter plea If not guilty. The
| Judge also informed Ford that he would
| later in the day assign him more
counsel, and then at the suggestion of Dis
| trict Attorney Birney. Judge Cole set the
case down for trial before him on Monday
| next.
The witnesses in the case, including May
| or Burleigh of Harpers Ferry. the man
VINO captured Ford; the members of the
kreglo family. Detectives Weldon and
Horne, and several others, were examined
by the grand jury early in the day, and an
| INDICTMENT was soon agreed upon.
me news of the return of the indictment.
which was presented in court shortly after
: o CLOCK, soon spread about the city hall,
and when Ford. escorted by four or five
bailiffs. was brought into the court room
about I'D O'Clock, dozen or so spectators
were present.
Clerk Smith at once read the indictment
and at its conclusion asked: How say you,
Ford. are you guilty or not guilty."
The wretch he5itated for a moment, and
tnen, with sigh, exclaimed: well, boss,
Pm guilty"
I'm view of the gravity of the charge,
your honor" said District Attorney Biz
| ney. Il suggest that a plea Of not guilty
be entered
Yes" replied Judge Cole, 81 would pre-
fer not to impose sentence on such plea
| ana charge, and the clerk will enter plea
| of not guilty.
That was done, and then Judge Cole said
he would assign counsel to defend Ford,
| who stated that he had no lawyer.
Mr.. Birney asked the court to set the
case down for trial before him Monday
| morning next. Il see no reason why the
| case should not be tried then. and the case
| Will be tried that day." replied the judge.
| Ford was taken back to Jail, and Judge
Cole sent for Attorney Joseph Shillington.
asking him to defend Ford. Mr.. Shilling
| ton promised to give a definite answer to-
| morrow morning. He will likely take the
| assignment because Of his regard for the
courts wishes. and Attorney Phillip Wal
ker will also probably be asked to assist in
| the mans defense.
| The detectives have by no means aban-
doned the idea that Irving Ford the con-
| fesSed murderer Of Elsie Kreglo Is also
the slayer of John Wesley Hall, the colored
shoemaker who WIS so brutally murdered
| In his shop on the It'll Ct last month but
| they are still endeavoring to ascertain
| whether or not Ford actually committed
| that crime. So far as Ford is concerned
|
| was in any manner implicated in the hor-
| rible affair. in which robbery may have
! been the motive. There is ar old silver
| watch missing from the shop of the hunch-
| back .hoemaker, but the watch found
| whef, Ford had disposed of it proved to
| be timepicce other thar that taken from
| Halls shop. Mr.. Prather. an associate of
Hall, saw the watch at police headuuar-
| ters, and he was positive that it had never
| belonged to his friend. who was so foully
dealt with Ford's denial of this crime did
| not satisfy the officers that he did not
commit 1t, for he had made several denials
| of the krnRlo murder before he finally con-
cluded to confess. and then he had to make
several efforts before the full story was
| told.
When 1t was first suspected that Ford
| may have committed this other murder he
was questioned about the watch and said
| he had bought it from some unknown man
| for 30 cents. This in itself seemed a little
| doubtful, but Ford insisted that 1t was
| In this way that he had gotten the time
| piece, which he afterward traded for
| rifle. The prisoner even went so far as to
| deny that he knew or had ever heard of
| Hall or knew of such a murder having
| been committed But during the course of
| the investigation Detectives Horne and
| Weldon learned from NJ. J. Boteler on
| whose farm the Fords lived that he FordD
| had told him Of the murder. and said he
| could have seen the dead man, but he did
| not like to look at lead bodies.
| When confronted with this statement
later on Ford changed his story and ad-
| mitted that he not only knew of the muir
| der but he also knew Hall and had been
| in his shop. At the time of the murder he
| Ford) was living at the home of his sis
! ter. Mrs. Walker. on 18th street, only
| about three squares from where Hall was
murdered. He does not give a good ac-
| count of his whereabouts on the night of
| the Hall murder.
What the officers regard as a suspicious
| circumstance In this investigation is the
| fact that the light trousers which Ford
| q haH
| her of blood stains upon them. These
| trousers he did not wear when he COM
mitted the Kreglo crime, and the blood
| stains on them were dry as If they had
| been there for some time. How he got
| these stains on the trousers he has not yet
| explained. Thus far the officers are able
| the Hall murder the night the crime was
| committed. They have the blood-staned
trousers and his conflicting stories.
| Meets His Wife.
Mrs. Lizzie Ford the prisoners Wife came
| in from her home in the country this morn
ing. and called at the Jail to see her husband
The meeting was not particularly affecting
| Lizzie mad her fourteen mon old baby
| with her, and Mrs Walker, the prisoners
| sister. was also with her. He was glad to
see Lizzie and the baby, but the meeting did
not cause him to shed any tears. He was
| more anxious about his personal comfort
| just at that time than he was about the wife
| and child about whom he has pretended to
care so much since his arrest.
| The wife was much more affected than
| was her husband She seemed to overlook
the terrible deed and his unfaithfulness
| to her, and talked to tim as she had talked
| before he got In the trouble which will no
| doubt be his last trouble on this earth
| Il want some Clothes" he said to her
These don't look nice" And. in addition to
exhibiting his vanity in this way. he also
asked for one Of the pictures the officere
had taken Of him. He feared the picture
| would not do him Justice, for when it was
| taken. he said to his wife, he was not him
| self. but was very much worried And for
| fear the photograph is not good one he is
DESTROYS Of having another sitting He wants
| one taken when he looks better was what
| his wife said to the officers
During the interview between husband
| and wife the former told of the visit of the
| police in connection with the watch. and
said he thought they were endeavoring to
| put that crime upon him. He told her that
| he was innocent Of that crime and said
he had confessed to all he had really done,
and he didn't want anything put on him
| that he had not done. When she left the
jail he asked her to call again, and she
| says she will return later in the week
| The officers questioned her in the citv bo II