The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1896-07-16
THE HEARING HELD.
AUGUST HILGENDORF APPEARS
AGAIN IN COURT.
AS EMOTIONLESS AS EVER.
Listens to the Testimony Against Him
With Stolid Indifference.-Wha the
witnesses Had to say About the
Crime.
AS EMoTIoNLEss AS EVER


came up before Justice Slater today.
The question for Justice Slater to de-
eide was: Shall this man be bound
over to the next term of the circuit
court on the charge of murder?
The prisoner appeared in court &C
companied by his attorneys, Baker &
Baker. District Attorney Buckmaster
appeared for the state. The entrance
of the prisoner to the court seemed to
be marked by the same stolidity and
stoicism as had been his chief charac-
teristic before the coroner. Unlike the
coroner's inquest Hilgendorf could not
be placed on the stand except by his
attorneys request. The matter of
whether there was probable cause to
believe that Hilgendorf was guilty, was
left to other witnesses. Their testi
mony in condensed form appears in
this article below.
Owing to the small capacity of JUS
tice Skaters court room and the large
crowd in attendance upon the hearing,
the court adjourned to the court house
to take the testimony. The court
room was about half filed with spec
| tatOrS.
Thomas Hansen was the first wit
ness Said he was an undertaken.
Was in K8nosha on July 4. Had seen
the defendant Was called to defend
ants residence on July 4 at about 1910
o'clock .. N. Mr.. Cropley telephoned
him to go out to the old Peter Lippert
farm. Hitched up and went out. Got
there about 1l:30. Found Mr.. Harkins
there and a number of other persons.
| In the milk house found the dead body
of woman. Was told that the body
was that of Mrs, Hilgendorf. She was
lying on her back on the floor all
covered with blood from head to foot.
Found her throat cut. Placed the
body on the embalming table and
found a fracture of the skull. When
found she was lying in an east and
west direction, trifie in a diagonal
position. Her head was toward the
west. Couldn't tell whether the body
had been moved after death. Found
the scalp wound and depression IN
| the skull about an inch square. Her
| throat was cut with one long cut OF
about 81 inches long. Another an inch
long about three-quarters of an inch
| lower. There were bruises all over the
hands and aims, one on the chin and
| Io01a I,n ri
there had been a struggle there from
appearances. The clothing was badly
disordered, as was also the hair. Both
were saturated with blood. The waist
was torn. There were two lower gar
ments and one upper. Had no shoes
or stockings on. There was some bur-
lap or rags lying south of the feet.
Did not examine this, but there was
blood on it. The windpipe was
severed. Found the caroted artery on
the right side severed, also. There
was a great amount of blood about.
Found the veins and arteries all empty.
The depression in the head was deep
est near the top center of the head, and
about seven eighth's of an inch square.
| The skull was broken there. Couldn't
tell the effect of such wound, but be-
lieved it would produce insensibility.
The wounds in the neck would produce
death. The depression was all smooth
except the edges, which were rough.
Found corn knife near the body. 1t
was covered with blood. Believed the
corn knife handed him was the one he
saw there. The blood was more dry
now than it was then. The wound in
the head could have been caused by
this instrument. The blow must have
been DEALT with the blunt end of the
instrument probably from behind. Be-
Iieved the wounds in the neck had been
caused by the same instrument while
the woman was lying on her back on
the floor. Saw the defendant there
He was in the mllkhouse. His clothes
had blood on them and his pants were
wet as though they had been washed
from the knees down. The stockings
were also wet. Told him about the
blood being there. Felt of the pants.
Defendant explained that he had tried
to lift his wife and that his socks were
wet when he put them on in the morn
ing. He later said he had wet them
by washing milk cans, after the same
thing had been suggested by some one
else.
Mr.. Hansen was oss-examined by
Attorney Baker, but the main facts in
the story were not shaken so as to
make any very big holes in it. He
stated that when Hilgendorf was taken
last Monday to view the remains at the
morgue he remarked, "What have you
done? " to the dead body. Mr.. Hansen
told him she had not committed this
deed herself. He remarked that he
knew nothing about it, then.
On redirect examination he stated
that death must have come from five to
eight hours before he arrived.
| 1t was 2:10 o'clock when the after