New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-03
A SUICIDES CONFESSION.
AN INNOCENT MAN MAY BE SAVED FROM
THE GALLOWS
A CONVICT IN THE MARYLAND PENfTENTlAHf
ADMITS BEFORE TAKING HIS OWN LIFE
THAT HE COMMITTED A MURDER
FOR WHICH ANOTHER MAN Is
SENTENCED TO DEATH.


SENTENCED TO DEATH
Baltimore Aug 2-The convict known as rre"
er,ck whitney. who committed suicide in the Mary
land Penitentiary yesterday. appears by MS own
confession have added murder to his long ns' =.
crimes Friday afternoon Whitney sought OUT
Warden Weyler and intimated that ne meant ~
end his existence. In the course or MS coiNo''"
tion with Mr. Weyler the man said his reai "a'''e
was Frederick Hidebrand and that his home was
in Detroit Mich. The "hod-up' OF City |ounch
man Swindel for which Whitney was SERVING ~. a
sentence of eighteen years occurred on March -
1895 In his confession he said that "hhe "e''s
from the baltimore detectives he killed and robbed
a man in Altoona Penn. In April OF last year,
while we were In Altoona" declared "hithey'
or Hdebrand. to the warden on FRIDAY "'
sauIted a man on the street. murdered MIN anu
robbed him of his money. quite n large sum- roi
this murder another man was arrested tried ana
convicted and sent to the PennsyNah" ie'
tentiary for life: ,,,..,oa ,n this muir
osrs Vas lou yogr RRs Rsl warder Wilan'S '''p''
mo sir; I did it all myself alone am e"'''''
The warden tried to gain more nour FOR
his prisoner hut failed He sat Sabrand apa. d but the
opportunity for which the prisoner had ong hrew
RreSente9s From sr window and dashed out his brains
on the Tagging thirty feet below Anil 1909
tInnrv Ronneka reputed mser, was murdered;
A man named Wilson arrested ara c0hSirasa idarcs
and is now awaiting the death sentence u,.o, In
The suicide was thirty-fve years old. w % leii III
carcerated in the pententary he gave MS occup"-
''J John IN B. Williams, who implicated o IN tne me
Svirdeu hold up in this city ana Is SCI si'is on
e,pbteen- wears sentence In the penlent,sIi III.
fessed 70 Warden Weyler to-day that Hldep ,I an, III
rtsu sts,orent vas true "Hildebrand killed old man
Ronneka'' he said. "and secured sll~V nerpe"
rim count the money We buried 1t near Atoo"a
Altoona. Penn Aug. 2--If the confession oi 'i'
convict known as Frederick whitney VINO co"'-
,,,ted suic,de NJ the Maryland Pcni'entary Is
true that he killed Henry Benneka. In this city, an
innocent man now lies under sentence OF dea'h LOT
the murder There some discrepancies IL .he
story of Whitney's confession as sent from bai'-
more as to the facts of the MURDER Benneka %as aS
not killed in the street. but was founo s,ransleu
IN deaf IN in his house here on April ., lp whitney
was in Altoona at the time or the mGrder, was su'-
pected and was followed to Baltimore py ue,ec
tiyes but enough evidence 70 warrant MS ai.sS.
could not be gathered against him. Three Qthrr
men fell under suspicion. and finally one OF mem
Frank Wilson, was arrested. Wilson AT nrst au-
mitted having been present when Bennska was was
killed He afterward retracted his confession ana
was recently tried and convicted or murder IN tne
first degree He is under sentence or deatn IN
the County Jail. The other TWO men VINO are sus-
nectel of having been Wilson's accomphces are
atill fuettyes from Justice.