The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-08-06

A Convict confesses to Murder fos
Which Another Man Was Convicted.
The Testimony Was Purely Circumstan.
tlal--Two Other Men, Who Are sus-
pected, Are Staal Fugitives From
Justice-0reat Excitement.

known as Frederick Whitney, who
committed suicide at the Maryland
penitentiary Saturday. appears. by his
own confession to have added murder
to his long list of crimes. Friday aft.
ernoon Whitney sought out Warden
Weller and intimated that he meant to
end his miserable existence. In the
course of his conversation with MIR.
Weller the man said his real name was
Frederick Hildebrand and that his
home was in Detroit, Mich
- The ''hold-up" of City Councilman
Swindell, for which Whitney was serv-
ing an Is years sentence, occurred on
March %, 1895 In his confession ne
said that while fleeing from the Balti.
more detectives he killed and robbed a
man in Altoona, Pa, in April Of last
year. 'ianH eye a. ]t1 '.N
"While we were in Altoona" de-
clared Whitner, or Hildebrand, to the
warden Friday, II assaulted man on
the street, murdered him and robbed
him of his money, quite large sum-
For this murder another man was ar.
rested, tried and convicted"
"Was your pal, Williams, implicated
in this murder?" asked the warden.
''No, sir, did it all myself. I am
alone guilty and can stand the strain
no longer"
The warden tried to gain more in.
formation from his prisoner, but failed.
He set apart an hour for further con.
ference with Hildebrand, but the op-
portunity for which the prisoner had
long waited presented itself Saturday,
and the unfortunate man threw him.
self from a window and dashed out his
brains on the tagging 80 feet below.
Information from Altoona states that
April 5, 1895, Henry Bonneka, reput-
ed miser, was murdered. A man named
Wilson was arrested and convicted Of
the crime, mainly on circumstantial
evidence. and is now awaiting the
death sentence
The suicide was 35 years of age.
When incarcerated in the penitentiary
he gave his occupation as a ball
player.
John b. Williams, who was impli.
Gated in the Swindell ''hold-up," in
this city, and is serving 1s-year's sen.
tence in the penitentiary, confessed to
Warden Weller Sunday that Hide
DranQS s statement was true.
"Hildebrand killed old man Bon.
neka," he said, land secured S11, 900.
l helped him count the money. We
hid it near Altoona"
ALTOONA, Pa, Aug. 3.-If the con-
fession of the convict known as Fred.
erick Whitney, who committed suicide
at the Maryland penitentiary, is true,
that he killed Henr Bonneka in this
city. an innocent man now lies under
sentence of death for the murder.
There are some discrepancies in
the story of Whitney's confess
sion, as sent from Baltimore,
as to the facts of the murder.
Bonneka was not killed upon the
street, but was found strangled to
death in his house here on April 6, 1895.
Whitney was in Altoona at the time Of
the murder, was suspected and was
followed to Baltimore by detectives,
but not enough evidence was gathered
against him to warrant his arrest.
Three other men fell under suspicion
and finally one of them, Frank Wilson,
was arrested.
Wilson at first admitted having been
present when Bonneka was killed. He
afterward retracted his admission and
was recently tried and convicted Of
murder in the first degree He is now
under sentence of death in the county
jail. The other two men who are sus.
pected Of having been Wilson's access
sories are still fugitives from justice.
District Attorney Hammond talked
with the warden of the Baltimore peni-
tentiary Sunday, and learned that
Hildebrand was insane when he made
the confession. The news created a
good deal of excitement in this city,
especially among the people who be-
lieve Wilson and Farrell are innocent.
they having been convicted of the MUIR
der of the miser on circumstantial evil
dence.