New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1898-01-19
The Coroner's Jury Fails to Excuse the Act.
Eich Pleads Self Defense and the Evidence
Points IN that Direction.

Last Tuesday evening, between eleven
o'clock and midnight, the usual quiet Of
our neighboring village of Sleepy Eye
was disturbed by a sensational shooting
affray, that has resulted in the death of
one man and the Imprisonment of another.
The man killed was Wallace M.Greene,
son of F. D. Greene, the former marshal.
The slayer was VIM. Elch, printer
in the Office of the Sleepy Eye Dispatch.
Greene was shot through the heart and
died almost instantly.
Eich at once accosted the marshal,
gave himself up, confessed to the shoot
ing and was brought to New Ulm early
Wednesday morning.
Eich's plea, as stated to the marshal
and his most intimate friends, is that of
self defense. The evidence, adduced at
the inquest, would tend to substantiate
this claim, but for some reason the cor
oner's jury declined to exonerate him.
They simply found:
"That Wallace Greene came to his
death by bullet from a revolver fred
by William Eich.'
That's all, and that means that Eich
will have to stay in Jail until the grand
jury and courts have disposed vf Him.
The prisoner is unusually COOL. He
plays caids, REFUSES to say anything
about the case further than that he re-
grets his action, while justifying it on
the ground of self defense, and this much
he gives out only to his most intimate
friends
His brother visited HIM Thursday
morning and made arrangements for
counsel. Somerville & Olsen will prob
ably defend him.
Coroner Rothenburg conductor an in
quest over the body OF Wallace Greene
Friday morning. His jury was made up
of r. H. Bingham, W. r. Hodges, A. A.
Larrabee, Mike Fohl, F. H. Buelow and
T. G. Webber.
The facts developed at the inquest
were substantially as follows:
The killing occurred in front of Mark
Canes barbershop on the street. It
grew out of quarrel between Greene
and Eich in front of Henry Berg's saloon.
EARLY in the evening Green and Eich
frequented the saloon and played pool.
While there they had no trouble. E1ch
left first and later Greene was ordered
out. Soon after, Greene and Eich got
into an alteration on the sidewalk in
front of the saloon. Greene said to Eich:
"How would it lie if I took a smash at
you?" The next moment Greene was
lying in the gutter and Eich was pound
Ing HIM.
When Greene got on his feet again he
turned to Eich and said: "Yoa made
my nose bleed. I don't want to hurt
you Billy, but have about four inches
of steel for you.' Greene was seen to
have knife in his hand at the time.
Eich told him to keep away and start
ed to run toward Charlie Berg's place.
Greene ran after him, but when Eich
turned back and ran towards Henry
Berg's again, Greene walked. -..
Eich rushed into Berg's saloon took a
beer and asked for gun. On the outside
Greene said: s'I'll follow him to his bed.
I'll get him out of bed to take punch
at him." Eich left the saloon by the
rear door. From there he went through
the alley to the Dispatch office and got
his overcoat and revolver. He saw two
men standing on the opposite side of
the street and went over to see who they
we're. After speaking to them for
few minutes he started home in the 6li-5
rection OF the main street on which the
row had occurred. Just then Greene
came around the corner. They met and
the shooting occurred. 5 5sz
Eich's claim is that Greene came to.