The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-05-21
Officials Seem Unable to Make
Any Progress.
In Unearthing the Murderer of
j. s. Collins.
THEORY OF SUICIDE
Is Shown to Be Wholly Un.
tenable.
John WilkerSOn AbandOnS the
Investigation.

Another day of hopeful expectancy
that the officers will unravel the Col
Inns murder mystery passed without
anything of Importance being unearth-
ed.
Ex-Sheriff John NJ. Wilkerson, who
had been working on the case has quilt
and says that he will do nothing more.
He still adheres to the theory of sui
eide, though he says that he is not en-
ployed by any insurance companies.
Many persons still cling to Mr.. Wilk-
erson's theory of suicide. 1t is an easy
way to solve difficult problem, but
permit of the solution unless a person
will deliberately close his eyes.
DR.. Tefft and DR.. Grubbs, the two
physicians who examined the body Of
Mr.. Collins, both say that the death
could not have been suicide.''I am firm
ly convinced that Mr.. Collins could not
have fired the Shots said DR.. Tefft.
1.-The Wads in the wound in the shoulder
were found below the collar bone and
below the wound which shows clearly
that they were blown downward. To
do that the gun must have been held
above the body and it would have been
a physical impossibility for Mr. Collins
to have held the gun in position to
inf1ict this wound
People who think that Mr. Collins
committed suicide claim that he dis
charged the gun with his foot but both
feet were found covered by the bed
clothes in the morning and the torn
sheet and coverlet show that the COW
ering was on the feet when the shot
that entered the hip was fired.
The words ''Tel nothing in the mys-
terious telegram sent by John Collins
to Miss Frances BabcOck on the morn
ing of the murder are yet unexplained.
Some Of the police officers and others
think that there may have been a Sc
cret marriage between John Collins and
Q.l nd 10 hic fc ha r
ter about which he enjoined secrecy,
but intimate friends of both parties
laugh at the proposition.
The friends of John Collins think that
he made a great mistake in not Offering
an explanation when he was before the
coroner's jury. His reply, "1 refuse to
answer having the effect of placing
the matter in the worst light possible.
Sheriff Cook has returned from Osa-
watomie and is again at work on the
case but if anything has been unearth-
ed he has carefully kept it quiet.
H. O. Garvey, agent of the Massa-
chusetts Mutual Life Insurance COM
pany against which there is a 81, 500
policy, gave notice today that his COM
out a contest. This is the policy that
was made payable to the estate. All
the rest are payable either to Mrs. Col
Inns or John and Grace.
In the event that it could be shown
that Mr.. Collins committed suicide it
would not invalidate any of the life
insurance. The fraternal policies are
not affected by the fact that the in
sured commits suicide and after Ger
tain number of payments are made in
old line insurance, suicide does not re-
relieve the companies and all the poll
cieS are old ones.
1t is the accident policies about which
the greatest question arises. If the sui
icide theory could be sustained the ac-
cident policies would be void and some
lawyers go so far as to claim that they
do not cover a case of murder.
The insurance companies could only
be wholly relieved from responsibility
by the fact being esta blished that the
insured was murdered by a beneficiary.
The people who believe that murder
will out" are waiting in the hopes that
something will happen to clear up the
mystery but the work of Sheriff Cook
and Chief of Police Steele up to date
has been of the nature that gives the
public confidence that they will never
solve the secret of the murder them
selves.
In this connection it might be said
that although Chief Steele's detective
work was not particularly brilliant,
Sheriff Cooks was not, either. The
unlimited criticism of one and not the
other is to say the least unfair