The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-12-27

evidence that would clear John and
named the price they expected to be
paid for it. One of these anonymous
letters to Grace Collins read:
Il have been seated near you during
the trial and have admired you very
much. 1 know by means of secret COM
munications that the jury is going to
convict your brother, but I have power
to hang the jury. If you will meet me
tonight at s o'clock at the south steps
of the state house and have 500 in an
envelope and whistle three times will
come up and, as you reach out to hand
me the envelope, speak the words: For
love and liberty will guarantee to
hang the jury
palmist of Lawrence who told her that
he had read the palm of Miss Frances
Babcock and he warned her to beware
of Miss Rabcock because she was not
friendly to John.
Dozens of letters came to Mrs. Col
Inns from SpiritualiStS and seerS of diff
ferent kinds. All of them were of the
same character. one was from woman
in Wichita who wrote that she was
the seventh daughter of a seventh son
and born with a veil She offered for
$50 to find the murderer of Mr.. Collins
and save John. Several SpiritualiSts,
two of them in Kansas City, wrote to
her that the spirit of her murdered huS-
band had appeared to them and told
them who the murderer was. They
offered to tell for pay. A Spiritualist
in Des MoineS, Ia, offered to come to
Topeka without pay if she would per
NIT him to hold a Seance in the room
where her husband was murdered He
wrote that he felt sure he could ma
terialize the spirit of her husband and
she might talk to it and learn who the
murderer was.
The attorneys for the prosecution and
the defense received letters from law
yers over all the country asking to be
allowed to assist in the trial without
pay, or offering suggestions.
Some of these letters were amusing
in the theories they offered. A lawyer
in Nortonville wrote to the attorneys
for John Collins that the best defense
to make was that John did give the
negroes his watch and money to gam
BILE with and to prevent John from
bounding them or prosecuting them for
the return of the money they murdered
his father, arranging circumstances so
that suspicion would point to the boy:
Thus Collins would be convicted and
they would be rid of him.
A letter to County Attorney Jetmore
advanced this theory Of the crime:
4 believe that Mr.. Collins planned
with his family to kill him. He was
pushed for money and his finances were
going from bad to worse. He saw ruin
staring him in the face. He knew that
if he committed suicide the $2S, 900 in
surance money would not be paid so he
planned with his family to murder him
and then leave the shotgun in the hal"
Another crank wrote Mr.. JetmOre
that he believed Mr.. Collins killed him
self with the shotgun and that Mrs.
Collins afterwards carried it out into
the hall"
A man in Marysville wrote in this
way: Gould not the indefinable swish
heard by Grace Collins in the hall right
after the shots We're fired have been
caused by the explosion of both barrels
of the gun in the close room? This
would cause a current of air to rush
up the stairway, past her door and
cause the swishing noise she heard"
Many letters came to the prosecutor
assuring him that the people were with
him and believed that John Collins was
guilty. One was from a hotel keeper
in Junction City. who wrote in part:
Last night there were twelve men
in the hotel office. Three were railroad
men, one was a lawyer, five were travel
ing men, one was the negro porter, one
was q merchant and one a cattle dealer.
I asked all of them who believed John
Collins was guilty to hold UP their
hands. Every hand went up"
A lawyer wrote to Mr. JetmOre, in
closing a copy of the speech made by
rant case. Another wrote, citing cases
where sons had murdered their fathers,
and suggested that JetmOre use them
in his closing argument to the jury
Amateur detectives by the dozens
offered their services to both the prose-
cution and the defense One of these
letters was from a man in "Windot."
who wrote in very bad grammar and
spelling that he had a "clu'' and Miss
Babcock helped John Collins plan the
murder, and that the telegram. Tell
nothing" sent by John to Miss BabcOck
referred to that,