The San Francisco call., 1898-05-06
BRUTALITY TO
 AN IMBECILE San Rafael Woman Ac- cused of Fiendish
 Cruelty.
Her Insane Brother the Victim of Her Alleged Acts of
 Persecution.
Charged With Seeking to Get Rid of Him to Secure His In-
 hcritance.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

| SAN RAFAEL, May 5.-Mrs. Minnie
 Lakin was arrested by Constable c. | Shepard to-day on a warrant sworn to l before Justice Rodden by Mrs. M. Gil- l leran, charging her (Adrs. Lakin) with
 assault and battery. On the face
 of it the affair would present merely the aspect of an ordinary neigh bor's quarrel, but when the facts lead | ing up to the arrest are investigated
 taking the evidence of the witnesses in the case for the truth, there is revealed a case of alleged iendish cruelty by the woman to be arrested that is enough
 to make one shudder-a case in which
 half-witted brother was starved
 beaten and kept closely confined in a
 cellar for several years, on the alleged ground that avaricious hands itched for sum of money coming to him.
 The unfortunate wretch is Thomas
 Jamison, a brother of the workman
 who was killed by falling from the partly completed Hall of Justice build ing in San Francisco some time ago.
 Mrs. Minnie Lakin is the mans sister and is taking care" of him for a cer- l tain monthly sum. - seems that the woman who caused the arrest, Mrs. | Gilleran, knew too much and talked too little, the result of being an assault i upon her by Mrs. Lallin, and the is- suance of the warrant
 l Mrs. Gtlleran'S story, which she as- serts will be told on the witness stand. and which witnesses will be compelled | to corroborate under oath, is as fo1- l lows:
 For a number of years I lived on Petaluma avenue, near Third street, and next door to Mrs. Lakin, with whom l came to be very ohummy. The was left about S25, 900 a good while ago by an uncle Mrs. Lakfn received a like sum, ard the other brother, Jo = h, who was killed, the same. Mrs. Lakin's treatment of this half-witted brother, whose money thing frightful. He was kept locked in cellar under the house and nobody ever saw him. l saw him twice in these years and he was uakempt, un- shaven and hollow checked. Moreover, he was kept nearly starved. On one occasion l saw him in the back yard, as he managed to get out of his cellar in some way, and he was eating chicken-feed in a pan in the back yard. His appearance was pitiable.
 Mrs. Lakin used to beat him se verely. One night I was awakened by hearing shrill howls of anguish, and, throwing up my window, heard the sound of heavy blows in the cellar op- poSite Between yells I heard Tom brokenly plead, Oh, Minnie. do quit; 1 won't do it again. The next day told Mrs. Lakin l was going to see the authorities and have the brutal trea,- ment stopped. She talked to me for while and I told her she wanted the poor fellow out of the way to get his money. She said if II would keep still | l1tl laA rrsrv 1,s -1,O see that l got money enough to make me comfortable.
 "A few days ago I went and told a man the whole story. He made me promise to keep still for two days while he investigated the charges, but neighbors he must have put the La kins on their guard, for MT. Lakin was waiting for me as I went to work in the. French laundry. on B street early yesterday morning, and, showing me a pistol said he would blow my brains out if I didn't keep quiet. To- day he came up here and abused me before the other employees. I consulted with my friends, and as Mrs. Lakin had beaten me in my house on April 2S for talking I was afraid they would do worse, and have had her arrested.
 "As God is my witness, this is true, and I will tell it all under oath.'
 The nei~hborS of Mrs. Lakin are afraid to talk for various reasons, but enough can be learned to corroborate Mrs. Gilleran's story in many particu- lars Thomas Steward and his wife lived by the Lakins for ten months. Mrs Steward said:
 .Durir- all this time I never saw this half-witted brother but once, and then they had him bringing in load of lumber from the sidewalk-a load so heavy he tottered under it. RumorS of i'll treatment have been current for a 'ong time, and the man should have been placed in asylum"
 Mr. Steward said he never saw the poor brother in the whole ten months. He understood the family had promise to take him out for exercise every day.
 Mrs. Agnew, who now lives near the Lakin house, says he is never taken out for exercise and was not even allowed to take exercise in the back yard till recently. Mrs. William Crane states that on one occasion the man ran away, | but when he got a few blocks from the house he appeared to become dazed and halted long enough to be brought back by the Lakfns. At this time a beard of about four months growth covered his face
 Mrs Honeywell, another neighbor, l admitted the story of inhuman cruelty had been in circulation for long time | but nobody seemed to care to take the | initiative to stop it. One neighbor, Mrs | Ring, denied there was any truth in | the tale, but stultified herself by deny | ing that such story was in circula- tion, which none of the neighbors cared | to deny. She is known to be an inti- mate friend of the accused.
 It is needless to say the Lakins deny | the story in toto. but when the | case comes into court some sensational i evidence may be adduced
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