The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-12-25
MURDERED HIS FATHER
The Jury Returns q Verdict of
Guilty.
WAS A DIVINITY STUDENT
The Pstricide Accomplished His Afro
c:ous Crime While His Father Was
Asieep-wanted the Insurance..
Enamored OF Miss Babcock.

Topeka. Kan, Dec. 24.-"Guilty of
murder In the first degree" was the ver-
dict returned at Q o'clock tonight in
the case Of young John Henry Collins.
charged with the murder of his father,
James S. Collins. a prominent real
estate and insurance agent of Topeka.
who was shot as he lay asleep in bed
early one morning in May last.
John Henry Collins. the convict. was
a student in the Kansas State univer-
sity and a licensed lay reader of the
leading Protestant Episcopal church of
Topeka. The motive of the crime was
found in the youths greed for money
which would come to him upon the
death of his father. The elder Collins
carried $4,000 of life insurance, and 1t
was provided that of this amount $500
should go to the son.
The young student was enamored of
Miss Frances Babcock of Lawrence,
whose family Is considered wealthy.
and the trial developed the fact that
Collins had lived beyond his allowance
at Lawrence. that he had contracted
numerous bills at the university town
which he could not pay. and that he
had planned to join the Babcocks when
they went to spend the summer at an
Atlantic coast resort.
Jess Harper of Lawrence and John
son Jordon of Topeka, two of the most
notorious negroes in Kansas, were i'm
portant witnesses against the youth.
They swore that. working through Jess
Harper, Collins had hired Johnson Jor-
don to assassinate his father. The ne
groes, after securing money and valu-
ables from the youth. refused to carry
out their contract, and then, according
to their testimony. Collins boasted that
he would do the job" himself.
He came to Topeka from Lawrence,
pleading sickness. retired at the usual
hour. and, according to the theory of
the state. arose before daylight and shot
his father as the latter lay asleep in
his bed. One OF the youths first acts
after the murder was to run to a tele-
graph office and dispatch a message to
Miss Babcock. in which he said: Faith
er is dead: tell nothing"
The investigation of the detectives
developed the information thai Collins
had told Miss Babcock wild stories
about his fathers life being threatened
by negroes. They also produced numer-
Gus letters which Collins had written to
the negroes whom he had hired to kill
his father; in fact, the story of the ne
groes was corroborated in every detail
and they even produced the watch and
diamonds which Collins had given them
as a pledge for the money which he
promised 20 pay when he should realize
upon his fathers life insurance.
Miss Babcock was among the wit
nesses for the state. and told of the wild
stories which Collins had related to her
about the threatened assassination of
his father.
Mrs Collins. the youths stepmother.
who lay beside her husband when ne
was shot. has from first TO last urged
the innocence of her stepson. and i'm all
her testimony there was not one word
which would implicate the youth.
The jury whi,1 returned the verdict
of guilty deliberated about five hours
But one ballot was taken. the verdict
being unanimous from the first