The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1898-12-25
HIS LOVE FOR The DOLLAR
Caused Him to Shoot His Parent
in the Hour of Night
HIRED NEGROES TO : : HIM
But Their Courage Fort : Them and
They RefIe>.
5
THEN DID THE DEED HIMSELF
A Woman in the Case, and 1t Was TO Get
Money to Spend on Her That
He Committed the
Murder.
THEN DID THE DEED HIMSELF

Topeka Kas., December A-Guilty Of
murder in the first degree, was tie verdict
returned at o'clock tonight in the case or
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 his bed early one morning in May last.
John H. Collins, the convicted man, WAS
a student in the Kansas State University
and licensed lay reader of the leading
Protestant Episcopal Church of Topeka.
The motive of the crime was found in tho
youths greed for money, which would come
to him upon the death of his father. The
elder Collins carried $260OO of life insur-
ance and it was provided that of this
amount $1,000 should go to the son. The
young student was enamored of Miss
Frances Babcock of Lawrence, whose fam
lily is considered wealthy, and the trial de-
veloped the fact that Coliiss- had lived be-
yond his allowance at Lawrence, that he
had contracted numerous bills at the uni
yersity 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 town.
Hired to a Assassinate
Jordon of Topeka, two of the most motor
ious negroes in Kansas, were important
witnesses against the youth. They swore
that working through Jess Harper, Collins
had hired Johnson Jordon to asSasslnate n
father. The negroes, after securing money
and valuables from the youth, refused TO
carry out their contract and then, accord
ing 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 day
light and shot his father as the latter lay
asleep in bed.
One of the youths first acts after the
murder was to run to a telegraph Office
and despatch a message to MISS Bapcoek'
in which he said
Father is dead. Tell nothing
The Investigations of the detectives de-
veloped the information that Collins had
| told Mrs Babcock wild stories about his
father being threatened by negroes
Produced Numerous Letters
They also produced numerous letters
which Collins had written to the negroes
whom he had hired to kill his father. In
fact that story of the negroes was corrobo-
rated in every detail and they even pro-
duced the watch and diamonds which Col
Inns had given them as a pledge of tho
money which he promised to pay when he
should realize upon his fathers life in
surance.
Miss Babcck was among the witnesses of
the state and told of the wild stories VIII ch
Collins had related to her about the threat
ened assassination of his father.
Mrs. C'llins. the youths step-mother. who
lay beside her husband when he was shot,
has from the first to the last urged the
innocence of her step son, and in all her
testimony there was not one word which
would implicate the youth.
The jury which returned the verdict of
guilty, deliberated five hours. But one bal
lot was taken, the verdict beng unanimous
from the first.