The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-09-14

On Notion of County Attorney An
formation He Had Received He
Had BECOME Convinced That She
Had Nothing to Do With the MUIR
der OF Arthur Middleton.
Mrs. Ardilla Yarnell, who was arrest
ed at o'clock last Thursday morning,
at the direction Of County Attorney
Anderson, charged with the murder
of Arthur Middleton, was discharged
yesterday at the request of the same
official. Since Mrs. Yarnell was ar
rested, her friends and acquaintance,
as we'll as her attorneys, Messrs. Clarke
and CormiCan, have insisted that she
was innocent Of the charge, and in this
statement they have been supported
not only by the prisoner herself, but
by the testimony of numerous wit
nesseS.
Yesterday morning County Attorney
Anderson and his assistant, Mr.. Zoll-
man, sent for MeSsrs. Clarke and Cor
mican, who had been retained to de-
fend Mrs Yarrell. The quartette had
a long conference, and after it was
over Mrs. Yarnell was escorted from
the Jail to the office of the county at
tOrney, and another session between
the legal lights occurred, in which Mrs.
Yarnel took part.
1t was 11:30 when Mrs. Yarnell was
ushered into the police court, and
County Attorney Anderson made a for
NAL motion that she be discharged from
custody.
In making the motion County AttOr-
ney Anderson said: Certain testi-
mOny came into the possession of the
prosecution yesterday, and especially
as late as $50 last night, which con-
vinces me that Mrs. Yarnell had moth
ing whatever to do with the murder
of Arthur Middleton. l do not care to
state what that evidence is or from
whence it came at present, as that
might tend to defeat the ends of JUS
tiCe, but it is of such a character as
TO clearly indicate that Mrs. Yarnell
is not guilty of the crime charged, and
l accordingly move that she be dis
charged from custody. I wish to state,
however. that the arrest Of Mrs. Var
nell seemed justified at the time be-
cause of the fact that she was then
believed to have been the last person
with him before the killing. The story
told by Mrs. Wright, as to hearing a
man and woman quarrel, seemed to in
dictate that there was ground for de-
learned that the facts do not justify
even the fainteSt suspicion Of Mrs. Var
nell"
Judge Orr ordered the prisoner dis
charged. and directed the clerk to have
the records show that she was dis
charged upon the motion of the county
attorney.
County Attorney Anderson then call
ed the attention Of the court to the
statement that had been made in some
OF the newspapers regarding the Sweat
box proceedings to which Mrs. Var
nell had been submitted the night of
her arrest. These statements he said,
were not true; that no force or violence
had been used toward the prisoner.
and that he had simply questioned her
Tor possibly fifteen minutes after she
was taken to the central police sta
ton.
Attorney Clarke, in reply to the talk
made by the county attorney, said
whether there was any Sweat box
proceedings in this particular case or
not II had been the custom of the DO
lice officials to put accused persons
through such a course. In his opinion
the practice was intolerable and from
the moment a person charged with a
crime was arrested, and particularly
a serious charge like the one against
the defendant. the prisoner was entitled
~ NC duN IScu Dy dI attorney with
reference to every word and act
Judge Orr stated that he could not
cure any defects Of this kind, even if
they existed so far as this case was
concerned, but every prisoner arrested
had rights which the officials and
courts were bound to respect.
Mrs. Yarnell was congratulated by q
number of her friends who We're in the
court room and the greeting between
the prisoner and her daughter was
quite affecting.
Attorney Clarke seen after his client
had been discharged said he had beer
satisfied from the start that Mrs. Var
nell was not guilty of the charge OF
numbering Middleton. The evidence
which the defense had marshaled was
of such a character that Mrs. Yarnel
would have been discharged at the pre-
liminary hearing set for Friday.
Yesterday morning he with Mr.. Cor
mican had a consultation with the
county attorney and his assistant, at
which the evidence to refute the
charge aginst Mrs. Yarnell had been
gone over. At the conclusion OF the
conference the county attorney as well
as his assistant were satisfied that Mrs
Yarnell should be released, and orders