The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-24
WILD STORY OF CRIME
Every Species of ViIlainy
Laid at Mrs. News Door.
BROTHER AGAINST HER
Eureka'S Romance Beats Bal
Iard'S All Hollow.

LH4SAd, 44ON III the EehllSIItIdES OF q liz
sentence for the murder Of Mrs. News
husand. Every rumor Of crime that has
occurred in the neighborhood for ten years
is being scraped up and placed at Mrs.
News door, and every story of viliainy
that can be colored is placed over against
George Dobbs by the prosecuting and de-
Tending attorneys.
Colonel Sam Amidon has written a let
ter to Governor Stanley, in which ne says
If Mrs. New and Dobhs had had a fair
trial they could have been easily cleared.
Mr.. Amidon knew something Of the case.
An attempt was made to get his firm TO
defend Mrs. New.
dispatch from Eureka says:
If the stories tod about George Dobbs
and Mrs. New, the murderers of Joe New.
whose case has recently been made no.
torious by the Ballard confession, are true,
they rank close beside the Blenders and
Shaffiebracks in Kansas criminal annals.
The story of the poisoning of Mrs. New :
mother has broken the way toward fer
reting out crimes committed by these peo-
pie years ago that had been almost for
gotten. People in the sparsely settled
neighborhood in which the News lived,
eighteen miles from Eureka, have sus-
pected the family for years and discussed
them, but they considered silence the bet
ter part of valor, and in their dread of the
threats and enmity of a desperate set they
never gave TO the officers d clue upon
which to make arrests
There is no doubt but that had the peo-
pie given 10 the officers at the time the
facts concerning the death of Emelia
News mother, Mrs. New would have been
arrested and possibly convicted of the
crime
Lewis Becker. a son Of the poisoned
woman and brother TO Mrs. New, says:
Il first heard of mothers death on the
evening of the day she died. Myself and
brother Charles left for News early the
following morning to attend the funera,.
We arrived soon after o'clock and found
that mother had been buried at O'Clock.
although we had been told that the fu-
neral would not be until in the afternoon
There were some things about the case
that seemed strange and 1 talked about
the matter with the neighbors. but they
seemed afraid to talk about the matter
I wanted the body exhumed. but Emelia
said everything was ali right and, not
having at the time any positive proof 10
the contrary. let the matter drop. Moth
or told me before she died that Emelia
was not treating her right"
DR.. Dillon, the family physician, says
that he had not called on Mrs. Becker for
several weeks before she died He says
Mrs. Becker was in poor health and could
have died from natural causes. He sent
out medicine a month before her death,
but it could not have lasted longer than a
few days. 1t was the last medicine they
had
In December, 1852, the Hfeless body Of
Frank New. brother of Joe New, was
found hanging in his house, suspended by
halterstrap from a scuttlehole in the
ceiling. There We're no Indications of
either robbery or suicide. There We're
cockleburrs in the mans hair and the legs
We're drawn in a way to indicate that
death had come before hanging. The eyes
and mouth were closed, and there were no
signs Of strangulation, and the neck had
not been broken. The rope was not even
tightly drawn around the neck. The corn
crib and the yard showed signs Of there
having been a struggle Frank New and
Joe New and wife had never got along
together. A few days previous to Franks
death he had had a fight with Joe and
Emelia. and in parting they said that
they would kin him. Although the coro-
ner decided tht New committed suicide
the people in the neishborhood generally
believed that Joe and Emelia New We're
responsible for his death All were rather
guarded in their remarks about the case
EXCEPT Hank Rutter. who often publicly
recited grounds for his belief. \ few years
later Rutter was shot from his horse
while riding along the road adjoining the
New farm. He believes that New ard
wife We're responsible for his wound.
County Attorney Johnson says that
Frank New was hit in the back Of the
head with a bludgeon in the hands OF
either Joe New or his wife, and then car
ried by them into the house and hanged
To allay suspicion. When Joe New was
killed. his father came TO the house and
said TO Bme-ia: ''Emeiia, you have killed
two OF my boys now"
OF Dobbs' past life before he came 10
Greenwood county but little IS known
here. It is known that he was not con-
sidered the best kind Of citizen in Yer
non county. Missouri. where he formerly
lived. He had been married twice. both
women dying suddenly, and one. espe-
ciauy. under rather mysterious circum-
stances He had been accused y having
been implicated IN the death ~ two Il his
but was never arrested
After coming 70 this county he lived for
tine with a diss1lute woman. and had sew
e-al times been accused q petty theft
His intimacy with Mrs. New was common
gossip il the neigh5oraood Tor sorne time
before the murder
Il has just become pubic that Ms
View and D1abs came 70 Egreka and our
chsses ,he poison which was lster used ~
Mrs. New in making cake With which
she et-emp-e5 10 poison her husband
When Joe New refused 20 eat q The cake.
Mrs.. New buried It n the orchard TIE
litcie girls Who lived ~ News a. the
time verify this last statement
= Topeka dispatch says County Atts--
nev san A-ni57-. 70 Se5EEick county. hzs
irn Mrs New was -ot given fair snd
impartial TRIAL CT che charge 20 killing hs-
husband a7d that = she had been prep
e-1y defended she would have bse-
cesred re made tafs assertion i- a .ei-
,e- fr ex2.aiuirE zzr Eass-a. taa cor
yicf w1as r1t ~ - mgrh use 20 hf- Is
p witness 81 p-aseesltjnE TIC AIlge65 zsaE
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