The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-27
STORY TOLD BY HICKS
CLAIMS NOW HE FIRED AT MRS. ROM
Hit IN SELF-DEFENsE.
The Police Are Not of that Opinion,
and Look ON the Statement as
a Lame Defense.

From remarks let fan by Fritz Hicks, ac-
cused of the murder of Mrs. Josephine Rom
hilt. the young man will endeavor to estab-
lish seIf-defense as an excavation of the
fatal shooting affair of Tuesday evening. He
claimed yesterday for the first time, that
he had not fired the only shots that even
ing and showed a hole in his garments which
he claimed was made by bullet.
There were five shots fired" he told a
Journal reporter. Three of them / fired.
but they were not the first. L will not now
say who fired the other two, but that will
be apparent when the circumstances are
fully known. They were fired before used
my gun at all.
"One of them struck me- he added, show
ing the hole in his coat. 1T struck my sus-
pender buckle and glanced off, saving my
life, for the buckle is just my heart
The hole extended through his blue serge
coat and gray vest, just above the buckle
mentioned. Beneath the buckle the shirt
was torn, as if by the buckles edges
WAS the shot which you say struck you
fired by any of the men about the hotel?'
Hicks was asked.
mo"
'"rhen, did either the laundress or Mrs.
Romhilt have the weapon?"
Il have told you again and again that 1
will not say anything about Mrs. Romhilt,
but when it comes to a trial. if l have to,
L Will tell more about the shooting than any
Of Mrs. ROmhilt's relatives have told you.
flred in self-defense. l had been drinking,
but | knew what l was doing. l had the
revolver in my pocket, but had no idea of US
ing 1t until l was forced to. l was not in
love with her daughter, and never went any
place with her. This story about the board
DILL is also false, for nothing had been said
70 me recently concerning it, although 1
was little behind in my payments
The circumstances attending the shooting
as they We're reported to the police do not
SoiTobofate Hicks story, no other weapon
pelhg found and only the shots fired by
Hicks being heard. These We're two or three,
according to different witnesses but no per-
son besides Hicks has been found who
CANNED there were more than three. The
noies IN Hicks garments have frayed edges,
Such rs would mark Il bullet hole, but the
iateness of Hicks's defense is held against
MIN by those to whom he told this story of
the affair He has not consulted his attor-
neys yet, who would doubtless have told him
20 refrain from making this claim until the
trlal. he was taken back to Jail after WaiV-
ing examination in Police Court yesterday
morning, and will be held to the grand jury.
lie made no statement to Judge Cox, but
seemed fully to realize the serious nature
or the charge against him. AS soon as he
was up yesterday morning he called for the
turnkey and asked how Mrs. Romhilt was.
Beng told that she was dead, he walked
slowly back to his cell and did not appear
again until breakfast his face bearing the
evidences Of first realization of the ma
lure OF the crime with which he is charged.
The two bullets that caused Mrs. Rom
hlltS death were found by the coroner close
together, although one had entered the
breast and the other the back. They had
pierced the stomach and liver Three holes
were found in Mrs. Romhilts cloak and on
the body there was a flesh wound where
one OF the shots had grazed in passing
through the garment Two bullet holes were
found in the wall of the laundry al the
Illinois House and the revolver was found
with all its five chambers empty This would
lead to the belief that there were that
many shots fired in the laundry and that
two OF them went wild, but it does not SUBJ
stantiate Hicks's story, inasmuch as these
were found in the side of the room opposite
mat on which Hicks probably stood after
climbing through the window
At the coroners inquest begun yesterday
morning the testimony of Mary Wachstetter
was taken. She near Mrs Romhilt at
the time of the shooting. 1T was substan-
italy the same as the testimony she gave
the night of the shooting, but she would
not swear that she heard more than two
shots fired. She declared she knew nothing
of the relations between Hicks and Mrs
Romhilt or Gertrude Romhilt, the daughter.
The Wachstetter woman is making prepara-
lions to go to Chicago, but the coroner
thinks it unnecessary to take steps to detain
her as a witness. To-day the physicians in
attendance, the son and daughter of the
murdered woman and her brother William
Essmann, will be examined
Mr.. Essman secuted the idea advanced by
Hicks that some one else had fired any of
the shots. He said that when he was called
to the bedside of his sister Wednesday even
ing at o'clock. she started to make an ex-
PLANTATION of Hicks's action, but was unable
to complete it. When her brother entered the
chamber she said: ''Well, WILL / suppose
you want to know the straight of this mat
ter. Hicks has been paying attentions to
Gerty and l refused to let him take her to
the theater-" She did not proceed, as the
nurse advised Mr.. Essmann to not talk to
the dying woman of the tragedy, as she was
very weak