The evening times., 1900-01-13
THEIR FREEDOM RESTORED.
Nissouri's Governor Convinced o
Two ConNicts' Innocence.

Nissouri's Governor Convinced of
Two ConVicts' Innocence.
ST. LOUIS. Mo, Jan. 13.-Jacob Henze
and Henry Kaiser. convicted of the muir
der of Edwin E. Brown and sentenced to
the penitentiary for life, were pdra5aed
by the governor yesterday and returned TO
their homes here late last night. The
case is one of the most remarkable in
criminal annals.
Brown was a wealthy Chicago dealer in
live stock. In the early spring of 1898 he
visited st. Louis on business. and on the
night OF March .. 1898. he was set upon by
three men at the corner of Garrison and
Franklin Avenues. He was dragged into
the carriage entrance of the Niedringhaus
residence, now the Baptist Hospital,
where he was beaten and kicked into in
sensibility. The highwaymen stole his
watch and fed Brown lived half and hour
but was never able to describe the men
who assaulted him, except to say that
they were between eighteen and twenty
one years of age and that one of them
wore a light oyercoat.
A reward of $4,000 was offered for the
arrest of the murderers. Annie Boghine
a cClOTed woman, the police found, pos
sessed some knowledge of the crime and
arrested and told story of having wit
messed the assault and robbery of Brown
and recognized his assailants as Henze and
Kaiser. Public feeling was so high over
the crime that threats were made of lynch
ing the prisoners. They were given
speedy trial A strong chain of circum-
stantial evidence was wound around them
which. when strengthened by the direct
evidence of the Boghine woman. secured
- ,oI a.
death, but this was commuted to life i'm
prisonment
Subsequently evidence was brought to
light showing that the negro woman's tes-
timony was a tissue of falsehood She was
in turn sent to the penitentiary on convic
tion of perjury. The circumstantial evil
dence against Henze and Kaiser was so
strong that the feeling prevailed that the
sentence was just. The prisoners had not
been in prison long before rumors began
to circulate that they were innocent, the
murder having been committed by men,
bers of the Blair gang of young men,
ranging in age from sixteen to twenty
five years of age. Finally Detective Shev-
lin gathered so many clews that he was
satisfied a great wrong had been done
HenZe and Kaiser.
Following up the threads, he learned that
a prisoner in the penitentiary could give
him some information. Going to JEFFERSON
City, he interviewed the convict, and was
told by him that Napoleon Bonaparte An
drews, Philip B. Brady, and John Brennon
had committed the crime. These men were
said to be members of the Blair gang, and
all are now dead. Continuing his investi-
cation. Shevlin came across a well-known
business man to whom confession had been
made of the crime by the man who had
secured Browns watch from the assassins.
The business man was pledged to secrecy
as long as his informant was living. As
soon as the seal was removed he told his
story to Shevlin. The evidence was laid
before the governor a week ago. He him
self visited the pententiary and had long
interview with the men and with the ne
gro woman.
In his letter to the secretary of state
ordering the pardon of the two men Gov
ernor Stephens says nothing of the effort
of the police to fasten the crime on the
three men who have since died, but ap-
parently bases his action entirely on his
belief that the testimony of the woman
was not credible. The efforts to secure