Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-11-26
MURDER Is CHARGED.
Sensational Murder Case WIN Be
Tried at Rock Rapids.

Sioux City, Nov. e6.-Murder IS
charged against Charles Rocker in pa
pers just filed by c. A. Irwin. Of Sioux
City, in Gaze which will be tried at
Rock Rapids. Ia, Jan. 8. August
Schraeder, OF Doom, is Rockers alleged
victim.
While the name Of the wife Of the
dead man is not mentioned in the papers
which have been filed, Mr.. Irwin de-
clares that evidence will be presented at
the trial of the case to show that che
and Rocker, who was the hired man,
We're implicated In the alleged murder
OF Schroeder. and that she took part in
the crime because che loved the hired
man better than che loved her husband.
Schraeder's body was found in his own
barn early on the morning OF June 80.
July %, at the instance of Adolph
lSchraeder and Fred schraeder, brothers
OF the dead man, Rocker was arrested
on the charge of murder. c. H. Smith,
the Justice before whom he was arr
raigned, did not find the evidence suffi s.
cient to hold him. Rocker filed suit
against the brothers, asking $4,000 for
alleged defamation Of his character. II
Is this suit which will be tried Jan. 8.
In the answer to Rockers petition 1t
is contended that Adolph Schraeder and
Fred Schroeder We're justified in secur-
ing the arrest of Rocker, and it charged
| that In fact he is the murderer Of their
brother, August Schroeder.
Mr.. Irwin states there are numerous
suspicious circumstances in connection
with Schraeder's death, which Will be
brought out as evidence in the damage
case against the Schraeders. He says
that Mrs. Schraeder and Rocker are
known to have had a liking for each 9th
er. and that since the death of Schrae-
der the wife and the hired man have left
Iowa and gone to South Dakota where
they are living on a farm near Redaeld
He says Schraeder's brothers Went to
this farm not long ago to ascertain
whether thye We're livins together and
found them both there. They reported
that they had been chased away from
the farm by Rocker, who had a shotgun
in his hands. This farm, Mr.. Irwin
charges. was bought by money secured
by Mrs. Schraeder from life insurance
company in which Schroeder held poll
icy for $4,000, and it is further charged
that the woman secured the money quite
promptly after her husband s death and
turned 1t over to Rocker.
Mr.. Irwin's story Of Schraeder,s death
is as follows: "Schraeder and Rocker
We're together on the afternoon of June
\ 70. 1900. Rocker is known to have Sc
cured some doped whisky and we will
attempt to proveit was he who secured
some chloroform at a Doom drug store
Early in the morning of June 80 Mrs
4 Sehraeder In great excitement aroused
ono of her brothers-in-law and an
nounced that Schraeder had committed
suicide and that she had found his body
in the barn. 1t was hanging from a
rafter and she had cut 1t down. The
brother-in-law accompanied her to the
barn, where the body still lay. There
was piece OF the rope around the
mans neck and another piece hanging
from the rafter. but the body did not
\ present the usual evidences in cases OF
hanging. The dead man was in his
stocking feet. but the soles OF the stock
ings were clean in spite of the fact that
the yard thru which Schraeder would
have had to walk to get to the barn was
] wet and muddy. Then the position In
which the body lay was hardly the
4 natural position for body which had
1 been cut down and let fall on the floor.
i A peculiar circumstance In connection
with the case was that the wife had
failed to awaken the hired man when
she made her discovery and he waS
sleeping when the brother-sn-aAw ar
4 rived. III
Almost immediately the brotheTs 81
the dead man began making investi-
cations and they secured Rockers ar.
rest after consulting with ap3attorney.
Mr.. Irwin says q number ef facts have
been learned since Rpcksy1 hearing hs-
forss the juStac ~ ~ aacs#e nd tAat