The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-09-20
in THE THIRD DEGREE.
Jury Finds w. R. Walden
Guilty of MansIaughter.
BUFORD is ACQUITTED.
Case Resulted From Death of
Thosmas Hoffman.

The jury in the case Of Burford- Walden,
who were charged with the murder OF
Thos. Hoffman, returned a verdict yes
terday morning adjudging Walden guilty
of manslaughter in the third degree. No
charge was returned against waIden's
companion, Buford. and he will be re-
leased from custody.
The case has been I'D In court for sew
eral days and as it was one of the most
important cases on the present docket. 1t
was the most stubbornly contested
Adams & Adams were the attorneys for
the defendants and County Attorney Ami
don, assisted by James Comfy, had charge
OF the prosecution for the state.
number of witnesses for both sides
were put on the stand and the cross -ex-
aiming was very closely watched by the
attorneys An entire day was taken Up
in the arguments and the whole history
of the case was entirely gone over. The
defendants were put on the witness stand
and told the. story of how the affair oc-
Cured.
The case went to the Jury on Tuesday
night Just before 5 o'clock and the jury
remained out all night and a greater
part OF the morning. A number of bal
lots were taken and at each one there
was usually a. change in the voting. At
one time the sentiment was nearly IN
favor of clearing both men of the charge,
but before the end another ballot the
t..
was a surprise to some OF the men that
they reached a verdict when they did,
because Of the fact that the vote had
been such changing one.
The crime in which thu two men were
implicated, and Walden convicted, occur
red last July on the Santa Fe tracks near
Derby. II was at the time the great rush
of men to the harvest fields and the rail-
road people were having much trouble
with the people riding on their trains.
Walden and Buford, according to the
testimony brought out in the trial, got
on the freight train at Winfield and had
the intention OF riding to Newton If it
was possible The men were detected just
north of Derby by the brakeman Hoff-
man and was told by him to get off the
train while it was in motion, and this
they refused to do. After an alterca-
ton, Hoffman signaled for the engineer
to stop the train. When the speed COM
menced to slacken the men climbed down
on the side Of a car and Hoffman fol-
lowed them with a board which he had
jerked off the top of one of the cars.
When the men jumped off on the ground,
Hoffman did likewise, and after some
words started after the two men with his
board. At this time a general fight en-
sued and in the affair Hoffman was in
jured, but at the time 1t was not thought
that his wounds were serious. After ar
irving in this city DR.. Purdue examined
the mans wounds and he was sent TO the
hospital in Topeka, where he died few
days later.
As soon as the wounded man arrived In
the city the officers were notified Of the
affair and they Immediately secured a
switch engine and went after the men
who had left the train at Derby. The
two men. Buford and Walden, were
found near Derby walking toward this
city, and were brought back here and
lodged in jail.
The case was bitterly fought in the
court and every opportunity where it
was possible to gain a point, the attor-
neys took advantage OF It. Adams &
Adams have announced their intention OF
filing motion today for new trial OF
the case.