The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1901-12-13
THE FATAL FIRE.
Strength of States Case is a
Surprise.
Evidence Indicates That Pickett Made
Little Attempt to Rescue His Wife
"A Mankato Witness.

Little Attempt to Rescue His Wife
"A Mankato Witness.
g More. damaging evidence agains
Reuben G. Pickett, accused Of murder
ing his wife, was introduced Fri
day by County Attorney Boardman in
the district court of Hennepin county.
The case is developing more serious
turn than any one outside of the
county attorneys Office seems to have
expected. No one witness knows ;
great deal, but the mite added by each
while not necessarily convincing proof
of murder, still deepens the mystery
surrounding the events in the Pickett
fiat on the fsteful morning when the
charred and blackened body of Mrs.
Pickett was found in the bathroom.
When the trial began, the prisoner
and his family appeared not at all ap
prehensive and seemed perfectly a
their ease. Now there is anxiety over
all. The prisoners father and mother
and his sister listen to the evidence
and look worried. AS for Pickett
himself, he is plainly agitated. He
keeps his hand before his face con-
stantly to hide from the gaze of the
public, but two days ago he was most
uncOncerned.
A sad feature of the trial is the pre-
sence of the late Mrs. Pickett's mother
and sisters. At every gruesome bi
of testimony regarding the condition
of the body, they shudder and groan
and Sob They try to restrain their
emotion and do not attract general at
tention, but their feelings are har-
rowed every few moments by the reci-
tai of the events of the dreadful night
and they break down continuously.
Miss Ella Olson, a sister of Mrs
Mary Nelson and who lived with her
on the second floor of the fiat building
at 816-818 Eighth avenue S at the time
the Picketts lived there. was the first
witness called yesterday in the Pickett
murder trial
She was awakened on the morning
of Sept. 80 between and O. clock by
sounds of scuffiing and choking.
Il listened while" she said, "and
when 1 heard my sister stirring. 1
asked:
Ibid you hear that noise2"
"She answered: Yes. have heard
1t for some time
II said Let us open the door, but
she said. No; let US open the window
and scream for help. 10
81 went back to the kitchen. In the
meantime / heard a scuffiing sound
accompanied by choking and later a
sound of dragging. Then there was a
lull in the sounds and after a while l
opened the door. 1 saw something
down the hall and as it approached
nearer l saw Mr.. Pickett pushing his
two children before him. He said:
For Gods sake save my children,
My sister ran down to the bath room
and opened the door. She started
back as if stunned. l saw no fame
but there was great light in the
room. Then saw her hair catch fire
as she pushed it back. 1 yelled:
Come. back, you will get burned. She
came back and screamed that Mrs.
Pickett was burning up. While she
was at the bath room Pickett came
back into the hallway and rushed past
her. Pickett did not stop at the bath
room but ran into his own apartment.
"Later on, as / stood in the door to
our fat, l saw Mr.. Pickett come out
of his rooms. Then he stopped at the
bathroom. l heard something fall. He
reached in again and saved our wash
boiler. Then he closed the door to the
bathroom. F"
Miss Olson had returned to the
house after saving some of her effects.
She saw Pickett and he was perfectly
calm" but 'set up yelling when
the fremen came" She said he did
not appear to be grief stricken but was
simply bowling" The next day
when he was talking over the fire
there was small blister about the
size of her finger nail on one of his
hands, but no other signs of burns.
Emmett Mullane, a fireman, saw the
body of Mrs. Pickett in the bath
room. 1t was lying on its back close
to the bath tub with the feet toward
the door. The legs were drawn up and
also the arms The body was char red
and in the opinion of the witness was
His experience with
burned bodies was that the limbs
were invariably drawn or contracted.
Captain Charles W. Osborne of the
fire department was one of the first
fremen to arrive at the fiat building
in response to the alarm. On he ar
rival at the corner where the fire
alarm box was located he saw a man
in the roadway and told the driver to
stop. Osborne asked: ''Where's the
fret"
The man said: SIN the brick-for
Gods sake, hurry up, my wife is
burning up" This man was Pickett.
The hall was full of smoke when Os-
borne arrived. He went into the
Pickett apartments, but saw no flames
Running out in the hall to the head
of the stair, he asked where the fire
was. Some one told him it was in the