Woodruff County news., 1901-05-23
AIRES MURDER CONFESSED.
Mrs. J. J. Bonine, Q Missouri Woman, Con' fesses That She Killed Jospeh
 AYrea.

Washington, May 21.-Mrs. J. I. Bonine was arrested late yesterday afternoon for the murder of Joseph Ayres. She nas confessed.
 Mrs. Bonine was a resident of the Kenmore hotel, where the murder was committed, and is the wife of drummer for Chicago house. She is about thirty-five years old. Mrs. Bonine, in her confession, admits that she was alone with Ayres in his room when the murder was committed.
 Mrs. Bonine's confession was entire ly voluntary. At few minutes past three o'clock yesterday afternoon the telephone for Maj. Sylvester, chief of police, saying that she was coming to his office, and she appeared there few minutes afterwards. When she reached the office she said she had statement which she wished to make and she was immediately turned over to Detective Horne, who took her con- fession. She said that she was alone in Ayres' room with him when the killing took place, and that the shoot ing was the result of his own miscon- duct. She stated that Ayres had drawn the pistol upon her for the purpose of making her respond to an improper proposal which he had made to her.
 At the commencement of the affair, she said that he had come to her room in the Kenmore hotel about two o'clock Wednesday morning and upon the pretensc of being ill gained ad- mission to her room. He complained of feeling as if he was going to have chill, and asked her to give him some preventive. She had given him, she said, medicine which she had in her room, and he had then referred to some differences which they had had in the past and had asked her to come to his room, where they might quietly talk the matter over, and come to an amicab understanding. She had agreed to go to the room as he had requested, and he left her room, preceding her to his room. When Ayres called at her room he was entirely dressed, but when she | entered his room as per agreement she found him standing behind the door undressed, except as to his un- dershirt, and with a revolver in his hand. He then told her that he had enticed her to the room for his own purposes and that if she did not sub- init to his wishes he would kill her. | Mrs. Bonine says that she immediate | ly grapsed the revolver, and in the | struggle which ensued it was dis | charged three different times, stril- | ing him at each discharge, the last | shot proving fatal. She says that the cries for help which Miss Minas heard were all from her as were also the sobbing which Miss Minas described. Mrs. Bonine says that after the shooting she passed through the win dow of Ayres' room onto and down the fire escape ladder, and entering the parlor window of the second floor, passed through the parlor and back up the stairway of the hotel to her own room on the fourth floor. She then washed her hands, undressed and retired.
 Mrs. Bonine was entirely self-pos- sessed when she made her confession and did not exhibit any evidence of either present or past unusual excite ment. She is apparently about thir- ty-two years old, and says she was born in Macon, Mo. She then moved to Hamilton, in the same state, and afterwards to Richmond, Kas., where her husband was engaged in the drug business. Subsequently she went to Brunswick, Ga, and then to Florida, where her husband was engaged in orange growing. She says that it was at her husbands solicitation that she learned to practice with a revolver and that he had made the suggestion that she should learn this art for self defense against possible assaults. She said she had twice in her life fired a revolver to frighten burglars and that she had brought bulldog revolver with her to Washington, but had given it away to a negro man.
 After she had concluded her state ment the woman was placed under ar rest and sent to the house of deten- ton.