The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-06
WAS CASEOF MURDER
THE DEFENSE ADMITS THAT MRS.
PICKETT WAS PROBABLY
KILLED
STATE HAS RESTED ITS CASE
Testimony seems to Point to q
Struggle Shortly Before Fire
Was Discovered-Wit-
nesses for Accused.

The state has rested is case in the trial
of Ruben c. Pickett and the chain OIL
corroboratiye evidence frightened itself
around the defendant.
The state placed on the stand NUM-
Der of witnesses yesterday, and their ev1-
dence in the main tended in the same
direction. Miss Ella Olson, sister of Mrs.
Nelson, who occupied the front rooms on
the same floor in which the Picketts liv-
ed, corroborated her sisters testimony In
almost every detail. She said she was
awakened about 2 o'clock by hearing a
noise of choking and scuff1ing and a little
later the dragging of something over the
floor, then she said there was a hull and
she opened the door and saw something
coming down the hail, which proved to
be Mr.. Pickett, pushing his two children
before him, and he said, 'sfor Gods sake
save my children. -
She saw Pickett short time afterward
and he appeared to be perfectly calm,
but as soon as tn efiremen arrived on the
scene he set up a yelling and appeared
to be grief stricken, but was simply
bowling"
Mrs Michaud, at whose residence the
Pickett children were taken, said that
Pickett same to the house after the fire,
and she aske dhirn- to have a cup of tea
with the rest of the people who were
there and he sal dthat he did not want
any She asked him why he did not try
to save his wife, and he said, 81 did,
l went into the bathroom and saw her
burning and l tried to pull her out, but
the flesh was so badly burned that it
pulled right off. He then said he turned
the water on in the bathtub and endeav-
ored to quench the flames by throwing
water over the body, but was unable to
stand the heat and had to get out
Ernest Mailer, brother-in-law of Pick
EFT, then was called He said that when
he arrived here from Mankato he went
directly to where Pickett was staying
with his folks, and asked him to tell how
1T all happened. Pickett told him his
wife had gone out in the evening to see
a friend; he retired early and did not
hear his wife come home, and the first
thing that woke him was about o'clock,
he heard someone calling, Reuben,
help He got up and rushed to the bath
room, and there discovered his wife
burning to death; he tried to save her,
but could not drag her out of the room,
and then he turned the water on in the
bath tub and tried to drown the flames
In that way, but was unable to stand the
heat, so had to get out. He then rushed
to turn in the alarm, after getting the
children safely into the hall. He refused
to go with his brother-i n-laW to see the
body at the undertakes, and said that
when the body arrived at the house for
the. funeral the casket would not be
opened, as he did not care to have any
one see the charred remains.
c. R. Francis and A. j. Switzer were
called for the state, and gave similar
testimony as those who had preceded
them. H. B. Chamberlain opened the de-
Tense with a statement to the jury as to
the course it intended to pursue; he call
ed attention to the sad results of the fire
leaving grief-stricizen mother, hus-
band and children, and also the pleasant
home ties of the Pickett family, and of
the severe blow that all had sustained
in the sudden taking off of Mrs. Pickett,
and in giving the case said: st would
see as though some one had done it, but
who or why was mystery.
The defense called a number of wit
nesses whose testimony went to show of
the pleasant family relations that existed
in the Pickett family prior to the death
of Mrs. Pickett. A number of firemen
was called and their testimony had to
deal chiefly with the fire and the posi-
ton and condition of the body of the I'M
fortunate woman who had lost her life.