The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-07-04
THE CONFESSION
Just What Mrs. Tanke Told Her
Attorney.
She Alone Killed WeIIner, and Tanke
Was Kept In Ignorance by
Her of This Fact.

Joseph A. Eckstein of New Ulm
came down this morning to participate
in the laying of the corner stone OF
the public library. He is one of the
counsel for the defense in the Tanke
murder case. He states that Mrs.
Tanke's trial will come on July 18th.
Mr.. Eckstein is the attorney who
took down Mrs. Tanke's statement
after the conviction of hel
husband. Correct accounts of this
statement have not yet been publish,
| ed, according to Mr.. Eckstein. He
state that Immediately after Tanke's
conviction, Mrs. Tanke confessed tc
him that she had killed Wellner, and
that Tanke was neither an accessory
nor knew that she had killed him.
On the following Monday, Mrs.
Tanke made complete statement in
the presence of witnesses. Tanke was
called in, but Mrs. Tanke hesitated
about speaking in his presence.
When ordered to go on, she said that
she had killed Wellner. Tanke appear
ed to be surprised and angered at this,
and asked his wife why she had not
told him about this, and said that
he would never have married her had
he known about it.
Mrs. Tanke then gave the details of
the affair, many of which fit in with
what was brought out at the trial.
She said that for three years she and
Wellner had not gotten along we'll.
Somebody broke his reaper and poison
ed his cattle and this embittered him
and made him more tryannical Finally
he brought a revolver to defend his
property. One day he and his wife
quarreled, and he said that he would
yet use his revolver. for another pur-
pose than that for which he had
bought it. This frightened his wife
and she hid the weapon in the barn.
That night the quarrel was renewed
and Mrs. Wellner Threatened, as she
had done previously, to leave her hus-
band and go to her home. When she
thought her husband was asleep she
got up to carry this. threat into execu-
tion. AS she was getting up, he awoke
and putting on his slippers, coat and
hat, followed his wife. When the
latter saw him coming she slipped
into the barn, knowing that he. would
overtake her if she started for her
home, which was three-quarters of a
mile away.
Wellner caught his wife's skirt just
as she went through the barn door,
and proceeded to tie her hands 80 that
she could not escape. He had one
wrist tied tightly, when she broke
away from Hrhim and hid among the
cattle Wellner being unable to find
her, started for the house, Saying In
German that somebody would die like
dog that night, or words to that
effect.
When Mrs. Wellner looked out of a
window of the barn, she saw Wellner
coming back with lantern and club,
evidently to look for her. She was so
frightened that she took the revolver
from where she had hidden it and
shot her husband in the back as he
passed the door. She had never fred
a revolver before, and when her hus-
band fell she thought he had slipped.
When he arose on one knee, she fired
at his head, andshe fell over dead.
Then she realized what she had done
and went into the house and cried.
Deciding that for the sake of the
children she would cover up the
crime, Mrs. Wellner tied her other
wrist, after hiding the revolver and
her husbands watch and pocket book
under the cellar, and awoke her chill
dren and told them the story of the
robbery and had them cut the rope
from one wrist. Then she went to her
fathers home with the rope tied as
Wellner had tied it to her wrist
Tanke was away that night and did
not know of Mrs. Wellners crime.
He had worked there but six weeks.
Wellner was found dressed as de-
scribed. and with the club and lantern
beside him near the barn. Mrs. Tanke
did not say that the shooting occurred
on load of hay, or that Tanke.. heIp-
ed place the body as it was found, as
published.
Mrs. Tanke said that couple of
weeks after the murder she dug up
the revolver, watch and pocket book
and dug a hole in the smoke house and
hid them there until June, when she
again dug them up one day when the
men were away working the poll tax
She took a post augur and bored a
hole in low place near the barn, to
within six inches of the augur handle,
and into this hole, about four feet
deep, she dropped the revolver, watch
and pocket book then filling the hole.
A new barn had been built on the
place, and there was some dirt to be
scraped away and used to fill up the
low place, and this was why she chose
the latter as a hiding place.
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