Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1902-11-27
HAPPENINGS IN
HAWKEYEDOM
What Has Been Going on
During the Past
Week.
FINKELSTEIN MURDER TRIAL
The Jury Renders a Verdict of "Not
Guilty" for Harris Levich--Iowa Wins
Prizes at Meeting OF American Apple
Growers Association.

Des Moines, March 24.-"We, the
jury, find the defendant, Harris Levich,
not guil.y."
This was the verdict by the jury in
the trial of Harris Levich, charged
with having murdered Isaac Finkel
stein on the night of August 5.
To a reporter Levich said: Il ex-
pected 1t; expected 1t, the jury could
do nothing else. | was innocent and
knew l would prove 1t. The jury is
satisfied that l am innocent and hope
my friends and acquaintances will take
their verdict as final. There was per.
:ured testimony in the trial. did not
realize to what extent my enemies
would go to punish me until I heard
some of them sell their souls on the
stand. It was awful. There were
times when | was frightened for fear
the jurors would believe their lies. !
| hope now that Brenton and his police
officers are satisfied and that they will
quit logging me.
They should have known that Fin.
kelstein was my friend. Why, when
they said l was quarreling with him
he was using my horse, and after that
time he and | had visited together
We had differences, but they did not
make enemies of us. want to see his
murderers punished and If 1t is in my
power l will bring them to justice, be-
cause want this whole matter cleared
up. AS it is 1t has ruined me. / have
got to start over again"
aviph Waa hittpr in hic dnnnDrio,
ton of the police and expressed regret
that his attorneys had not permitted
him to 60 on the witness stand. He
said that he had implored them for
this opportunity, but they had advised
him to keep off. He said that if he had
been given the opportunity he would
have told some things of his treatment
at the hands of the police that would
have placed the detectives in a new
| light. Levich threatens suits for ma
licious prosecution.
Des Moines. Nov. 20.-The states
turn for a sensation came yesterday,
after the defense had finished its case.
The witness was William T. Scott,
carpenter by trade, who swore that on
the evening of the Finkelstein murder,
as he was coming from East Ninth
and Court avenue, where he took sup.
per with a Mrs. Collins. he passed
down the north side of East Walnut
street, he met John Walker between
Fifth and Sixth streets, about thirty
feet west of Harris Levich's furniture
store. witness said that the time ne
| thus saw Walker was 500 p. m. a
time which he fixed because he looked
at his watch at East Fifth and Locust,
where he took car for Fremont
street. Witness said the man he
passed was a heavily built, square
shouldered, dark faced colored man
who weighed about 100 pounds. Wit
ness said that he subsequently saw
Walker in the Jail and that he recog-
niZed him as the man he saw on East
Walnut street at about 800 o'clock on
the night of the murder. " .tness was
emphatic in his Identification and de.
elared that he could not be mistaken
as to the man. The witness, as soon
as his direct cross examination was
finished, was vigorously attacked by
Mr.. McHenry. He was asked to tell
about himself, where he had worked
and his movements during the even
ing, but he passed through the ordeal
with his story not seriously shaken.
Des Moines. Nov. 2l.-Mrs. Finkel-
stein was put on the stand yesterday
to show the relations existing between
the murdered man and the defendant.
She was preceded on the stand by e.
mer Smith, clerk of the police court,
who told of quarrel ne had heard be-
tween Levich and Finkelstein in the
police court room on July 81. MT.
Smith indicated that the dispute was
over a bond and said that high words
were exchanged. Finkelstein threat
ened to have Levich indicted for fur
nishing houses for purposes Of prosti-
tuition and Levich retorted in kind.
Mrs. Finkelstein's testimony related
to first part of the same quarrel. She
said she came over from the east side
with her husband and that as they got
of the car on West Second and Locust
streets Levich came up and angrily
asked what Finkelstein meant by med
ding In his business. Finkelstein de-
MED that he was meddling, but Levich
continued. Mrs. Finkelstein said that
she called to her husband to come
away, but that the two men stood lhere
quarreiing. The other important testi-
mony Of the day was Witness Frank
Gottstein Tor the st tie. who swore that
he saw Harris Levich about $3.50 in
front OF his store, a block away from
the murder, while the abb of the de-
Tense is that Levich az that time was
at his cousins cigar store. Gottstein
was apparently an unwilling witness,
although he said he saw some one
near Leyich. did not say who 1t was
or give a description. The defense
scored heavily with witness Intro
duced at the Lass minute in sur-rebut-
tai, who swore that he stopped il the
fatal alley few minutes before 10
and saw there two men. both colorCd,
one large and one small.