Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-12-17
STATES CASE WEAK
Only Damaging Evidence in Lavalleur
Cas-. Is Given BY Woman Of Weak
Mind-she Accuses Felix Benjamin
of Completely in the Alleged Murder
of l.evaiieur.

Newton, Dec Felix Benjamin, a
Newton painter. was yesterday charged
with completely in the Lavalleur MUIR
der by one of the witnesses of the state,
Susan Lengren.
Whether the testimony of this wom-
an against Benjamin Is good. is some
what doubtful. She is rather feeble
minded and under the care of a guar
dian. The defense objected to her
testimony on the ground of incompe
tency but after closely questioning the
woman for some time the court decided
to admit her evidence.
AS ON the former trial the witness
told of seeing Mrs. Lavalleur, the de-
PENDANT, strike her husband on the
head ewice with light axe in the
barn Just before the barn was burned.
She ted vast amount OF other stuff
also aad got somewhat mixed on ev-
erything else butt this, which she stuck
TO thru thick and thin.
When asked whether she had not told
other stories also since the former trial,
she admitted that she had and said ii
was true that on the Goth day of April,
1909, Mrs. Lavaileur was in the barn
with one Felix Benjamin, an elderly
man, who is painter In this city, and
that Mr.. Lavalieur came to the barn
and found them In a compromising
situation. She said that Benjamin
struck Lavalleur on the head with a
-. Ii.
twice with an axe. After that the Wit
ness helped cut off his arms and legs
above the elbows and knees, using
grass sickle to cut the flesh.
Benjamin was present in the court
room when this evidence was given and
was present at the former trial. 1t was
previously known that Benjamin had
been at the Lavalleur home on the day
in question and a great many have
connected his name With the tragedy
when 1t was talked over. 1t was ex
pected by representatives of the state
that the above evidence would be
brought out on this trial. No action
has YET been taken by the state look
ing toward the arrest of Benjamin.
A few witnesses told of threats that
Mrs. L,.valleur had made of how she
would ,,et rid of I.avalleur. One who
was supposed to know a great deal
along this line, after a great deal of de-
lay, finally got up to the point in the
evidence; he told how the defendant
had said that If Lavalleur did not do
she woodland just there
the witness memory failed him and
he could not remember what it was
the defendant had said she would do.
DR.. c. f. Boyd was one of the states
expert witnesses and his evidence was
strongly in favor of the defense. He
told of the holes in the dead mans
skull and said they appeared to have
been burned thru and testified that he
thought 1t possible for a body such as
to burn as it was burned,
during the thirty or forty minutes of
such fire as such a barn would make.
He thought the bones of the arms and
legs might burn in that time. He could
not tell from the position in which the
dead body OF a suffocated man was
found what had been it's position when
it fell Said blood would flow from
dead body & short time after death If
assisted by gravity He said he would
expect to find skull burned thru at
the temples, being the thinest places
and that from his knowledge of the
fire and this case the condition OF the
body might readily be accounted for by
being burned.