The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-04-10
Detectives Testify in Case On Trial
at ST. James.
Claim Overheard Conversations Be-
tween Mr.. and Mrs. Tanke.
They Talk About the Killing of Well.
ner in the Barn.
Prisoner Makes Remarks of Suspicious
Character. State Rests.
From Fridays Daily.

From FrldayS Daly.
st. James, Mimi, April Sat the
Tanke murder trial yesterday Anton
Lockway of Minneapolis, formerly of st
Paul, where he lodged occasionally with
Tanke several years age, stated that the
defendant then carried revolver The
witness said that upon examining it he
noticed nick in the trigger guard, and
this was the means by which he identi-
fed the revolver in court as belonging
to Tanke He admitted upon cross-ex-
animation that he did not know the make
or caliber of the revolver.
William Bieraugel, with whom Tanke
had arranged to go to New Ulm the night
of the murder, was recalled and said he
saw Tanke at the Union hall between
eleven and twelve and that he told
Tanke he would meet him at Schumak-
er's about a. m, then they would go
home together. The defendant was not
there. When Bieraugel arrived the fol-
lowing day at the farm when Tanke had
returned, the place where Wellner lay
was pointed out. Tanke did not care
to look at it and went into the house.
Richard Bieraugel, brother of Mrs.
Tanke, said that he saw the defendant
wearing a chain which looked like Well
ner's after the funeral. He corroborated
the testimony of the other witnesses as
to the attentions Tanke paid to Well
ner's wife at the dance. A few days af-
ter the murder the defendant asked
Bieraugel if he thought Mrs. Wellner
would marry again. On cross examina-
ton the witness said that he could not
swear that Tanke wore Wellner's chain,
but he was pretty positive that he did.
Sheriff Mcmillan of Nicollet county,
who arrested Tanke and his wife on Oct.
II, 1901, on the farm, said on the stand
that he took the chain from Tanke. He
put him in Jail, he said, and went to st.
Paul in January, 1902, to look up the
record of Tanke when he lived there and
to find out if Tanke was in the habit of
carrying a revolver. Lockway was first
suggested to him at this time on Jan. 10.
He said he had ordered a search to be
made in the river five or six weeks pre-
vious to the st. Peter trial.
Louis Loreck of Minneapolis testified
that Coleman and Whitney had driven
him out to the Wellner farm in the fall
of 1901 before the arrest. He hired out
to Tanke, but after dinner the defendant
discharged him. The witness then re-
turned to New Ulm and told the detec-
tive of the incident.
j. T. Coleman, recalled, said that he
and Whitney had driven out to the Well
ner farm on the evening of Oct. 8, 1901.
from New Ulm on being informed that
Loreck had been discharged. They en-
tered barn. Coleman climbing up to
d hCoC hlhuOm. l4O ShO4 saw IdAhC
come toward the barn with lantern, he
said. Tanke was Joined on the inside by
his wife and Coleman and his partner,
who had secreted themselves in the hay,
heard Mrs. Tanke say: 81 know that
was a detective you hired" referring to
Loreck. Tanke replied, said witness:
mo, that wasn't detective. You are
too scared" Mrs. Tanke then said:
"You let me do the hiring and nobody
will ever know who killed Wellner." R..
j. Whitney corroborated this story and
added that he had sought admittance m
to the Tanke house four days later in the
guise of pedeler, but was refused.
Anton Weisner, recalled, told of re-
mark passed by Tanke at the time of his
arrest. He said: 81 don't see how
they can find out anything about it,
The testimony of Michael Miller practi-
cally closed the states case. Employed
as detective at the county Jail at st.
Peter, where Tanke and wife were con-
fined, he had, he testified, overheard in
conversation as follows:
Speaking to his wife, Tanke had said:
eff knew before that I know now, ]
could have brought them all out" On
another occasion he had said that if DE
was to get twenty years he might as
well hang, and they might hang him yet. |
said that Tanke was continually
telling her that she must not give him
away, to which she replied she wouldn't.
The state rested at 5 D. m.