Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-10-26
Mrs. Sophia krueger's Punish
ment For Killing Husband
Is Life Imprisonment
5oRsAkEN BY HER CHILDREN
Mrs. Kruger is White Haired,
FriendIess Old Woman, Against
Whom Sentiment Is Very Bitter Be-
Cause of the Horrible Crime OF
Which She Has Been Convicted.
speeial to Times-Republican.

Epecial to Times-Republican.
Creseo, Oct. 26-Forsaken in the
hour of her need By her own children,
without money and without friends,
Mrs. Sophia Kruger a white haired
I'D woman was late Saturday evening
convicted of murder in the first degree
md her punishment fixed al imprison-
ment for life She was accused of kill
ing her husband. ustave Kruger, n
April last. The case was on trial FOR
.everal days and scores of witnesses
we're examined. The defendant was
placed on the stand in her own behaii,
but she told a confiictiN story and It
Is believed injured her case.
The woman testified that the murder
was committed by stranger at her
home Her testimony regarding the
mysterious stranger was in substance
rs follows.
"On the night of the murder | was
IT home with my husband A stranger
name to our house and gagged me.
Then he went into another room where
ny husband was and murdered him
With a pickaNe. The man came out TO
me again and threatened me with death
If / said anything about the murder.
He wanted TO get rid of the body and
ordered me to hitch up rig | told
aim we had no rig and he told me TO
borrow one / went TO neighbor
and got buggy and returned. The
stranger told me when l went after
lhe rig that he would Kill me IL ! told
anybody about the murder. When l
returned he put the body in the buggy
and drove it down to the creek. He
tied stone to the body and threw
it into the river. / asked the man what
he murdered my husband for and he
said that Mr.. Kruger had dipped him
under the water in Michigan many
years ago and that he wanted re-
venge."
The trial attracted great attention
IN this county The court room was
crowded every day. many ladies being
among those in attendance.
The CHASTITY skull taken from the
body of Mr. Kruger after his funeral
by the coroner DR.. Carpenter, OF Lime
Springs, has been in his possession since
1t was severed and was introduced in
court as additional evidence, not intro
duced before the grand jury before the
Indictment was made by that body
Objection was made for this reason
but it was oyerruled. The iron pickaxe
with which II was believed the man
was killed. and which is said to fit into
the holes in his skull. has also appeared
in court. Many witnesses testified who
knew Mr.. and Mrs. Kreugar and none
OF them claim to have known of any
domestic trouble between them nor OF
any property advantage that could ac-
crue to the accused, as the settlement
OF the estate upon his sons by a former
wife. called for 5000 per year for the
husband and for the wife separately
and the death of one did not add to the
sum to be received by the other.
No Motive Shown.
No motive has been fastened upon
the prisoner for the commission OF
such an atrocious barbarity. She sal
in the court room day after day as I'm
passive as though she had no Interest
In the proceedings. She looked unmov-
ed upon the head of her husband, show
ing to the court the cruel punctures
that had caused his death. Her only
daughter, the wife of farmer neal
Lacrosse, Wis, and her only soon, q
young engineer of San Francisco, Cal.
have not appeared In her behalf. oil
come to her side with sustaining com.
fort.
Story Of Murder.
The murder of Gustave Kreuger wa.
one of the most atrocious ever com
mftted In northwestern Iowa. On April
rs the body of the old man was fount
in the Iowa river about mile from tn.
Kreuger home. 1t had been weighte'
down with stones. The discovery o
the body was made by party that wa
searching for the cid man. kreuge
had been married twice, the woman
who is now charged with murderinl
him being his second wife. A son O
Kreuger who lived near him, went t
the house ON April "a, and asked 70
his father. The stepmother said tina
the old man had left the house tn
previous evening without saying wher
he was going. She could give no sat
isfactory explanation and the suspic
ions of the son We're aroused. He or
ganized searching party. Finally
was learned that on the previous ev
ening, Mrs. Kreuger had borrowed
horse and buggy from a neighbor. TIL
horse was returned but the buggy wa
found in the river near where the bod
was found. Further investigation re
suited in the finding of the body in tn
river.
Defendant 10 Friend|ess.
Suspicion at once pointed to Mr.
Kreuger, but she stoutly denied a
knowledge of the crime. She was TAX
en- to Jail and has since been held with
out bail. During her Incarceration sh
was taken sick and came near dyinl
Sentiment in this county has been bit
ter against the woman. She 10 almos
penniless and has scarcely friend
the whole neishborhood. Gustav
Kreuger was quiet old man and ha
many friends. He had lived in tn
county for many years. while Mr.
Kreuger was a stranger when she mar
RED the murdered man.