The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-02-28
FEARS LYNCHING.
Murderer Knapp Lives in Con-
slant Terror.
History of Some of the Crimes
He Committed.

reported ABOUT the JAN tOddy EAdt
Knapp is considering another confession
that will cover other crimes. Meantime,
while the officers are seeking all the in
formation possible from him, it has been
decided that his first trial viii be here
for the murder of his third wife, Han
nah Goddard, unless the trial judge
holds that a corpus deficit has not been
/ established by the confession of Knapp
and other evidence that the officers have
! IN their possession. Prosecutor Gard
and other attorneys now hold that it is
absolutely necessary to find the body of
Mrs. Hannah Goddard Knapp in order
to try the prisoner here and accordingly
search for the body was continued to-
day. In any event Knapp viii have at
least q temporary hearing here before
he is turned over to the authorities at
Cincinnati or Indianapolis. The affidavit
and other documents as well as the con-
fession are in readiness for a hearing
and if the body is not found soon the
prosecution viii proceed without it.
Meantime, Knapp IS being questioned
more closely by officers on his general
record, although he is no longer keep
ing open house with reporters, police
and others to whom he had been talk
ing so freely and it is believed that he IS
on the verge of telling of other crimes
Among those who have been with him
today were medical experts who pro-
nOunced him sane but abnOrmally de-
generate. Knapp himself is perfectly in
different whether he is tried in Hamil-
4
seems to have no dread of a trial, but IS
very apprehensive of lynching or some
form of violence and those who watch
/ him say that he is really cowardly. The
/ least noise that is not an ordinary Jail
noise, startles him.
He has been assured time and again
that he is not TO be lynched, that there
I is no danger whatever and that he will
be protected until the law can take It's
course.
Though the taking of life with him
was a mere Dastime he himself is afraid
TO die. He wants to live. even though
/ he is behind Hrison bars. In the hope
of saving his life his family say he is
insane and insanity viii be his plea for
his life.
The prisoner is a pronounced talkar IN
I his sleep, but his words are not plain.
He mutters all the time and the opinion
is that he is going over and over the
scenes of his awful crimes In order to
give him mental rest. no one will be
/ permitted to see him for several days
FOUR OF KNAPP'S VICTIMS
The case of Ida Gebhart whom
Knapp killed in Indianapolis in July,
/ 1895. was a most brutal one. The child
was assaulted and killed. She was only
3 years old, and her murder was SEN
sation for months in Indiana. Knapp s
/ confession now clears up that awful
mystery. The Littlemann girl. whom
Knapp killed in Cincinnati June p,
1894, was also but child.
The dead body of Emma littlemann
was found on June q, 1894, in the lum-
Der yard designated by Knapp in his
confession. The girls body was about
half under q lumber pile. The police
made an exhaustive examination into
the case, but were able to secure no evil
dence Of a tangible nature. Despite the
position in which the body lay the de-
tectives finally said that it was their
opinion that she had committed suicide.
1t was contended at the time by news
/ paper men and others that the girls
.1r- r7rf "a fnITnH
was if she had killed herself. There was
no way by which she could have fallen,
So that her body would have been half
under the lumber pile and the remalnd-
er exposed to the view of passersby
4 Detective Witte and others visited the
scene of the finding of the body repeat
eddy and tried every known method to
get some evidence but failed. An en-
gineer was suspected and one of the
leoding members of the local police force
was on the verge Of swearing to an Aft
davit charging this innocent man with
/ the murder of Emma Littiemann. The
engineer heard that he was to be ar
rested for the crime and fled to Ken
lucky through fright despite the fact
that he was in no way connected with
the horrible crime. Some men in the
police department who were not detail
ed on the case maintained that Emma
Littlemann had been outraged and then
strangled to death It now develops that
this theory was the correct one.
The finding Of the dead body Of Mrs
Jennie Knapp in the canal at Cincin-
natl a few years ago was crime which
puzzled the police The body was cut
and there were marks on the woman
throat which indicated that she had
been choked to death. The mystery in
the case had remained as deep as ever
until Thursday until the confession OF
Knapp, who seems to be composite of
Jack the Ripper" of London (England)
Whitechaped fame and the cleveland
Stranger, who is now awaiting trial
--fr. E-4~r To-
cleared this UP. He was the murderer
The Mary Ekhart murder had been a
mystery until Knapp made his confess
/, sion. The woman was found strangled
to death in a house on Walnut street,
lust above Seventh, in Cincinnati. A
2 towel had been used to strangle her,
This crime was committed August 1,
1898.
mittingly on the case for days anu
nights without unearthing any tangible
evidence. The victim was a type of the
lower half world and it was evident to
the police that who ever killed her was
acquainted with the surroundings. as he
] left no clew to his trail. when he de-
J parted from the house. No one could
be found by the police who saw him
enter or depart from the structure
t which was a twO-stOry brick. The house
was RACED subsequently to make room,
for the large building at the northeast
corner of Walnut and Seventh streets
E The late Col. Deitsch, Herman Witte
4 then acting chief Of detectives of Gin
? cinnati. and others tried to solve th5
mystery and they wound up their efforts
by declaring that the man who killer
Mary Eckert also committed similar
crimes at Denver. Colo, and elsewhere
2 throughout the country His method-
/ We're likened to those Of Jack the
e Ripper"
WHAT DOCTORS SAY
Speaking for the doctors who exam
ined Knapp. DR. c. n. Huston said to-
day: knapp is beyond a doubt d
. moral idiot of the most pronounced
: type: but there is no question as to his
sanity and legal responsibility. His
: nervous system is normal. the ref1exes
: respond naturally. the pupils of his eyes