The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-05
STATEMENT OF JONES
Relates a Statement That Was Told
Him by Knapp,
FEARFUL DEPRAVTTY
The Murderer Told Fellow Prisoner
That He Killed His First Wife
to Get His Second and Her
to Get His Third.

Indianapolis, Feb. 22.-The first eyi
aence that Albert Knapp killed his
first wife as we'll, as his second and
third is contained in a statement made
by Charles Jones', who was prisoner
in the Marion county jail and the
Michigan City penitentiary with
Knapp. The only reference in the
statement Of Jones to knapp's first
wife is this:
Knapp told me he, killed his first
wife to get his second aud his second
to get his third" 49, 't j.
Knapp's first wife was Emma
Stubs of -Terre Haute. He married
Rher in the eighties and she has since
disappeared. ..# bn r.strs.rf
Jones. says in the statement that
Knapp told him be had Killed the Geb.
hardt child in West Indianapolis in
July. 1896 Jones said Knapp told
him about the killing of his second
wife. He took her to the .---..erty
street bridge in Cincinnati and threw
her off into the canal after choking
her. Then he said he went down to
where she was She was not dead
and he finished her by choking her,
After he had killed her he went back
to town and reported that his wife
was missing: The police authorities
did not find her until the next. day.
Another reason for killing his sec
ond was that she had accused him
of killing Mary Eckhart. one said
she was going to expose him. He
told Jones he killed Mary Eekhart for
IS cents and that his wife had accus.
ed him it.. He said he killed Mary
Eckhart and assaulted her.
Knapp also told Jones of killing a
girl in Cincinnati. He said he was
lying on stack of lumber He threw
a picce of timber down on the little
ones head. He thought some one
had seen him and went down to ex-
anime the girl She was rot quite
dead and he was afraid she would
survive and expose him, so he finished
her by hitting her with a plank Then
placing her in stack of lumber he
left her there. .:# T.,
Knapp told Jones that there were
other crimes that could be charged
to him that would break his neck
three or four times.
One Of the peculiar things about the
case is that the confession made
while he was in the penitentiary was
never made public and no attempt
was made to arrest him on any charge
when he was released. If he had been
arrested Hannah Goddard would not
have been murdered.
There is much criticism of the vari.
Gus officials who knew of the con.
fession for not making it public or
seeing to it that Knapp was rearrest-
ed. According to the statement of A.
A. Womack. who was then sheriff of
Marion county. the confession, though
he cannot find it now, was made in
the presence of himself, Warden Har.
ley, the chaplain, and the stenograph.
er, who took it down in short hand.
Womack said he wanted the Judge
and the prosecutor to induce Cover
nor Mount to pardon Knapp so hs
could be tried for the Gerhard muir.
der, but they refused. fearing Knapp
might not stand by his confession.
Womack said his term and the
terms of all the other officials who
knew of the confession expired. before
Knapp was released from the peni.
Tertiary and he supposed they had
Just neglected to see that anything
was done, as was the case with him