The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1904-04-05
William Chounard's Case To
Come Up at Walker This
Month.
HE SHOTHIS WIFE In CASSLAKE
LAST JANUARY.
Insane Jealousy and Excessive
Drinking the Cause Of the
Awful Tragedy.

Cass Lake, Mimi, April 2
District court for Cass county
will convene at Walker, the county
seat, on April 1. Sheriff
Hard y has been in Cass Lakeland.
vicinity during the past week,
summoning jurors and subpoena
ing witnesses for the important
GRIMM and civil suits that
will be tried at the forthcoming
term. It is expected that Judge
Marshall M. Spooner Of Bemidji
will preside, as Judge McClena-
han was on the bench at the fall
term, and by rotation it would be
Judge Spooner's term.
Among the important matters
for the grand jury to consider is
the case Of William Chounard,
who was bound oyer to the grand
jury on the charge Of murder in
the first degree having shot his
wife in brothel at Cass Lake,
on the night of Jan. rs last. The
shooting was not instantly fatal,
and Chounard was arrested and
confined in the village lock up at
Cass Lake until after the woman S
death, which occurred in a hospi-
tai at Duluth, two nights after
wards. A coroner's jury held
an inquest over the remains and
found that the deceased came to
her death from revolver shots
fired by her husband, and Chou
nard was given a hearing before
local justice, charged with muir
der in the first degree. He was
bound over to wait the action OF
the grand jury at the spring
term Of court, and later taken to
the county jail and was placed IN
charge Of Sheriff Hardy, where
he is now.
Chounards crime was exceed
lingly cold blooded, and just what
defense he will set up is a matter
of conjecture. For some time
previous to the shooting Chou
nard and his wife had been living
I in house of i'll repute in Cass
Lake. Mrs. Chounard being the
landlady Of the place and her
husband a musician. The woman
was fairly good looking, and had
several admirers, which fact
caused Chounard to become ex-
tremely jealous Of her. For q
month previous to Jan. 2 Chou
nard had quarreled nearly every
day with his wife and upbraided
her for what he considered was
undue familiarity with other
men. These differences led to
dislike of each other toa certain
extent, and on several occasions,
lit lis said, Chounard had promised
his wife a "good licking" The
Husband also began drinking
heavily, and it was noticed that
he was under the influence Of
Liquor good deal Of the time
On Tuesday evening, JAN. 26,
Mrs. ChOunard came over town
from the house where she was an
inmate and visited several places
in the village. At one Of the
places she was met by Chounard,
who upbraided her, accused her
Of unfaithfulness, and promised
her a Clicking when=he got her
home". It was noted that he
was much intoxicated. Chou
nard and his wife left for the
house shortly after 10 o'clock,
and about II the shooting oc-
Cured. From the testimony of
witnesses, given at the inquest,
1Chounard and the woman became
involved in a quarrel behind the
bar of the resort, and he pulled a
revolver and shot her three
times. After the first shot was
fired Mrs. Chounard asked her
I. husband to remember their little
4 girl, but he was unmoved by the
appeal, and fired two more shots,
all three of which took effect and
resulted in her death. Although
Chounard was much intoxicated
4 he cody walked out of the room
concealed the weapon with which
he had done the shooting, and re
turned to the house.
Mrs. Chouard, after the first
shot, started for the front door,
in an effort to get out, and the
second and third shots-Mere
fired as she was fleeing to a place
J OF safety. She went into an ad
], joining house, where were two
physicians, who attended to her
wounds. The shots had been
fired very deliberately, and at
J. vital portions of the woman s
anatomy, denoting the intention
4 of Chounard to kill his wife. The
next morning after the shooting,
/ when Chounard's wrath had
cooled, and he began to realize
the enormity of the crime he had
committed, he cried like a child,
and stated that he was sorry.
/ Tho,-o,,l lo1 o-o14-ol m