The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-05-25
MAN WHO LED A DOUBLE
LIFE IS SHOT TO DEATH
BY WOMAN IN HER HOME
Joseph E. Iddings Is Slain by
Mrs. Frank Hicks During
Quarrel.
KNOWN AS JOE HASTINGS
Man of Family Went Under an
Assumed Name When He
Left His Home
WOMAN IS UNDER ARREST
Prisoners Story of the Shooting
Is Contradicted by Re
port of Police.
WOMAN IS UNDER ARREST

After leading e double life for about two
years. Joseph E Iddings. machinist. living
at 347 North Sherman drive met death at
the hands of Mrs. Frank Hicks, of 63l
Washington avenue. yesterday afternoon
Iddings, ii is said had been visiting the
Hicks woman very frequently for the last
two years and was known to her as Joe
Hastings Yesterday morning he called and
stayed until the husband of the woman.
Frank Hicks. came home for dinner. Id
dings was then asked to stay for dinner
which he did. After Frank Hicks went
back to work. a large quantity of whisky
and can of beer were purchased and Id
dings and the Hicks woman started to have
an afternoon of reveiry.
They engaged in a quarrel and the Hicks
woman went into another room and pro-
cured an old-fashioned bull dog revolver
of Ss-caliber. She placed one cartridge in
the weapon and calmly walked back to
where Iddings stood and shot him through
the mouth He died instantly. Two stories
are told of the beginning of the trouble.
The Hicks woman claims that she had been
doing washing for Iddings for the last two
years and that was all she knew about him
and that he was in the habit of coming to
the house frequently and every time he
came he would buy can OF beer. She
claims that when he was there yesterday
he made an indecent proposal TO her and
she became angry and killed him. That is
her story, but the police claim to have re-
ceived information from Katie McCotter,
who was at the house at the time of the
murder, that Mrs. Hicks said TO him. You
all mine and no one else shall have
you" She then went and got the revolver
and killed him.
Iddings was married and had two chill
dren, Ralph, seventeen, and Edna, fifteen.
His family lives at 347 North Sherman
drive. He had not been home very often
of late, and always claimed that he was
staying with his mother, who was crippled
with rheumatism, and lived at 1109 Deloss
to Chicago to live with some other children,
and when he was at home Monday he told
his family that he was going to send the
furnishings of the DeloSS-street house to
his own home. This the last seen of
him by his immediate family. He leaves
brothers in Chicago and a sister. Mrs.
George Bagby, of Chicago, who is the wife
of a prominent attorney. When the body
examined by Coroner Tutewiler he
found ten-dollar gold piece and two
empty pay envelopes from the Potts Ma
Iddings. Mrs Hicks was placed under ar
rest by Bicyclemen Duncan and Askins,
who made a cord-breaking run TO the
scene of the murder She under the
influence of liquor at the time she was ar
rested.
Iddings had worked for the Potts Machine
Company for over seventeen years and Mr..
Clayton Potts said last night that the COM
pany would probably bury him. Frank
Hicks, husband of the woman who did the
shooting, called at the police station last
night to see his wife.