The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-24
HIS CRUEL STORY.
John Croft Gives Details of
Kuntz Assault.
His Recital GruesOme in It's
Brutal Details.
THEY WAITED LONG.
Six Times Did Their Victim
Escape Them.
Puts Burden of Assault on
Calvin Heck.

Niolateu the prOhlbitory law by selling /
liquor. County Attorney Hungate OBJ |
jected to this as REORGANIZATION and |
asked the court to instruct the witness |
that he need not answer any question |
which would to serve to s4ncriminate |
him Acting on these instructions |
which Judge Dana gave to the witness |
he refused to answer the questions
touching on this point and Mr.. Nichols |
announced that no further cross-exa4n-
nation would be ATTEMPTED.
GrOfI. Tells His Story.
John Croft. the self-admitted accom-
Phce OF Cal Heck in his murderous as
sault upon Druggist Kuntz then took
the stand and in a cool and collected
manner narrated the whole story of the
crime from the time that the plot was
first laid until the robbery occurred
Inc story as he told it is one of the
most cold-blOoded ever listened to-
men VINO were chuns, roomed together
/ and kept company with two sisters and
! found themselves short of money the
story of the crime is a complete chain
of interlOcking links
Even the smallest details are tod in
calm matter of fact way that almost
| ch1lls the blood of the listeners. for the
| brutal disregard of the comfort and life
of the man to be assaulted. Croft told
OF the urgent need of money on the part
OF himself and his friend and how Heck
proposed that they take down the cop
per wires from the telephone poles and
substitute discarded wire in its place
while they could sell the copper wire to
the junk dealers. He admits that it
was he himself who proposed that thsS-
stick up some one" as that appeared
/ to him to be the easiest and safest way
of getting money. Tillie Tibbitts thA
| sweetheart of Heck, had been in the
| hospital and there was a bill of $50 90
I for her maintenance to be met. This
fact seemed to hasten the men in their
desire to do the job" although they
planned for nearly a month before an
OppOrtune time arrived for their muir
/ derous assault. Six different times they
attempted to assault the druggist and
! five times something happened which
thwarted them in their attempt, some
times 1t was one thing and some times
! it was another and a strange fate SEEM
/ ed to be protecting their chosen victim.
! Once when all arrangements had been
made they unexpectedly ran across the
young son of their victim as they were
going into the alley to wait for kuntz
/ At another time little girl, daughter
of one of their sweethearts, was taken
/ i'll and though murderous as was the
! assault which they afterwards made the
sufferings Of the little girl moved them
to POSTPONE their attempt until announcer
night. At another time the victim saw
! them and ran and they We're unable TO
! oVertaSe him. then again, for some fea-
/ son, he failed to come home by his usual
route and the attempt had to be aban-
doned Again while they We're waiting
1 in the basement of the building occu-
pied by the Bell Telephone company
! friendly lineman came in for a visit and
| so detained them that they had to choose
another night. But with all of these
happenings never once is there an mdi-
/ ca ton that either of them thought OF
/ wea kening and they simply waited an
| OpportuI-e time
Thought Kuntz Had Money.
In telling his story on the stand
/ Croft said: After we had made up
| our minds to stick up some one, II
was a question as to who 1t should De-
Heck and I We're together nearly all or
the time and frequently visited the
Kuntz drug store in North Iopeka ana
I bought beer at the place. Heck nnal-
! " proposed that we rob the proprietor
! of this store as he would proDaDly De
we'll supplied with money. heslLaIed
| about this and said to him that / dld
| not like to do So as we were Wen ac-
! nuainted and he would recognize ms,
and besides I did net like the idea OF
holding up friend OF NINE, ana
Kuntz and I had both worked for L.
1 Rlackman. We finally agreed that
he should be the victim and We then
/ began to lay for him. Heck did not
/ know Kuntz. SO we went over TO ms
| store on several different occasions be
4 fore we found him in, so that Heck
could get a look at him. On the even
! ing of the robbery Heck and went TO
I the corner of Sixth and Van Buren,
{ streets at about half past II O'Clock
! and walked down to the alley back Of
the Jonathan Thomas lumber yard
! and looked over the ground to see that
| every thing was all right
I did not want Kuntz to see me, so
we arranged that I should stand back
in the alley and as Kuntz came along
/ that Heck should step out and grab
/ him and carry him into the alley and
/ then we would both carry him back
| into a shed or barn on the back of the
lot. The electric light on the corner
of Sixth street shone quite plainly, so
plainly that a man walking south on
Van Buren, street cast a shadow sew
eral feet in advance of him. Heck
went out on the sidewalk and walked
past and noted the distance which
he would be away from the alley be-
fore could first see the shadow of his
head. We did this SO that Heck would
not make mistake and jump out too
soon and give Kuntz a chance to get
away Then we went over on the OPP
posite side of the street and waited
until we saw kuntz coming down
Sixth street and then we walked across
the street to the alley together. We
walked very close together SO that we
would make but one shadow and in
the distance appear to be but one
person.
when I1untz came past the alley
! Heck stepped out in front Of him and
choked him and carried him into the
alley. Then I took hold of his feet
and Heck hold of his head and we
carried him back through the alley to
the stable where he was found the
morning afterwards. I stepped TO the
door of the stable and looked out To
see if there was any one about and
when I came back Heck was kneeling
over Runtz and when he told me to I
reached into his pocket and took out
| a roll of papers. Heck came out in a
tfew moments and game me 3 watch