The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-01-13
From Free Press Staff Correspondent:

twelve men have been selected to decide
the fate of Dr. George r. Koch, on trial
in the Brown county district court fol
the murder of DIR. l.. A. Gerhard on the
night of Nov i last, interest in the ease
has been renewed In fact the interest
i'm New Ulm and elsewhere in the coun
try roundabout has become more intense
and has reached a pitch equal only tt
that which was shown by New Ulm
residents on the night of the horrible
murder and for days following. The
court is constantly crowded with people
and the standing room only" sign is
hung on the outer wall long before the
sessions begin. Every spectator is anx'
the lips of the witnesses. Women are
conspicuous in the audience, and young
ladies are making the court room then
headquarters all of them anxious to
catch glimpse of the prisoner.
The Jurymen.
The names of the men who hold in
their hands the fate of Dr. Koch are as
follows:
A. Rinke, retired merchant, Sleepy
Eye.
Emil Rasmussen, postmaster and mer-
chant, Evan.
Hans Larson, retired farmer, Sleepy
Eye.
Martin Penning, farmer and fruit
grower, town of Home.
August Jaehn, contractor, Springfield
William Runcie, hardware dealer
Springfield.
James Addy, Jr., farmer, town OF
Home.
John Mack, farmer, town of Milford
Fred Manderfeld, Jr, farmer, town OF
Sigel.
William Berg, farmer, town of Eigel.
Fred Engelbert, saloonkeeper, New
Ulm.
Joseph Grathwohl, farmer, town OF
Linden.
1t is an average jury, made up OF men
who have had to fight the battles of life
and will probably not be swayed by
mere sentiment.
Following a recess of a few minutes
Attorney Childs for the state, addressed
the jury, giving an outline of the evi
dence which the prosecution would place
before them. His address is as follows
Gentlemen of the Jury: Twelve good
men, and true, serving as petit Jurors
have been selected out of great body
of people of this county to weigh the
evidence in the case of the State of Min
nesota against George r. Koch, charged
with murder in the first degree. YOU
have been selected with the utmost
care and in so doing the state and the
defense trusts that no man holds a place
in the Jury, who would not be able to
take into the jury box fair and unbias
ed mind. The state Minnesota never
stoops so low as to jeopardize the life oil
fellow citizen by injecting into the
jury box jurors biased and prejudiced
in mind. If there be member of the
jury who entertains any such bias that
he cannot try the case fairly and impair
TALLY it is a great misfortune. If there
be any member of the jury who has
sought a place in the jury box by vir
tue of friendship for either party in the
case he is very wicked man and should
be dragged after the wheels of public
eXcration.
Men Should Be Grand and Noble.
Men should be grand and noble; mem
bers of petit jurors should be of the
most splendid manhood that is obtain
able. If the defense be guilty it is moi
the fault of any of the witnesses The
state may summon; it is not the fault
of his gray haired father who sits silent
ly in thought in the court room; it is
not the fault of his sisters or brother.
here present; it is the fault of no ONT
but himself; it is the fault of his diseas
ed mind which he allowed to carry hin
beyond rational actions You are hui
man, you have sympathy, and your mos
innate sympathies will be aroused in thi
case. Members of the jury, you have
been assigned an arduous duty and mus
keep the proposition in mind at thu
outset, to weigh and determine the fore,
of the evidence in the case.
Tears are shed when men are on tria
for their lives; and it will be so in thi
case as in all other cases.
Now, gentlemen, l wish it was tru
that the grim visage would announce tn
criminal, that none but those who car
ry ferocity upon their brows could b.
guilty of crime so dastardly, but thi
is not exracious, as men marked by tn
utmost facial beauty sometimes masl