The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-07-28
RESUME Of THE KOCH CASE ]

was fined began the questioner.
Il obiec. to the question" said Gen
eral Childs.
"The objection is sustained" said the
court.
'AIr. Liesch has taken great interest
in this case, has he not?"
Il object to that"
"The objection is sustained"
Had Never Talked About Case.
Mrs. Berendt said that she had never
talked with her brother about the ease.
She did not see him very often and he
year. She had never testified in the
case before, and never talked with an
officer about what she knew until last
Sunday, when Chief Klause came to her
and asked her about it. She told him
about the dog barking, and on Monday
he came to her and said he heard she
knew more. She then told him about
the person running. She did not say
anything about it before because she did
not want to go on the stand. Mrs.
Dahms had said at $3.50 the morning af-
ter the occurrence that she thought that
a chicken thief had made the dogs bark.
Mrs Berndt said that her husband is
a timer and has worked for ten years
past for the New Ulm Hardware Co.,
of which the only proprietor that she
knew of was DIR. Fritschie.
Answering Gen. Childs, the witness
said that the reason that she did not
wish to testify in the case was because
she is a friend of Mrs. Fenska, who is
the defendants sister. There were no
other dogs around except Mrs. Dahms'.
She was frightened as she had never
heard the dogs bark like that before,
and she ran into the house and looked
at the clock to see if it was not time
that her husband should be home. 1t
was $50 by the clock, but the clock
was five minutes slow.
August Berndt, husband of the last
witness, told about the same story as
she did, He was moving to another
house in the block, and moved evenings
for three or four evenings. 1t was one
of these evenings that the occurrence
happened, but he did not know which
He was moving the last of October and
first of November. He heard the ducks
and the dogs. 1t was nothing unusual
for the dogs to bark
Mrs. Wilhelmina Dahms took the
stand, and III, l.. Schmitt was sworn
as Interpreter. She said that she was
the wife of Gustaf Dahms. She told how
she had been awakened on the evening
of the murder, ten minutes before ten
o'clock, by her dogs barking, and she
heard the footsteps of some person run
ming rapidly by on the road. She ''sick
ed" her dogs on, going out for the pur
pose, and saw them smell on the ground
and 90 as far as the ditch near the gate
across the path that crosses the slough
Next morning she saw blood on the
two posts beside the gate, where per
sons walking can pass through without
opening the gate. DR.. Koch used this
patch nearly every day, and also other
members of the Koch family. The
Dahms were renters of f. G. Koch for
eight years and were on friendly terms
with the family.
The defense objected to all of this
line of testimony, and the court over
ruled the objection. Mrs. Dahms was
then cross-examined by Mr. Abbott. She
said that when she opened the window
her clock struck ten, and it was ten
minutes fast.
Mr.. Abbott triad to bring out the fact
that at the last trial Mrs. Dahms said
nothing about the dogs putting their
noses to the ground and smelling. The
ohiy answer ue Coulu SeG was IHdC sHe
would have said it if she had been ask
ed. Mr.. Abbott questioned closely about
the blood on the post. Mrs. Dahms said
that there were as many as twenty
spots of blood on the post. She could
not tell the size of the spots, but got
a little on her fingers when she went
through and wiped it off on her dress.
Next day there were black spots but no
blood. The third day she saw no blood, nor
again after that, as she paid no atten-
ton to the matter. She made no mem
orandum of the date when she saw the
blood.
The post was brdlght into the court
room and the cross examination con-
tinued. Mrs. Dahms looked at the top
and said that there were two nails in
the top when it was in the ground but
otherwise the post looked to be the
same. She said that she only told Chief
Klause about the blood on the post a
few weeks before the trial in Mankato;
she thought it was in March. He cut
the top off soon afterwards. The
blood was on top and down the sides
The defense offered both pieces of