The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-07-05
CONVINCED THAT He IL SOON
TO DIE HE coNFEssEs TO
AN OHIO CRIME
Killed Fellow Convict in Railroad
Yards at Columbus, Ohio, Year.
Aso-Now Has Consumption {

Convinced that he will never live tn
complete his sentence, ]. Ryne a con-
Wet at the state penitentiary, brought
to the prison a week ago to serve four
years for burglary, has confessed that
he murdered fellow convict named
Charles Swine in the railroads yarda
at Columbus, Ohio, in November, 1888.
Ryne was sentenced from Pierce
| county, and just before the time Of
leaving Tacoma for the penitentiary.
the remorse-stricken convict confess
ed to Sheriff Denholm that ne was q
murderer.
| He gave as a reason for confessine
his crime that he was afflicted with
consumption, and never expected to
complete his four-year sentence. I'M
mediately after the confession Sher-
if Denholm communicated with the
sheriff at Columbus, Ohio, and was
informed that Ryne's story was prac-
tically correct. The murder Of Swine
was mysterious affair, and until
Ryne voluntarily confessed that he
was the murderer, the detectives de-
tailed on the case were completely
baffled, as to the murdered convict's
assailant.
Shortly after being sentenced Ryne
sent word to Sheriff Denholm asking
for a private interview. This was
granted and Ryne made the following
statement:
well, I guess I might as well tell
you now that you have in me captur.
ed a man wanted for murder in Ohio.
1 killed a man in Columbus in the
spring of 1897 or 1898. I don't just re-
call the date, but 1 know 1 killed him
with coupling pin in the railroad
yards. He did not die until some
hours after I struck him, but he died
tine same night, for I read in a Gin
cinnati paper next day the full de-
tails of the murder and the finding
of his body.
THE night of the murder I met this
man, Charles Swine, who had just left
the Ohio state penitentiary. I was
going under the name of George Evans
which is my right name. Both Of IN
were in hard straits and neither Of US
had much of the worlds goods. We
picked up kit Of tools and that night
cracked the safe in one of the Column
bus stores. There was considerable
booty in the place, much more than
we thought could be obtained.
Hit him with a coupling Pin.
After leaving the crib we made
a quick dash down the railroad yards
and in a few minutes were tangled up
on the Baltimore & Ohio tracks. We
were seen by several railroad watch
men, but after some shary lodging
and little sprinting around cars.
managed to rid ourselves Of our pur-
suers Swine and 1 became involved
in a quarrel. I picked up coupling
| pin and hit him over the head with
it; then 1 hit him again.
Seeing him lying there On the
ground near one of the railroad cars,
covered with blood, 1 fled from the
yards. dumped the kit of tools into
the river and made a quick sneak for
the nearest train. Within a few
hours 1 was in Cincinnati, and it was
not many hours later that lit out
for Chicago. Since then I have been
travelling about the country. That Is
about all there is to it."
Evans story of the murder OF
Swine showed that the affair had
been a cold blooded one. He display
ed no emotion and the details Of the
affair were told in the picturesque Lam
guage of the hardened criminal. Evans
told Of picking up the railroad iron, OF
striking his companion and then look
ing to see if life was extinct.
Finding that I had not killed him
with the first blow" said Evans, I
nit him another blow above the tenn
ple and crushed his skull. That I'm
ished him; at least, knew he could
not recover from the effects Of the
blow