The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-05-19

reading when George came home.
saw him when he came in. Cannot say
what he did with his hat. Did not see
him take it off. He did not say any
thing except Good evening" He was
not outdoors more than three or four
minutes when he went out. Am not
positive, but don't think that it could
have been longer. Think he had on his
hat when he came back, and when he
went to the cellar. 1t was ten or ff
teen minutes after he came in the sec
ond time that ne went to his bedroom.
He had his hat on all of this time.
Saw his hand after he had been down
cellar He was eating an apple, sitting
by me. Don't think that my daughters
were there then. Don't know when
George came home Monday evening or
Sunday evening or Wednesday or
Thursday evening The only evening
that week that l can say exactly when
my son came home was Tuesday even
ing When he went down stairs the
first time Tuesday night, he said II
feel like going to bed. Good night"
heard Thursday noon for the first
| time that he was suspected of the muir
/ der. When he came up from his room,
he said, swell, l guess I''ll have to eat
an apple first" Then he went down
cellar and got an apple and came back.
He had been in the habit of eating APP
pies evenings. l got the old hammer
some forty odd years ago. / missed it
in June or July, 1908. 1t had been
lost and reappeared several times be-
fore then. 1t was the left claw that
was broken off. The only way l can
say that it was the left claw is because
| watched my grandchild playing with
| it. Think / testified to this at the
Brown county trial.
| Gen. Childs read the testimony taken
at the Brown county trial, and there
was nothing said about Mr.. Koch know
| ing that the left claw was broken off
because he had seen the hammer in the
hands of his grandson. The last time
| that / saw the hammer was in my tool
chest about June, 1903. Do not know
what time George came home on any
evening during the week preceding the
homicide. / always said that it was
9:45 p. M, by my clock when he got
home Nov. LIST, and that my clock was
seven minutes fast. Did not tell Anton
Richertz that George came home at 10
o'clock, or that George was home at the
time of the murder. Richertz made
some such statement as that the murd-
er was committed before ten o'clock. l
told Ricnertz that George was at home
with me when the murderer was seen
in the room, if | said anything at all.
This was all that l could have said
Miss Ida Koch.
Miss Ida Koch was called. am
twenty eight years old, and the daught-
er of E. G. Koch | have taught in the
city schools of New Ulm six years and
eight months. / live at home, and was
there the evening of Nov. lst. l was
writing letters, and after writing the
fourth letter | looked at the clock to
see whether | would have time to write
another and it was $3.50 p. m. l then
! put up my writing material, read lit
tie, and in few moments George came
in. He entered the kitchen door, hung
up his overcoat and went to the water
pail for a drink and then went out
again. Did not see him come in or take
his coat off, but heard him. He was
out of the house but two or three min
utes, and then he came into the dining
room and began to read. He stayed
there about ten minutes. l glanced up
at him only once, and did not notice
| his clothing. He went to bed then, and
went soon afterwards. 1t was about
1905 p. M, when l went to bed. l
looked at the clock. Heard somebody
come upstairs again after that. Saw
George the next morning. Mr.. Hip
paul, was eating breakfast with MIN.
George and l walked down town togeth-
er to Washington and Center streets,
and | went to my school and he went
down Center street He wore his long
cravennette overeoat and brown derby
hat, and a pepper and salt coat and vest
and trousers of dark material with
stripes. He had been in the habit of
wearing these. / read ten or fifteen
minutes after putting up my writing
material Tuesday night. Saw George
Wednesday evening and we went down
town together after supper. He wore
the same clothes. Saw George later
| in the evening at Henry n. Somsen's
residence, with three or four other sing
ers, practicing psalms to be sung at DIR.
Gebhard's funeral. Saw George Thurs
day late in the afternoon. Heard Thurs
day that he was suspected of the Of
| fense at Mr. Somsen'S Saw George in