The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-04-25
SAW KOCH REACH
FOR The HAMMER
State Has Startling New Evidence
for Prosecution Of Young
Dentist.
DEFENSE, FoREWARNED,
PREPARES TO COMBAT IT
General Childs Makes a Strong
Address to the jury First
Witnesses Sworn.

Address to the Jury-First
Witnesses Sworn.
BY w. p. Mcclure.
Mankato, Mimi, April 25.-The tax
ing of evidence in the second trial of
Dr.. George R. Koch for, the murder of
DR.. Louis A. Gebhardt began at Q
O'Clock this morning.
Clerk Thorne brought all Of the ex.
hibits into court. They filed big
telescope valise. Among them were the
fatal hammer and several others; the
handkerchief with the initials &C. r.
K',; the poison bottle and box; the
lead pencil; the pepper-and salt suit of
clothes, and many maps, plans and dia-
grams. The gruesome objects cover the
table of counsel for the state.
DR.. Koch was accompanied to the
court by his brother, William Koch,
his sister, Meta--Mrs. Henry Somsen,
and his brother-in-law, Rev. Robert
Heidman of Arlington. They sat
directly behind DR.. Koch's II coun-
sci. On the other side of the CEN
ter gate, just inside the railing, sat
Henry and Emma Gebhardt, brother
and sister of the murdered dentist.
Every seat in the courtroom was occu-
pied, and nearly half Of the spectators
were women-most of them young
Weiser, First Witness.
Three exhibits were introduced when
court convened today, the diagram of
the premiases Of Ottomeyer plot, where
of Minnesota, Center, First and Second
streets North, showing also the loca.
tion of the Koch residence, and a photo
graph of the Ottomeyer plot.
Then General Childs, for, the state,
called DR.. George B. Weiser Of New
Ulm, who performed the autopsy upon
the body of DR.. Gebhardt. He de.
scribed the body as it appeared on the
night of the murder, when he made a SUI
perfcial examination. Then he de
scribed in detail the many wounds that
were found on the body, declaring afte,
specifying the eight large wounds that
there were SO many cuts 1t was impossl
BILE to count and find all of them.
He said that either the large wound
| in the neck, which~severed the jugulal
vein, or the wound on the skull alone
would have proved fatal, the former
within one or two minutes, the latter
within one or two hours.
| Ftendishness Of the Murderer.
! In describing the wounds to the jury
| DR.. Weiser used Albert Pfaender, Of
counsel for the state, as a dummy, anf
with aSpencil pointed out on him tn,
exact location Of the several wounds
Iha found4en DR.. Gebhardt IS body. Thu
| witness said that the thrust which re
suited in the severing Of the iugula1
vein was Of such a nature as to lndl
cate that after the knife had been in
I 4 14zl A~,I ri
as tho the murderer had deliberately
felt about to find and cut big vein.
/ For the first time in the two trial
l.. L. Brown Of Brown & Abbott O
counsel for the defense, examined wit
ness today. In the first trial he dit
: nothing but sit by and take notes, ant
then delivered the plea to the jury
When General Childs had finished ques
tioning DR.. Weiser, Mr.. Brown bega!
the circumstances as to his going t.
the office of DR.. Gebhardt on the nigh
of the murder, even to the minutest de
tails, and all in the face Of repeated
objections Of General Childs, whic
were overruled.
Upon Mr.. Brown 8 cross.examinatio1
DR.. Weiser said the blow on the head
causing the compound fracture Of tn
skull, was dealt before the knife woun'd
were inflicted.
The testimony Of DR.. L. A. Fritschie
former coroner Of Brown county, wa
in way a repetition Of his evidenc
at the first trial, but it wa
strengthened for the defense by tn
doctor IS statement, when describing tn
position Of the pencil, that cit locke
as tho it had fallen out of the yes
pocket Of the murdered man.
This statement, drawn from the wit
ness by Mr.. Brown, was more direc
than any that he made at the first tria
about three inches from the vest poke
and half embedded in the blood whic
had CONCEALED before the pencil was dc
posted upon it. It's top end was neal
est the pocket. It was at this point i
his testimony that the witness said
looked as tho it had fallen out. 4
pocket comb and few small papers, h
said, were protruding from the pocket
in the same direction.
Reverting to the pencil, the witnes
said that It was not daubed or spla
tered with blood, but he could not sa
whether there was any blood on tn
end Of it. When asked how long
might have taken the blood to clot,
said it. might have been five minute
The Poison Package.
DR.. Fritschie also identified the pc
son package, which was introduce,
Replying to question Of Mr.. Brown, b
told how he cared for the body and th
exhibit until the first trial. 1t we
: brought out that altho the coroner d
clared he was custodian of the Gel
hardt Offices on the night Of the mu
: der, he had not taken a guard or watcl
man there. He had placed a sal
!. against one door and had locked til
other, taking the key with him.
Before doing SO, he had removed onl
!: the body and the handkerchief. II
) pencil he took charge of next day. 3
|: said that it had not been disturbe
!. during the night. His testimony as
) the. condition Of the offices was tt
same, in effect, as that given at tt
!: first trial.
Just Before Death Called.
What DR.. Gebhardt did in the hol
: before his death is being told for tt
! first time at this trial. The witne
5 lis Albert Haegerle, who dropped in
. see DR.. Gebhardt little after 8 {
3 that fatal evening of Nov. /. Haeger
3 came over from New Ulm this mornin
8 and went on the stand this afternoo
. This witness chatted with DR.. &c
!. hardt for forty or fifty minutes tn;
5 evening. They sat for awhile in Il
. front office, and then DR.. Gebhar,
8 said: "Well, I've got to get to work.
q i5sa2y With %ha% hn- off bic ooof or