The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-11

Special to The Journal.
Minot, N. D., Sept 1.-THE fore
going note, lying open upon a sealed
envelop, was found by Frank Dyer,
who is living on claim near
in this county. Frank, =
the name signed, was that of a farm
hand who had been in Mr.. Byer's en-
ploy for six weeks. He had said to
but, said he, it is little matter
about my name so long as I do your
work satisfactorily The man was
always called Frank, and no effort was
made to probe into his antecedent his
tory.
The letter found sealed is plain, I'M
mistakable confession Of the foul MUIR
der of beautiful young woman in
Mahoning county, Ohio. It reads as
follows:
Tells Of Girls Murder.
Aug. 26, 1905.-Dear Mr.. Dyer: In the
early seventies Charles Sterling, sup
posed tramp, was tried for the murder of
Lizzie Grombacker, a beautiful young
woman, residing near Youngstown in Ma
honing county, Ohio. He was convicted
on circumstantial evidence and was
hanged for the crime in the county jail at
Youngstown.
Charles Sterling was an innocent man.
I am guilty of the murder of that young
girl and I have paid the penalty in a
wretched haunted life for over thirty
years. Her face, distorted by the strang-
ling clutches of my then powerful hands,
made stronger by the power of brutal
beast passion, 1launts me as write these
lines, and for thirty years, nightly at my
bedside, until now am a physical and
mental wreck, who can only find relief
in death, which will soon be mine.
At the time murdered this girl T was
a young man of 20. A few weeks before
committing the crime removed with my
family from Lockport, N. Y, to sG1rard,
Ohio, where I believe my mother still
| lives, altho I have not heard from her
| for years. visited Youngstown one week
prior to the murder with the hope Of Sc
curing employment, and with other men,
| Sterling being in the crowd, went to
Boardman for work two days before the
woman was killed.
Involves Another Man.
l. was standing in secreted place along
| the roadside when the girl came along
unaccompanied. The devil must have
| taken possession of me. grabbed her by
| the arm and pulled her into cluster OF
| bushes She refused to yield to my; de-
|
strangled her to death while accom-
| plished my hellish purpose. left the
| body where it had died and where it was
later found.
Sterling passed the scene Of the murder
in search of me while I was committing
1.-THE awful crime. found him later and
persuaded him to change shirts with me
| by offering him % cents In money te
'boot" He was broke and accepted the
/ IL ,&ri Tvs h
| shirt of that innocent girl and they
! proved one of the strong circumstances
| in the chain of evidence against Sterling
was not seen in the vicinity of the Spot
| where the murder was committed. Ster'
ling was, and his arrest followed shortly
1 after the crime was discovered. l lied
fearing detection. Knowing him to be In.
] nocent I did not believe they could con
! Wet. I went to Wesoppotamie, a small
4 town in northern Trumbull county, no
/ far removed from youngstown, and Sc
/ cured work on a farm.
Crazed by the realization Of an limo
4 cent mans fate, fed the country on thu
i night before the execution OF Sterling
4 and have been a wanderer on the face
A the earth ever since. I watched the pa
q pers and read the full account of the exc
4 cution. Sterling was brave fellow
When his mother, who resided in Canada
came to visit him after he was condemned
to death, he denied that he was her sol
81 and convinced her at last that she wa
!: mistaken.
Why He Denied His Mother.
! He left note for his attorney, w.
Anderson, as he passed to the scaffold t
pay the penalty for a crime of which
I was guiltless. The note was sealed an
Mr.. Anderson was instructed not to brea
the seal until after he had learned OF tn
death of the aged woman who had Gale
!: at the Jail and insisted that she was tn
!! mother of the condemned man. When tn
) seal was broken twelve years later an
3 after the death Of the old lady, 1t wa
:: found that Sterling had denied his oW
mother at the time Of his greatest trls
I so that she might never feel the dis
5 grace and go to her grave believing tina
): her son had died convicted murderer
5 To me that was piece of heroism un
|: euualed in the annals of the world.
I | found this chapter In tragedy which
S alone was responsible for in an old Hal
!: per's Magazine a few weeks ago.
$ brooded anew over the murder of the CIR
) and as I read of this heroism of man
!. too brave and true to take life-l realize
:: that I had murdered two-for the bloc
3 Of Charles Sterling is on my hands and
5: have decided to end my terrible life.
s NV real name Is Charles Herzig. wi
): endeavor to die in some place where N
$ body will never be found. but it 1T shoul
s be, notify my mother. make this cor
:: fession that the grave of Charles Ste
5 ling may no longer be looked upon as thu
s; of murderer's. Charles Herzig.
!. Body Not Found.
!. Mr.. Dyer, upon reading the not
!. called to his assistance several mt
!. working on adjoining claims, and
: 4hnrn search of the entire section W.