The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-08-04

RESUME Of DR.. KOCH s CASE

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hands and still reached his home in time
to have been seen by Paul Hippauf
when the latter says that he saw him.
There was blood on the creamery, door
located as though some one had tried
to open it softly, for it stuck and slip
in But we don't know anything about
what the defendant did that night eX
Koch family itself The rabbit story is
an absurd one, as is also the one about
his reading an hour after the family had
gone to bed He had time then to do
| lot Of destroying and cleaning. The
| pepper ana salt suit that he wore the
night of the homicide was not exhibited
to the eyes of the people of New Ulm
until the following Friday afternoon
if the witnesses for the state can be be-
lieved.
On Nov. 18th a coat was shipped to
Henry n Somsen at New Ulm, from
the Plymouth Clothing House in Min
neapols. The defendant says that about
three weeks after the murder he lost his.
Mr.. Somsen, when asked whether he had
bought or had one shipped in last fall,
had denied it until confronted with the
card bearing the evidence then admitted
it. He claimed that his cravennette
overcoat was gray, but the witnesses
all said that DIR. Koch wore a dark one.
Here Gen. Childs held up Mr.. Somsen's
coat, which was in evidence, and it APP
peared to be almost black. DIR. Koch,
continued the speaker, would not make
the stupendous mistake of not having
an Ovcrcoat.
The defendant had said that he had
gone home along Center street and had
net no one. Mrs. Berndt heard per-
son running so fast and the ducks and
dogs making such a disturbance that
the circumstance was extraordinary and
frightened her. Mrs. Dahms heard a
| ptIHoH running anu tie uOSS ooi N
iiercely. The murderer was ahead of
the Kuester and Reinecke boys, who saw
no light in Mrs. Dahms' house.
The man who ran towards E. G..
! Kochs premises that night was no
stranger to the route. He'went between
the narrow posts instead of the wide
| ones, because he knew that wires were
stretched between the latter
! A recess was taken until 8 a. m. to-
| day.
| Gen. Childs resumed his argument
this morning. Referring to the fact
that Mrs Berndt heard and saw the
! form of man rushing by her home on
the evening of the murder, he called at
tention to the fact that she heard the
dogs bark at Mrs. Dahm's house imme
diately afterwards. The Kuester and
Reinecke boys had walked and had stood
on her corner five minutes, so it was
not at them that had caused the dis
tnrbance that had frightened her.
DR.. Wood saw the hammer hanging
between two nails on the wall of DIR.
! Koch's Office, and also at another time
| lying on the table
The fact that the handle of the ham
mer was wiped off with the handker-
chief, when found after the murder,
shows that the assassin intended to
carry it away with him. This disposes
of any argument that MAY be made
| that it was DR.. Gebhards hammer. If
| the murderer had thimble full of
! brains he would not do so idiotic a
thing as to carry DR.. Gebhard's hammer
away with him, to bear witness against
| him ii found No, both the hammer and
! the handkerchief were taken by the
same person and had the same owner
ship.
The defendants handkerchefs were
given by Miss Ida Koch to Attorney
Abbott. of the defense, and he kept
| them until the hrSt trlal. Cnlef hlauSe,
who saw them at the Koch home be-
fore this was done, testified that he
saw twenty. but here are but sixteen.
Suppose that some of them were like
the bloody one, do you suppose that the
counsel would have delivered them over
in evidence, when a mans life or per-
sonal liberty was at stake?
II may be argued that somebody
wanted TO cast suspicion upon the de
| PENDANT. That person must have
known that the hammer belonged to the
| defendant. as well as the handkerchief,
| and secured them, and must also
! have known that he received a pen
ell an hour before the murder. Yet no.
body knew that fact except those at the
card game at Hoidale & Somsen's office.
! The person who committed the muir
der was skilled in anatomy, to know
| where to sever the carotid artery and