The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1906-09-27
MURDER TRIAL BEGINS.
Jury Selected at 10 O'clock Tuesday
and Trial is in Progress.
from Tuesdav's Da;Iy I

ed more than two days to make up
the panel. Careful scrutiny was made
of every one of the hundred names
from which the jury was drawn The
panel was completed when court
opened this morning, but several jur-
ors that had been accepted and pass
ed Wednesday were this morning ex-
cused. The jury is as follows
| Samuel Beldon, Alonzo Stephenson
and Peter Helm of Center township.
Warren 0. McFarlin, Daniel Nor
lock, William F. Hamlet, Daniel
Couts, and James M. Stuck of West,
William B. Stull. Sylvester Unger,
of Polk, Jacob Richard of Green and
| Edward Hawk of Union township.
The crime for which Fred Retting-
er is on trial for his life is one of
the darkest tragedies in the criminal
records of Marshall county. In the
afternoon of May IL last William
Bates, 65 years old was shot down
in cold blood on the streets of Bour-
bon, and his son, Frank Bates, 80
years old was seriously wounded by
Fred Rettinger. A fued had for some
TIME existed between Rettinger and
the Bates families, whose farms ad-
join, two miles from Bourbon, and
Rettinger alleged that the Bateses
had poisoned his hogs, and there
were other differences that added to
the bad blood. Acting upon this
supposition Rettinger went to Bour-
bon on Saturday and procured two
revolvers and awaited the appearance
of Bates and his son. He saw the
elder Bates in the door of Spencer's
restaurant, and, without a word of
warning, approached within a few
feet of his victim, whipped out re-
volver, took deliberate aim and fired
at his heart. Bates, with a groan,
fell ten feet backward, MORALLY
wounded. Rettinger then sought
Frank Bates, who was standing sew
eral rods away, ard fired at him.
Bates took refuge in a restaurant
and Rettinger followed, firing two
more shots, Bates falling to the floor,
| a bullet having pierced his arm
Thinking his victim was dead, Rettin
| ger attempted to escape, but was
rounded up two miles distant and
placed under arrest.
| Meanwhile a telephone call was
sent to Sheriff Steiner, who imme-
diately drove through to Bourbon
Another message was sent to Ply
mouth stating that the people were
| gathering for the purpose of lynch
| ing Rettinger and that it would be
impossible to bring the prisoner here
by train.
| When Sheriff Steiner at dark ar
rived at Bourbon he saw the streets
lined with people IN waiting. He
drove around the outskirts of town
to where the prisoner was held by
deputies. Giving out to the crowd
that he would be at the. train in 90
minutes with the prisoner, some 500
people in a fever heat of excitement
ran to the station, the number. swell
ing with each moment and awaiting
only the sight of Rettinger to arouse
the mob to instant action Sheriff
L
ment, shouted ~ his prisoner to run
to the buggy. nett'rsrr, in deadly
fear for his life, attempted 10 run, but
being manacled hands and feet. fell
to the ground, and Steiner, shoulder
ing his man, ran to the buggy and
dumping him in the bottom, made q
wild drive across the country while
the mob was waiting at the train 1t
was after dark when the sheriff with
his prisoner arrived at the Marshall
county jail, and Rettinger, defiant
and sullen, went to a cell without a
word, and has not manifested much
apparent interest in his fate from
that time to the present.
| Prosecuting Attorney Hayes of
that ]. bnied deoa ma dayotdxooJP
Bremen, made the opening address
to the jury outlining briefly and con-
cisely what the state expected to
prove. Mr.. Hayes has way of put
ting things before jury in very few
words: that leaves what he says in the
minds of his hearers.
The attorneys for Rettinger did
not develop their line of defense, but
it is known that they will attempt
to prove insanity and will present
all the evidence possible to palliatc
the crime
The prisoner, neatly attired and
toilet carefully made, sat between his
two attorneys, Messrs. Parker and
Stevens. His long confinement has
bleached his skin. Rettinger is a
good-looking, intelligent man, about
S feet s inches in height and weighs
about 145 pounds. He has large dark
eyes, high forehead and sober,
but not serious expression on his
face. He sits intent with his lawyers
and takes observances of all that his
lawyers do, but notices no one else
and does not glance about the room.
The first witness was John Stafford
aged 80, mail agent at Bourbon
Saw VIM. Bates come out of meat
shop on Main street in Bourbon;
time about in the afternoon, saw
Rettinger on the street; saw him APP
proach to within two or three. feet,
OF Bates and shoot him with a revolt
yer. Bates fell backward into the
gutter dead. Saw Rettinger fire three
shots, two OF three seconds apart;
saw Rettinger have revolver in his
hand when he fired each of the. three
shots; saw Bates fall in the gutter
4 4