Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-18
GIRL ON VERGE OF COLLAPSE
Emma Ripkis, Held fer Murder of 0OnsOrt
in Pitiful flight
CHIEF SAYS IF GUILTY SHE WILL TELL II
He is Uncertain whether Potts was
killed by Self This
Girl of Seventeen
Years.

Years.
Wednesday afternoon Chief of Police
Donahue went to Council Bluffs relative
to the recent death Of Frank *. Potts
under rather peculiar circumstances. Upon
his return the chief was unable to say
whether it was a case of suicide or muir
der He viewed the body of the man and
also had lengthy interview with Emma
Ripke, who is held on the charge of muir
der at the Jail. Chief Donahue said:
Miss Ripke told me her version of the
affair\and / am not prepared to express
an opinion as to whether Potts was muir
dered or not. Miss Ripke told a very
rambling story and is on the verge of
nervous breakdown. She is in very
delicate health, and l am convinced that
IL she did, in fact, murder young Potts
she will surely confess within the next
few days
She said she was sleeping with Potts
in their room where they had been living
together and that the noise OF a revolver
shot awakened her. She then asked Potts
what was the matter and received no an
swer. after which she left the room and
, Immediately notified the landlord, who
called the physician. II is very plausible
story and may be true She denies abso-
lutely ever having touched the revolver
and said she would not know how to
use it,
Once Attempted suicide.
II have known Potts for the last three
| years and he comes of "a very well-to-do
! family i'm Philadelphia He came to
| Omaha at the time of the Union Pacific
strike in 1902 and was given employment
| for a short time, but the work proved
| too heavy for him and he resigned, and,
because of his inability to secure employ
/ ment, attempted to commit suicide He
| bought a revolver and went to a room in
| the Karbach hotel and tried to kill him
| self. but the revolver refused to work.
! The same evening he spent his last few
cents to obtain laudanum, went TO the
Merchants hotel and took the dose, which
! proved to be an excessive quantity and
/ only caused him to become very ILL., Tho
next morning he came to my office and
| told me of his attempts al ending his life
| and said he had suffered 100 deaths the
night before, but l persuaded him to give
up his thoughts of suicide and seek other
employment | also gave him 81 with
which to buy food, and the next day
gave him 81 more. few days after
wards he came to my Office and told me
he had obtained employment with the
! western OnlOn leleBTdpH toHiphlS'
Potts Conhded In chief.
Potts evidently considered Chief Dona-
hue as his benefactor and he went frc-
quently to his Office and talked over his
affairs with the chief. Later Potts OBJ
tained employment with the Burlington
in the auditing department. Chief Dona-
hue had not seen him for several months,
bat has taken a deep .iatersst TN the
| case. ~. .
1t appears that Potts and Miss Ripke
met on train coming to Omaha, where
| the girl was coming to be married TO
| another man. but instead went with Potts.
and they have been living together prac-
J tically ever since. The last time Chief
I Donahue saw them was when they came
! together to his Office and told MIN they
were going to be married the next day.
but evidently failed to carry out their
| agreement.
Miss Ripke has sent word of her predi-
cament to an uncle living at Spokane
Wash. as her father and mother have
separated. Her family lived for many
years in Hanover. Kan. and it is believed
her father also is living in Spokane. Chief
Donahue said contrary to the general be-
lief, Miss Ripke is not yet II years of
age although she is an unusually large
woman for that age.
Verdict of the Jury.
That the deceased, Frank Potts, came 10
his death from gunsnoI wound ured
trom twenty-two-canber reNoNer. we
are unable to determine Dy wnum the shot
vas ired, but we recommend I.Iat r.nina
Ripkie be held to await the investigation
OF tnS grand jury.
Such was the verdict of the coroner 5
jury at the inquest held Wednesday morn
ing in Council Bluffs 10 inquire into the
Frank X Potts. The jury consisted OF
Frank ]. CapeI, foreman; Lee Albert and
Theodore Guitar.
No new evidence was adduced at the in
quest other than that which has been
given in the columns or The Bee. Emma
RiplIie, whom the jury recommended be
held for the action of the grand jury, was
not placed on the witness stand. This ac-
tion was taken on the advice of her law
yers and County Attorney Hess did not
press the matter and insist that she tes-
tcy.
The witnesses who w re examined were
DR. Smith Bellinger, Mr. and Mrs Joeh-
rendt. with whom Potts and Emma Ripke
roomed; Sheriff Bowman, Deputy Sheriff
r Woolman. Undertaken Cutler, who was the
first person to suspect tnat all was not
right regarding the death of Potts; Detec-
d
, of the dead man, who lives in Omaha.
O'Hara, who had been a roommate OF
, the dead man at 24l0 Cass street, Omaha,
and had worked with him in the Burling-
> ton headquarters, testified that in his
opinion there was no love lost between
Potts and the woman he living with
and that in fact Potts displayed feeling
of aversion to the woman when speaking
OF her. When Potts revolver was found
D IL was noticed that one chamber was
empty. while another contained the shell
of a discharged cartridge, The witness
accounted for the empty chamber by say
l ing that Potts some time ago fired at a
cat
l Fred Joehrendt, husband of the woman
! who rents the rooms at 5l4 West Broad
! way. testified to the position Of thc
= dead man when he entered the room after
= Emma Ripkie had called at their room and
e told them her husband was very H. Hs
: said the mans right arm was outside the
2 bed cover, which was pulled up to within
e a few inches Of his chin. The position OF
a the cover was brought out I'm examination