The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-11
Jury Finds That Miss Sapp Did
Not Kill Herself.
Died From Wounds Inflicted by
Persons Unknown.
WHITLOW ARRESTED.
lola Man Is Charged With Muir.
der i'm First Degree.
Showed No Surprise and Still
Declares His Innocence.

| Declares His Innocence.
lola. Kan, Oct 1.-THE coroner's jury
which has been investigating the death
of May Sapp, has returned a verdict
! that Miss Sapp died from wounds in
the neck caused by sharp instrument
, in the hands of a person or persons 9th
er than Miss Sapp." So determined was
| the jury to make plain their disbelief
| in the theory of suicide in connection
with the case. that when they mad
vertently worded their verdict to read
| that Miss Sapp's death was caused by
! "A person or persons unknown to Miss
Sapp, they promptly changed 1T to "A
person or persons other than MISS
Sapp.''
Samuel f Whitlow was formally
placed under arrest here this morning
! on a warrant sworn to by ]. n. Sapp
! of Moran, charging him with the muir
der of the Iatter's daughter, May Sapp,
whose dead body was found in Moran
On the night of September %. Whitlow
is charged with murder in the first de-
gree.
Whitlow declined to make any state
nent following the serving of the war
rant and he was Immediately placed in
the county Jail.
Carl j. Peterson, the prosecuting at
torney, said this morning that WhitlOw
probably would be given a preliminary
hearing next week
| Whitlow exhibited no surprise when
told last night that he would be charg-
ed with the murder and this morning
when the warrant was served he re-
iterated that he was innocent. Whltiow
said he owed it to his Wife and family
to tell the truth about the affair and
declared that he would stand on his
first story that the girl had committed
suicide because he refused to elope with
her.
The coroner's jury examined many
witnesses Thursday, twice heard
fwica heard
tell her story, and then found simply
that Catherine May Sapp came to her
death at the hands of a person or per-
sons other than herself. 1t did not
mention Whitlow, yet it spent an en-
tire day trying to make him contradict
the story he has told with such stead
faStnesS ever since he confessed that
he was present when the girl met her
death. The grueling of the officers
and of the jury have failed to shake
that story. or make him Swerves one
hairs breadth from it.
Whitlow confessed that he saw Miss
Sapp die in the yard that dark Friday
night. The nature and extent of her
wounds and the fact that several
physicians have given it as their pro-
fessional opinions that such wounds
Her father says she could not have
done the things which Whitlow has
described SO minutely.
Mrs. Whitlow went more fully into
the details of her part in the affair
before the jury. In her former testi-
mony she was so exhausted and nerv-
Gus that the jurors did not press her
rigidly, but Thursday they subjected
her to a hard cross-examination. She
stood it WELL and cOolly answered all
the questions that were put to her.
She showed more plainly the struggle
through which she has passed and
several times went on with her evil |
dence with difficulty. She said that on
he ri 2ffarnnOn
band came home from town she asked |
him how his hand came to be cut. He
told her the story of the scythe in the !
barn.
"sPapa, you did not get that cut
from the scythe,' I told him. she tes- |
tilted. "sI have been out to the barn |
and it is hung too high to make that
cut
At first whitlow asserted that she !
was mistaken, but when she pressed !
MIN to tell her the trouble in which she !
felt he was involved, she says he told I
of his relations with Miss Sapp.
what did you say to hfm?'' she was |
asked.
Hesitatingly she responded:
'I then only wanted to know two |
things. I asked him if May Sapp was
in trouble. He declared that she was |
not. so far as he knew. I asked him If |
he was now or had been during the |
time he taught school when the old |
scandal was sprung. Intimate with her.
and never had beer intimate with her."
Did you believe him?' the county at I
torney asked.
It hoped he was telling me the TRUTH
she said
DO YOU believe now that ne was tell !
ing you the TRUTH" a juror questioned. /
Il believe it stronger than l did thai /
afternoon she responded.
The fact that she went to the barn
to examine the scythe the Wednesday
morning before the tragedy showed that !
she was beginning to suspect her hus-
band From that time until Friday
night, when Whitlow went to the Sapp
hcne for the last time, she continued to
ask him questions, and he evaded her
until Friday when he broke down and
told her everything.
Every effort to surprise her into ad-
mission was without avail. Asked il
she was at home the night of the trag-
edy. she answered that she was all
evening. a juror asked her if she did
not follow her husband to this last in
teryiew with Miss Sapp and view the
fra gedy from the gallery. She declared
that she did not When told that her
oldest son had said that she was away
from home for time that evening, she
he had said this, but that il he did he
told an untruth
What John Haner Saw.
John Haner. who lives in the first
house north of the Sapp home. testified
during Thursday afternoon that he saw /
4 man twice about the Sapp home at
night The last time within week
of the tragedy, the man came south
fiown the alley and stepped into Haner's
barn.
..ZYnen did you see him the other
tinoe2., Coroner d. W. Reid asked
NV wife and i saw him in our barn."
he replied IT didn't say anything to
him.
ssDidn't you ask him what he was do
l
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