The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-10

| entire intimacy for the past two years,
and how he had tried to break away
from it.
'I advised him to see the girl that
| night and tell her that their relations
| must cease at once; that he had told me
| all the story; that was going to keep
| a revolver handy, and that would pro-
bably shoot. her if she came prowling
about the house any more. And so
| when 1 heard of the awful tragedy in
| Miss Sapp's yard 1 did not need the
confession of my husband to tell me
why it happened. I only lacked know
ledge of the details of their last inter-
view to give me all the information I
| needed. That information my husband
supplied to me the next day. Those
locks of womans hair had unlocked
the secret my husband had kept for
more than two years"
Mrs. Whitlow did not agree with all
the story her husband told, but the
variation from his testimony was mere
ly the small disagreements that might
have been expected from two people
who saw the same affair.
Young Whitlow TeStifies.
The 13-year-old son of Mr.. and Mrs.
Whitlow. Hollidge Whitlow, and Mr.
and Mrs. Sapp were also on the witness
stand yesterday afternoon. The boys
story corroborated that his father told
yesterday with respect to seeing wo-
man at their bedroom window. The boy
was brought from the Moran school by
his uncle, Alonzo Whitlow, to the in
quest. He said he had seen a strange
woman about their home six months
ago. She came out of the yard on TO
the walk in front as he with other
members of the family were coming
home from church.
did you ever see anything wrong
about the house. Mr.. Peterson asked.
"Only once" he said 1--WE found
rr~ on the table. The doors were all
locked, too, and we wondered how 1t,
got there. The second time 1 saw
woman. She was standing by our bed
room window with her head on her arm
one night. 1 saw her and told papa.
He SAID to come on and we would go
out and see who it was. We went out
1t was a girl and she ran around the
house east. Papa didn't see her. At
terwhile heard her again on the WIN
cow screen. 1 awoke him again ana
he went out. He said he didn't see any
one.''
The stories of Mr.. and Mrs. Whitlow
which tell of a conversation of some
length between Whitlow and Miss Sapp
the night OF the tragedy seem at varl-
ance in the length of time which MISS
Sapp was missing from the house be-
fore her death screams were heard
with those of Mrs. L. B. kinne and
Mrs. Sapp. Mrs. Kinne said in the morn
ing that it was scarcely five minutes
after she left the Sapp residence that
Friday night before she heard the
mothers screams on finding her dead
girl. Mrs. Sapp testified in the afternoon
that the girl left the house and barely
had time to reach the place where she
was found when she heard her
screams.
Mrs. Sapp was composed when she
took the witness stand, but tears came
to her eyes and her voice broke when
she narrated her story of the happen
ings the night of her daughters death.
Il was still at the table and May was
at the window when Mr.. Sapp left the
house, she said. "A few seconds later
May went into the kitchen and out the
back door. In a minute or two heard
her scream. 1t sounded as II she said
Mother but May has always called me
Ma ran out and stumbled over her
body lying on the ground. 1 put my
hands on her head and asked her if she
had tainted. / passed my hand over her
hair to her face and my hands touched
warm blood. They were covered with
it. 1 started to lift her up; couldn't.
screamed and a man came in little
while.''
Mrs. Sapp was asked about Mays
razor She said she had owned only one
which her father had given her couple
of years ago, for corn razor. This
razor she said was found after the
tragedy in Mays room. She was shown
the razor found in the yard and de-
clared her daughter had never owned 1t. |
She said she had never heard her
daughter mention Whitlow's name, but |
that he did come to the house occasion |
ally to deliver express packages, but |
never stopped to talk, leaving them on |
the porch and ringing the bell. /
Couldn't Have Met him.
I'm certain my daughter never met
anyone at the fence regularly and
would have seen her. think 1 would
have heard her if she left the house
at night, for I'm a light sleeper. l
know she didn't, and she couldn't
have climbed up over that back porch.
TIL,
porch upstairs has been stuffed with
paper about the edges all summer.
May put it there to keep the flies out.
1t has not been opened.
MAY was always happy about the
house. She was a plain spoken girl,
but she was never despondent. She
was as pleasant as could be the night
she was killed. Mrs. Kinne can tell
you that. didn't hear any signals that
night or any other night. She never
had any correspondence with any man
friend"
did May have a bloody waist or
clothes on the Wednesday morning
before the tragedy" she was asked.
1t was on the night previous that
Whitlow said her waist had been COW
ered with blood from the wound in
mis- hand, which the girl had inflicted
with razor; never saw any
bloody clothes,'' was the reply.
did she do any washing that day?"
mo, sir. We never washed except
IN Mondays. All of Mays clothes are
low hanging in the closet just as they
always have been"
HAS she lace scarf?"
"Yes"
"Was there any blood on it?"
mo, sir. 1t has been hanging in its
place. I saw it this morn
ng."
Corroborated by MFR. Sapp.
Mr. Sapp said yesterday afternoon on
he witness stand that it would have
,een impossible for May to leave the
house late at night without his know
ng 1t.