The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-20
MURDER 1T is.
cCootinued from Page One.)
RechteIheimer,s story.

BechteIheimer's Story.
Frank Bechtelheimer. a hackman,
who has his stable at No. 1918 North
Monroe street. was the employer OF
Van Horn The latter had been dr1V-
ing hack for Bechtelheimer for a
short time. Mr.. Bechtelheimer told
the officers that Van Horn was due
back at the barn at $3.50 O'CLOCK on
Wednesday morning and that he old
not show up with the hack until
O'Clock in the morning. He made no
expl: nation for keeping the hack out
so long beyond the time when ne
usually returned to the barn and was
relieved by Bechtelheimer who made
the hack runs during the day.
Van Horn was asked by Mr.. Schenck
and Mr.. Wilkerson where he had pass
ed this time when he ought TO nave
been back at the barn. and he INSISTED
that he had been waiting on the
trains at the Union Pacific station I'M
til 8 o'clock and that he drove from
there straight to the barn
The Suspect.
Wflborn Van Horn has been hack
man around the city for NUMBER OF
years. He is about S5 years ola,
rather massive of build with shock
of red hair and a red face He is
Familiarity known by his pals as
Irish" and his reputation is none 100
good. He is of a very quarrelsonile
influence of liquor, to which he is quite
a slave. He has been in the hands or
the police on many occasions IOr d
variety of petty crimes and sergeant
Ross saws that there have been sew
eral complaints against him OF ROB
bling persons who have ridden In ms
hack He is known as something OF
a fighter and it does not take mucn
to make him fight. He does not make
his home with his folks on East sixth,
but lives about at the barns where he
works from time to time.
The Victim.
of this
heinous crime, has been around Topeka
off and on for the past 20 years. He
is about 40 years old and his parents
live at Hope, Dickinson county. Kan.
He visited them frequently. Fifteen
years ago he ran a grocery store for
a short time at Potwin. OF late years
\-hen he has been in the city, and he
MS been here sometimes for many
months running and at other times for
only a few weeks, he has piled the
trade of a fruit vender. He generally
peddled bara nas and was considered
one of the best peddlers in this line OF
work in the city. He had been in To-
Peka for two weeks this last time and
had been working for Henry MCGOWAN.
a huckster, whose home is on Fillmore
street
Morkinson was a mild hammered fell
low. In fact his friends always spoke
of him as, and called him Rabbit"
because of his mild ways. Morkinson's
one failing, so his friends say, and he
has many friends, all of whom have
good word for him, was his fondness
for liquor. And at that he was not
what would be called a steady drink |
er. He would work hard for a spell |
without touching a drop and then would
break out in one of mis- periodic DRINKS.
He was on one of these when he met
lis death. He had been drinking heavi- !
" for the past ten days.
Mr.. McCt wan saw him last at about |
$50 o'clock on Tuesday evening. 1t |
was Morkinson's custom not to draw
his pay in regular fashion but to call |
on Mr.. MCGOWAN whenever he needed |
money and it was dealt out to him |
two. or three or five dollars at a time. |
On Tuesday night he asked Mr.. Nc |
Cowan for all the money that was CONT
ing TO him, saying that he intended to |
go away MCGOWAN turned over So as
spent so cents of this sum before he
got out of Mr.. McCowan's sight. So |
If robbery was the motive of the muir
der the sum secured was not large.
And there was seventy-ive cents in |
change in Morkinson's pockets when |
his body was found.
"Morkinson did not have an enemy
in the world" said Mr.. MCGOWAN to-
day. He was an even tempered fell
low and the best hearted chap you
ever knew. He would do anything for
a friend or stranger and give beggar
his last cent. He never carried a re-
'volver and I am just as CERTAIN as 1
possibly can be that he did not COM
init suicide. He was the victim of
foul play. He was a FESTIVE fellow |
and was always moving from one part |
of the country to the other although
he generally came back to Topeka, |
making it a sort of headquarters. He
was a good, Industrious worker and |
one of the best in his business when |
sober"
A Hand Car Was Stolen.
An incident that may have some
connection with the case is the fact
hot fIe foo Tv51
cifiic station was broken into on
Wednesday morning and a hand car
was taken from 1t. This hand car was
found later in the day in the ditch |
just this side of Granville. A theory |
has been advanced that this was used
to cart Morkinson's body to the place |
where it was found but not much |
stock is placed in this theory. A
peculiar thing about the theft of the
hand car Is that when it was taken |
from the tool house it did not have
the cogwheel attachment to manipu-
late in place. This cogwheel had been |
removed for repair and the hand car
must have been pushed to the place |
where it was found or dragged there |
by a freight train to which it was
hooked.
May Be BlOOdstains on Blanket.
In examining the hack which Van
Horn drove and on which he carried
Morkinson to North Topeka, Sergeant
Ross found an old lap robe inside it,
which bore splOtches of something on
1t. These may be blood stains. Ross !
turned this robe over to Sheriff Will
kerson, who will have an analysis
made of the possible blood stains.
1t is believed, however, that the bull
let wounds were not made in Mork-
inson's head until after his body has
been laid on the spot where it was
found
AS Van Horn was being taken to jail
this morning he told DeDutV Sheriff (