Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-09
FRIEND OF LAMPHERE HELD IN
CUSTODY UNTIL SHE RELATES
CONVERSATION WITH MAN
HELD FOR COMPLETELY.
FOUR MORE BODIES
HAVE BEEN FOUND
TOTAL LIST OF VICTIMS OF La
PORTE MURDERESS NOW GIVEN
AT THlRTEEN-RAN CLEARING
HOUSE FOR AssAsslNs.

Laporte, Ind, May bessie
Conklin, young woman residing
in Michigan City, Ind, whose
former home was in Laporte, has
been arrested by Sheriff Shutter
and is being held as an important
witness in the Guinness farm
tragedy.
The woman was friend of Ray
Lamphere, who is accused of COM
plicity in the murders at the Gun
ness home. She is not accused of
of completely, but her testimony
is considered as of great import
ance. She will remain locked up
until the grand jury hears her
testimony next week. 1t is said
Lamphere while talking to Miss
Conklin made threats against Mrs.
Guinness and said he had informa-
tion which if disclosed would
hang Mrs. Guinness.
Because Of the heavy rain the
digging for more bodies on the
Guinness farm was abandoned to-
day. The work will be resumed
tomorrow.
Laporte, Ind, May 7. - Four more
bodies were dug UP from shallow
graves at the Guinness farm house up
to last night. This makes a total OF
thirteen SO far discovered at this
place of wholesale tragedy.
The bodies were unearthed in the
yard and garden. Four taken
from the ruins of the burned dwelling
it is established with reasonable Ger,
tainty, are the bodies of Mrs. Gun,
ness and her three children.
The nine bodies exhumed are be-
lieved to have been the murdered vic.
tins Of Mrs. Guinness or her partners
in crime The days developments
pointed to the conclusion that Mrs
Guinness ran a murder fence or clear.
ing house for band of Chicago
criminals organized into murder
trust.
Trunks From Chicago.
This belief is supported by evil
dence that many heavy trunks, some
iron bound and others tightly corded
were shipped to Mrs. Guinness from
Chicago Nine of these mysterious
trunks reached her farmhouse in 1906
LII lclDly ShS bdu IllSll1 S1l ICu "
her home by night.
Mayor Lemuel Darrow of Laporte
declared he had received secret evil
dence that Mrs. Guinness in disposing
of bodies was acting as agent of a
Chicago matrimonial bureau. Mrs
Guinness is known to have advertised
constantly in papers at distance for
a wealthy husband.
The list Of bodies recovered now is
as follows:
HELGBLE1N, ANDREW, Aberdeen, S.
D., bachelor, 40 years old; came to
Laporte to WOO Mrs. Guinness and
loaned her $1,000; found Tuesday.
OLSON, JENNIE, 1S, adopted daughter
of Mrs. Guinness; identified by father
and sister; disappeared in Septem-
Der, 1906; body dug up Tuesday
BUDSBERG, OLE O., lola. Wis,
known to be one Of Mrs. Guinness
victims; she secured $1,000 from him
in March, 1907, when he courted
her: one of two male bodies now
held by coroner.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN; believed to be
sutton of Jennie Olson, who disap-
peared in December, 1907; found
Tuesday.
FIVE UNIDENTIFIED SKELETONS:
impossible to tell whether they are
men or women; two found Tuesday
and three yesterday.
Young Girls Were Murdered.-
Coroner Mack in his verdict in the
Guinness case will find that three chill.
dren whose bodies were found in the
ruins of the Guinness home were
murdered. That they were struck in
the forehead with a hammer or other
instrument prior to their burning. A
further investigation shows that each
child had a hole in its forehead.
Now Believe Woman Dead.
The theory that Mrs. Guinness is
alive and has fled to Norway, her
native country, is not generally &c,
cepted. 1t was based on the fact that
the corpse of the woman found in the
ruins was headless. 1t is now believed
the head was burned off. Mrs. Guinness
it is pointed out, could have had nc
compelling motive to kill her children
and burn her home. 1t is thought or
the other hand she would have sold
her farm before fleeing. When hel
home burned there was no suspicion
that she was murderess or her home
a house of horrors.