The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-17
Prosecutor in the Lamphert
Case Reads to Jury
Letters Written by Guinness
Woman to HelgeIien.
REFER TO LAMPHERE
As Not Being Exactly Right il
His Mind.
Photograph of Dead Man Iden'
titled by a Banker.

Laporte, Ind, Nov. 17.-Prosecutor
Smith played another trump card,
when, with A. K. Helgelein of Aber-
| deem, S. D., on the stand, he offered
in evidence and read to the jury cop
| les of three letters written by Mrs.
| Bell Guinness to the witness durin g
March and April this year, in which
| references to that crazy Lamphere"
are made. These letters portray the
methods employed by the archmur-
| deress in allaying the suspicious of
the relatives of persons she had muir
dered. Even with Andrew Helgelein
lying dismembered in her private
burying ground she was asking his
brother to come to Laporte to investi-
gate and to bring plenty of money
with him.
A. K. HelgeIein was the star witness.
He told of his anxiety over the disap-
pearance of his brother, and in reply
to his first letter of inquiry to Mrs.
Guinness, he received the following:
''Laporte, March 27, 1908.
| 'Mr. Axel K. Helgelein:
have your recent letter in which
you wish to know where your broth
er, Andrew. keeps himself Well, that
is just what 1 would like to know.
He came here about the middle of
January. When he left here he said
he wanted to find his brother He
York, or possibly had gone to Norway.
He wanted to spend some time with
us when he returned. When he was
in Chicago, he said he would be there
so short time that 1 need not write.
have neither seen nor heard from
him since then. 1 saw a man who said
he had gone back to South Dakota.
(Signed.) BELLA GUINNESS
This letter did not allay the Sus-
picions of Mr.. Helgelein, and so he
wrote again. receiving the following
reply:
"Laporte, Ind, April II, 1908.
'Mr. A. K. Helgelein:
your letter L have received some
days ago, but have not been able to
answer in regard to your brother An
drew. l have tried every way to find
some trace of him. The man who told
me he is in South Dakota is named
Lamphere. who worked for me awhile.
He said he had heard it from some
one he knew in Mansfield, and he
had also probably told them about
the $4,000. knew right away that
it was a lie. But this Lamphere be-
gan to find so many wrong things to
talk about until at last they took and
arrested him and they had three doc
tors to examine him and see if he was
right. They found him not quite
crazy enough to put in a hospital. But
perfectly sane he is not. Others have
told me that .Lamphere was jealous
of Andrew and for that reason trou-
Dled m this way. Ine reason Andrew
was looking for his brother, Lamphere
told, was that both of them left
Aberdeen the same day and that there
was some trouble with a man they
had found dead there. Andrew had
sent to him a lot of money when he
was here.
Some of this got for a mortgage
which he had made over to him and
lot of cash money. He had lot of
checks but as far as I know I think
they were all payable to himself and he
had other valuable papers. 1 knew he
had the mortgage he got from me and
a lot of others. He did not say any
thing to me in regard to the farm or
creatures, but 1 think it would be best
for you to sell the farm and creatures
as soon as you can and come here in
May. When Andrew comes up there
again, which he no doubt will sometime
be sure and do not tell him that told
you this. I must now do the best l
can here and we must hope that all Will
come out right. I think it is this half
crazed Lamphere who has started it
BELLA GUINNESS
Following third inquiry, came this
letter from the archmurderess
'LaPorte. Ind, April "a, 1908.
Mr.. A. K. Helgelein:-It is a Won
der to me as well as you as to where
Andrew keeps himself 1t is very
strange that the man should go away
with his belongings. However, l will
tell you all InaC L KNOW anu you Can
be sure that am telling you the truth.
1 can't remember the accurate date he
left LaPorte, but it was either the 10Th
or 18th of January. He went by way OF
Michigan City. Two or three days af
terward, I had a letter from him from
Chicago, saying that he had hunted
for his brother but did not find him.
If he could not find him he would go to
New York and find out if he had gone
to Norway. If such was the case, 1
think he would go to Norway too You
speak of sending me money with which
to discover what has become of Andrew.
If I thought this would be of any use,
1 could not go and do the inquiring,
so it would be useless for you to send
I can if you will take trip down here
to see what you can do in this case.
1 Will be glad to see you. (Signed)
BELLA GUINNESS"
The correspondence between A. K.
Helgelein and the First National bank
was also offered in evidence, Cashier
Pitner having identified a photograph
of Andrew Helgelein as the man who
came to the bank with Mrs. Guinness
early in January and drew $4,000.
Mrs. Guinness is supposed to have muir
dered Helgelein on January IA.
John Ross, a cousin of Lamphere,
testified that on the morning of the
2Sth, Lamphere came to his place,
about three and one-haf miles north
east of the Guinness farm, shortly be-
fore O'Clock to borrow a broadaxe.
He told him that he had seen the Gun
ness house burning. Ross, who knew
of the Gunness-Lamphere troubles,
told Lamphere he would probably be
pulled"
John Westbrook, for whom Lam
phere was working and with whom he
L. fvax he fro hot