Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-06-11
HELPED MRS!GUNNESS
AT LEAST THIswAs THE CONFEs.
SION OF TEXAS JAIL BIRD.
But When Sheriff Shutter Mas
Ready to Garry Him to Indiana,
Hc Changed Statement.

| After signing and swearing to 9
confession that, if true. would solve
many of the mysteries of the Gun.
ness murder farm at La Porte. Ind. =.
and would hang both himself and
Ray Lamphere, the suspect now nm.
oer indictment, julius G.. Truelson
Jr. or New York city, broke down as
Sncrin Smutzer was about to take
ht"' from Vernon, Texas, where he
Is confined in Jail. to Indiana and
has retracted all he said. Truelson
Is Ia prison in Texas on a charge OF
swindling and forgery, having i.-
presented himself as Jonathan 9.
rhew, of Pittsburg, a cousin of Harry
X. Thaw. and passing forged checks
and drafts amounting to thousands
OF dollars under this name.
Truelson, who says he is but 22
years or age, bears the marks of
long dissipation, and he admits that
drugs have placed him in his position
According to his confession he has
two wives, and this was later corro-
borated. He told the prison authori-
ties in Vernon that his first wife.
whom he married in Saratoga
Springs, n. Y, in 1904, was put out
of the way at the Guinness farm, and
as the woman has been missing for
some time, it lent color to his story.
His second wife, with whom he elop-
ed from New York city in March. of
this year, he also intended doing
away with at the Guinness murder
patch. according to his statement
but was prevented by Mrs. Guinness
writing him that the authorities were
getting too warm on her trail.
Truelson's confession. complete in
everything. and filled with details a
great many of which had never made
their appearance in the newspaper
accounts, was forwarded to Sheriff
Smutzer at La Porte, and that Off
cial went to Texas to have a confer
ence with the prisoner. When he
arrived there he found Truelson in
prison, and as he did not have access
to newspapers, how he possessed
himself of all the details, unless he
was an actual conspirator, was
mystery. The Indiana sheriff finally
decided that the forgers story was
true and prepared to return with him
to Indiana, but when the time for
leaving came, Truelson broke down
and declared that the whole was
fabrication.
Sheriff Smutzer Immediately be-
gan another investigation. that of
looking into the alibi Truelson pre-
sented, and after a few days he be-
came convinced that the prisoners
confession was the mere work OF his
brain, and left for home without him
In his written confession Truel-
son stated that he first ran across
Mrs. Guinness through her matrimon-
ial advertisement. He paid the
widow a visit, but was too tough a
customer for her to do away with
and when she asked him to join her.
he consented. Together with Lamp
here, Truelson declared that they
had not only gotten victims for the
marrying widow, but had buried
them after she Dut them out of
the way. and in some instances help
ed her in her bloody work of death.
Truelson further declared that he
and Lamphere. convinced that Mrs.
Guinness was plotting to do away with
them. tossed a coin to see which
should murder the widows entire
family and set fire to the house, and
that the lot fell to Lamphere.