The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1908-01-03
Witness:
j. II. ANDERSON
J. G. FIELDING
GEORGE ROADHOUSE

To the above he added a further
statement that he made the confession
of his own free will and just to tell the
truth aud that he was alone in the trans
action, nobody being with him.
The father of the boy is one of the
oldest pioneers of this county and one
of the founders Of the town of Neche,
going there from this city. There is a
a very Large family of children, their be-
ing thirteen in all. Except for this
one black sheep the family is highly re-
spectacle and greatly esteemed by a
very large circle of friends. Mr.. O'Brien
built the large hotel bearing his name in
that town and ran it for many years as
its landlord and is we'll known all over
the state by travelling people. He is
customs officer at Neche. Personally,
Mr.. O'Brien is one the most genial and
good-hearted of men, and there is not a
person who knows him but deeply SYM
patizes with him and the strickened
family in this their hour of bitterness.
Perhaps the most pathetic incident in
this tragedy was the visit of Mr.. Fred
LeClaire the father of the dead boy to
Mr.. O'Brien the father of the accused
boy. to offer his sympathy-for the bur-
den of the latter is far the greatest.
The victim, young LeClaire, is said to
have been about 21 years of age and the
report that he was "a came from the
fact that he had misrepresented his age
in order to get on as fireman on the GIN.
railway. He was boy we'll liked by all
who knew him. He was steady and
sober, and probably drank more beer the
day of his death than usual owing to
the holiday season and that he was out
for good time while visiting old friends
at home, but the testimony is that neith-
er of the boys was visibly intoxicated.
He was known to have about 500 on
his person on the day of the murder and
only about $3.50 in change was in his
pocket when found, and the pocketbook
in which he carried his money was also
missing. Search is being made for the
money as we write at Neche as O'Bricn
claims that he threw it in the river. The
watch of the dead man, railway watch
ION time," was speaking witness as to
the time of the tragedy; it stopped at
1l:19, while O'Brien claimed to have ar
rived at home just after IL o'clock. The
watch had been recently wound,before it
stopped and when started ran along all
right and when placed in water ran
seven minutes and again stopped. If
no other evidence had been found it
would have been hard for the defence to
explain, if the ase had come to trial.
It is stated that man and lady COM
panions drove by about this time, on the
road that passes the dam where the
body was thrown into the water, and the
horses were very much frightened; the
driver looking in the darkness to dis
cover the cause, is certain that he saw a
human head appear above the bank and
then disappear. If this true, it might
account for the fact the murderer ap-
parently left in SO great haste and let
the cap of the murdered man and the
hatchet lie in plain view on the ice, and
made, rush for his home.
Monday afternoon, deputy sheriff's 8,
Ardies and Strachan took O'Brien back
to Neche for further examination.
& While at Neche on Tuesday O'Brien
yielded at last to the entreaties of his
father and the persuasions of the offlci-
ais and showed where he had hid
den the money, which was on the plate
Of the barn between the rafters and COW
cred there by some unravelled rope in
front Of it. This of course is directly
contrary to the statement made by him
in his written confession as to the dis
posal Of the money. There was about
so. The pocket-book according to
O'Brien's story was burned by him.
While at Neche O'Brien was again
brought before the cofoner's jury and
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