Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1909-03-26
b ACkMAIL IS CHARGED
WHITLA KIDNAPERS INDICTED BY
CLEVELAND GRAND JURY.
Pennsylvania Prosecutor Also Files Com
plant, Which Makes Penalty
Life Imprisonment.

Helen Boyle, alias Faulkner charging
them with blackmail. The charge is
based on TIE payment of $4,000 ransom
! by j. Z. Whitla for the recovery of his
son Billy" here last Monday
The finding of an Indictment against
Boyle and his wife is only formal
precaution. They will not be placed on
trial here, but will be taken to PennsyI-
vania as originally planned
Extreme punishment for kidnapping in
Pennsylvania is life imprisonment. In
Ohio the extreme penalty for blackmail
! is six years in the penitentiary and
! fine of $1,000.
! The indictment is to be used as sort
| of a club for the protection of the local
officials and for the prosecution of the
kidnapers in event of failure to OBJ
tain Il conviction in Pennsylvania. This
| phase of the situation has an especial
! bearing upon Mrs. Boyle. who so far as
| known took no physical part in the ac-
| tual kidnapping which occurred at
! Sharon
| 1t is believed by some, this technical
point may save her in the Pennsylvania
courts. In any event she could be
brought back here for trial on the charge
of blackmail.
| The last doubt in the minds of the
| local police officers as to the exact identi-
| ty of the man held for the kidnapping
was removed today when Thomas f.
| Boyle of Sharon, visited the prisoner. He
said the prisoner is his brother, James.
| The prisoners brother also saw Mrs.
| Boyle, but could say nothing regarding
| her other than that she is the wife of
James Boyle. He said he knew nothing
of her and that she is unknown in Shar-
! on.
Money Is Checked Up.
Attorney J. =. Whitla, accompanied by
| Chief of Police Grain OF Sharon, called
| on Chief kOhler today. Their object in
calling was to arrange the details for
prosecuting Boyle and his wife. Whitla
also checked up the $9S4S, taken from
Mrs. Boyle. He identified the bills and
their wrappings as those he prepared
! for the kidnapers and which he paid
over in the little east end candy store
last Monday.
! Chief of Police I[ohler said today that
there was absolutely nothing i'll the re
port that Il second man was involved in
| the kidnapping.
Boyle and his wife are the only ones
implicated" he said, there Is no doubt
| about this
Sensation Fails to Materialize.
| An air of what might have happened"
! permeates the Whitla kidnapping case
i'll Sharon. Yesterday and last night sen
| SatiOnal disclosures were expected in
| Cleveland. 1t is apparent today, how
| ever, that none of these anticipated de-
] No.,
! Therefore Sharon is rapidly approaching
! the normal tenor eff its way. The kid
mapping case was exciting. but the de
! velOpments limited at yesterday, would
! have been startling.
| The woman under arrest is not the one
! whose identification would have caused a
! great sensation i'll the abduction case.
| 1t is believed now that she is some west
! ern woman who married Boyle and is uIl-
! known to members OF the Whitla fami-
| ly. Her remark at the time of his az
rest at Cleveland that there will be h
III Sharon when Bull hears of it, has,
it is generally said now, no special sig
/ uihcance.
Attempts were maze this morning to es-
tabiSh a relationship between the wom-
! an and q prominent family in Sharon
! The Sharon family owns . large depart
ment store, but wnen q member was
! asked if the woman was Il relative, they
! denied It very emphatically
Who Gets the Reward?
There is Il reward Of $4,000 from
the state Of Pennsylvania for the cap
tors OF the abductors. and several thou
| sand dollars additional from newspapers
| about the country. The question as to
who is entitled to the reward interests
Il large number of people. Detective
| Perkins Of Pittsburg believes the Cleve-
| land police authorities are entitled to the
! reward.
Woman Suspect a Suicide.
While the grand jury was hearing the
! testimony of Billy Whitla. his father
and of Harry FOrker, a close relative
d woman for whom the police had been
searching ended her life by swallowing
morphine.
The woman, partly identified as Mary
! Diemer of Toledo, O., died as sne was
| being taken to Il hospital in an ambu-
! lance.
! Her body is at the morgue. The police
| say they had been searching for this
woman and that she was with James
! Boyle and the woman declared to Ee
| Boyle's wife before the latter were ar
! rested i'll the saloon of Pat O'ReilIy, III
! Ontario street.
What her connection with TIE case
may prove to be is mystery.
Identifies the Pair.
Identification of James Boyle and the
| woman of mystery who is declared his
| wife. but who was known in ST Louis
! as Helen Falkner' when she was ar
rested there with Boyle in connection
with an alleged false mortgage on which
! no prosecution followed. was speedily
/ accomplished by Billy" Whitla
It's Jonesy! only he's got new
! suit Billy cried when shown Il photo
| graph Of the man prisoner as he left
! train from Sharon. whittier he had
! been brought by his father, accompanied
! by Mrs. Whitla and Henry and Harry
Forker, father and son.
In the central police station Billy
! identified the man and the woman as
Mr. and Mrs. Jones"
His abductors had told him Jones was
their name and that he was known as
Jones" so that people would think him
house as smallpox victim.
BRITAIN ACCEPTS BIG WARsHIP.
New Zealand Thanked for patriotic
Offer of New Dreadnought.
LONDON. March 25.-Great Britain
has accepted the offer made by New
Zealand to give the empire free OF cost
a fully equipped DreadnoUght.
Admiral Lord Charles Beresford. com
mannder of the channel fleet. hauled
| down his flag at Portsmouth yesterday
thus bringing to an end fifty years Of
| active service.