The Oskaloosa herald., 1909-05-27
VIM. KIRKPATRICK Il
IS FOUND GUILTY
The Jury Returned a Verdict at 80
this Morning.
TO BE SENTENCED NEXT MONDAY
Maximum Penalty That Could Be I'm
posed For Shooting Wife and
Tom Cooney is Thirty Years
In Penitcntiary.

Guilty of assault with intent to
commit murder" as charged in the
indictment, was the verdict of the
ury in the case of the State of Iowa
VS.. VIM. Kirkpatrick. which was re-
turned TO the court at 1880 o'clock
this morning, Kirkpatrick and his
ltwyers were in the court room when
the verdict was read and he did not.
make any show of feeling or nervous
ess, and after a short consultation
with his attorneys returned to the
ounty Jail in charge of the sheriff.
He will receive his sentence next Mon
ay morning. The maximum penalty
which could be assigned to him will
be thirty years in the penitentiary
The Defendants Story.
The state closed its direct evi-
dence Tuesday morning after exami-
ming Fred and Ray kirkpatrick and
Mrs. Ina Pearson, three children OF
the defendant, Verne Pearson. the
latter's husband, and Constable VIII
Donnelly. The defense opened its
side of the case, after a brief recess,
by the introduction of the testimony
of the defendant, VIM. Kirkpatrick.
On direct examination he admitted
having served a term in the peniten-
tiary upon conviction for a felony
and upon eross-exanination conduct
ed by Jas. Dewitt, he stated that the
crime of which he was convicted was
that of entering barn in Monroe
township and stealing a set of har-
ness. He stated that he was convict
ed of that offense through fraud and
perjury" His story of the details
Of the alleged crime correspondent In
the main to that gwen by the other
witnesses, except as TO the intent.
He claimed that when he went to
the door of the house and rang the
bell that he saw his wife down stairs
in her night gown and through the
window in the door he could see her
going up stairs before Cooney admit
ed him INTO the house. He claims
hat he took the revolver which was
'ying in its accustomed place on the
piano in the parlor, and carried 1t
with him to the barn while locking
Up the dog, which had been with him
during the afternoon, and, after re-
turning to the house, carelessly laid
Il on the dining.room table instead
Of placing it on the piano. where he
says it belonged. He admitted he
had accused his wife of having illicit
relations with other men, but denied
that he had ever had or claimed to
have had any suspicious of wrongful
conduct between her ana Tom Cooney
He testified that when his wife went
down stairs he. was curious to know
where she had gone and so followed
her, and, when seeing her seated in
chair by the dining-room table, he
went down and sat at the other end
of the table and ate some of the meat
which was there on plate. He says
the revolver was then at the side of
the plate where he was seated, hav-
ing remained where he had left It.
When. he had completed eating he,
claims he picked up the revolver ex-
pecting to replace ii on the piano
when IL accidentally discharged and
The ball struck Mrs. Kirkpatrick as
she had testified. He denied having
had his hand on the trigger or the
hammer of the gun and demonstrated
before the jury the loose manner In
which he had handled the loaded
weapon, which he says so mysterious
ly discharged itself. Then he says he
held the gun by his right side and
picked up the lamp with his left hand
following his wife into the parlor,
| where she had crawled on her hands
| and knees, to see If she had been shot.
When he met Cooney coming out OF
his bed room, the defendant testified,
he told him to step aside so that he
could see if his wife was shot but
Cooney, he claims, grabbed him and
clinched his hand, in which was the
gun, so tightly that he could not re-
| lease his hold upon the weapon.
| Otherwise, he said, he would have
willingly handed II to his brother-in-
law. At this point he claims ne
started to reach over to set the lamp
on the table when It fell onto the
| floor and smashed to pieces. He adj
mitted that he and Cooney struggled
together for several minutes. but con
| tended that he would have given up
the revolver as soon as Cooney would
have let go his hand so he could have
done so, He also claims that as
Cooney would crap the weapon and
pun on it, it was SO held In his hand
that the motion would pull the trig-
ger and accidentally discharge It.
Thus he explained TO the jury the
cause for his shooting uooney and
the several scattered sno.s about the
room. He denied hayb,s ever held
any grudge os ilfeeling against his
brother-in-law and he denied having