The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1909-01-21

northern Missouri, occurred near Gosh
en-, a small town about eight miles
southeast of GAINESVILLE, about noon on
last Thursday, when John Brooks, Graz
ed with whiskey and opium, and excit-
ed by neighborhood gossip, shot and
killed Vern Thompson, neighbor, and
then went to the home of John Thomp-
son, brother of the dead man, half
mile away, and murdered Mrs. Thomp-
son, who was sick in bed, and complet-
ed his bloody work by putting a bullet
through his own heart, falling dead
across the body of the woman he had
murdered. He used % calibre Savage
repeating rifle and fred scores of shots,
reloading the magazine when it became
empty.
John Brooks. the man who did the
shooting, is quite we'll known in Leon,
being brother of Mrs. S. S. Brooks Of
this city, having visited here on sew
eral occasions, and few years ago he
worked in this city during the summer
with George Adair. He was 36 years of
age and was a painter by trade. He
made his home with his parents who
lived quite close to the farm residence
Of Vernon Thompson, and he has been
regarded as dangerous and quarrel
some man, especially when under the
= influence of liquor, and it is said he has
also been addicted to the use of opium
and other drugs. Last year in fight
with John Glosher at Mercer he severe
ly cut Glosher with knife, and was ar
rested at the time and taken to Prince
ton, but the case against him was dis
missed later. A few years ago, while
intoxicated, he got into trouble at a
livery stable in Princeton, when he hit
a man over the head with beer bottle,
and then cornered all the men in the
barn in the office of the barn. For this
he was arrested and served sentence
in the Princeton Jail.
1t is reported that after Brooks had
killed Vernon Thompson and Mrs. John
Thompson he left the house and went
to the barn and told Mr.Hamilton, father
of Mrs. Thompson, what he had done,
and wanted him to take the rifle and
kill him, but when Hamilton refused to
do so Brooks said he would return to
the house and finish his job, but there
was no evidence of this given at the
coroner's inquest. 1t is also repor: led
that the real cause of the tragedy was
an intimacy between Brooks and the
wife of Vern Thompson, and that her
husband had warned him to stay away
from his home.
The funeral Of John Brooks was held
at Goshen on Friday, and those of Mrs.
Thompson and Vernon Thompson on
Saturday, the woman being buried at
the Hamilton cemetery and Thompson
at Modena.
The following details of the terrible
tragedy are taken from an extra edition
Of the Princeton Post:
Vern Thompson, was the first victim
of Brooks. There were no witnesses to
this killing, and none left to tell the
tale. He was discovered lying dead in
the road about quarter of mile north
of John Thompson's house, by Walter
Wilmington. Wilmington states that
he heard the shots but arrived too late
to see the difficulty. All evidence points
to cold -blooded murder. Thompsun's
pipe was lying by the side of his head
just as if it had dropped from his mouth.
1t is supposed that he was walking
along the road, unmindful of Brooks
presence, and was shot first in the back.
There were five bullet holes in his
body.
Vern Thompson had been working at
the home Of John Thompson that day
and was on his way home for dinner.
He lives about mile north of his
brothers place, and Brooks lives with
his father about half way between the
Thompsons.
When Walter Wilmington discovered
Vern Thompson in the road dead, he
fastened to the home of John Thompson.
He called to Mrs. Thompson and she
answered from upstairs. Brooks was
there with her. He warned Wilmington
Vo Keep away Dub ldCer lnVlCoQ Qlm 10
come up. Wilmington suspicioned
Brooks intention and would not go. He
went out to the barn lot where he
found John Thompson, his father-in-law,
s. R. Hamilton and the latter's son, AL
Hamilton.
Crazed by his first deed, it is sup
posed that Brooks intended to finish his
work by killing John Thompson's family.
He went to their home and inquired Of
a young lady staying there where
Mrs. Thompson was. He was informed
that she was upstairs in bed, being sick
with a headache. He went upstairs and
when he entered Mrs. Thompson's room
she called for her husband. The young
lady heard her and picking up the eld-
est child who was in the kitchen with
! her ran to the barn to inform Mr..
Thompson and the men there. She then
took the child to the home of neigh
Dor. The other child, little baby, lay in
it's cradle in down stairs room, all
during the. difficulty, and was not
4 molested. It ia supposed that il was