Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-02-03
BRAZEN BRAVADO
SHOWN BY WINTERS
Murderer Of Trimble, on Wit
ness Stand, Creates Disgust
Among Listeners
POSES AS DlME-NovEL HERO
Defendant by His Manner of Giving
Evidence Loses to Himself What
Sympathy Existed Testimony
Closes and Arguments Of Attorneys
Are Begun.
special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Eldora, Feb 3.-William Winters, the
murderer of Linn Trimble. went on the
witness stand and told the story of his
worthless life. /.
He told the awful details of the muir
der in a perfectly calm and collected
way and showed no more feeling while
describing how he shot Linn Trmble
and then walked around the dead body
to rob the till of the restaurant than
he did when he told of stealing pair
of overalls from the cottage of August
Neuman or of stealing a suit of clothes
from the Whitaker tent.
Tells Of "trip to Union.
Beginning with the day he left home
without his father and mother knowing
of his going he detailed his every
move to the present time. He told of
how he beat his way on freight trains
and begged his dinner of farmers until
he arrived at the home of his uncle
near Iowa Falls. He said he left his
uncle's place on the day before the
shooting and started to Ackley; that he
lost his way and wandered to the Neu-
man cottage He said he staid all night
there and on the day of the murder he
walked to Steamboat Rock. From there
he caught a ride with Otis Hall to Ell
dora Here he caught a freight and he
said he intended going to MARSHALL
town lust to see the country" that
when he got to Union he got off the
train and walked up town Just to see
the town." He told of going to the Lew
is restaurant and telling a lie to get
something to eat; of telling Mrs. Lewis
that he lived six miles in the coun-
try.
Visits TrimbIe Restaurant.
He told of going into several places
in Union. He told of finally going into
the Trimble restaurant and sitting
around for an hour; of going out and
standing and looking thru the window;
Of seeing them counting the money;
Of how he wanted the money" He
told of how he placed his hand inside
his coat, how he entered the restau-
rant again, holding the revolver hid
den under his coat; told of how he
said hands up" He said they acted
as tho they thought he was just jok-
ing"
Coolly Tells of Killing.
He then told of how he shot Trim
BILE twice. of seeing him sink to the
Of "a ho
PROSTATE form and grabbed the money
from the till; of how he saw Trimble
stretched out on the floor as he left
the place; of how he turned to the
right and ran to the end of the street;
of his trip to Eldora; of leaving the
clothing in Leo Marks barn; of stay
ing in the depot of the C. & N. w. at
Eldora until daylight: of his trip north
from Eldora; of staying again, Sunday
night after the murder, at the same
Neuman cottage; of his trip to Ackley,
where he staid three days, and of his
trip back to his fathers home at IT.
tonka
Cool Cussedness Displayed.
For cool, calculating cussedness the
story stands without a rival in Hardin
county testimony. He never flinched
under whitening fire of cross-exam-
inatfon and for three hours he sat on
that witness stand and acted as tho
he thought he occupied the center Of
the stage and appreciated the fact. His
story was so cold-blooded and heart
less that the hundreds Of people who
heard it looked on in wonder, while
Winters seemed to be aping some dime
novel fiend and playing the role of a
would-be hero, and if the state had not
offered witness in the case and had
rested solely on the story Of Winters
1t Is hard to see how he could escape
the hangman's moose. OF all the wit
nesses subpoenaed for the defense only
four were placed on the stand and not
q single one of them helped the de-
Tense in any particular, and when the
evidence was all in the few people who
had expressed sympathy with the de-
PENDANT because of his age fully
realized that he is not only WORTH
less reprobate, but that he ought to be
placed where he will never again be
able to endanger human life. The
arguments of the attorneys were COM
menced this morning. The death pen
atty is not improbable.