The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-29

eyes of the entire country upon this
little out-of-the-way hamlet. became
a closed incident today.
Four of the twelve jurors who
listened to the testimony at the re-
opened inquest refused to sign the
verdict and the words cor accessory
to the crime" were added to the draft
which, approved by the majority,
bluntly accused Eastman of the muir
der. None of the four dissenting
jurymen would say that any other
person than Eastman was responsible
for the girls death. They merely
the manner in which the inquiry was
conducted, declaring that much
available evidence was not adduced.
The letter left by Eastman for his
Wife. in which he declared that Mrs.
WoodiIl had been killed by a woman
the jury. The officials seemed to
take it for granted that all of the
evidence unearthed since the finding
of the body was well known to the
residents of the community. and that
1t was unnecessary that it should
again be rehearsed. The jury sat for
a time in the bungalow itself. with
Eastman's unmarked grave not fifty
feet away. Mrs. Eastman had visited
the place earlier In the day and had
newly made mound
The final theory for the authorities
IS this:
That Eastman was in need of
money; that he had been getting
money from Mrs. Woodill for some
time; that he undoubtedly knew
something of her past life and that
ne had been Matchmaking her; that
he attempted to continue this practice
and that the woman rebelled. in
timating that she, too, had found out
certain things about Eastman, and
that If driven to it would expose him
Eastman's dread of serving a term In
the penitentiary is well known. His
wife has said that he told her he
would rather commit suicide than be
confined in prison. The pawning OF
the jeweIry the authorities set down
TO the desire of Eastman to get away
When cornered the man decided thai
his race had been run and that he
had better make an end to it all. AS
to why Mrs. Woodfll went to the
bungalow there was no evidence.
An interesting development was the
finding of the scraps of a torn letter
IN the cracks of the bungalow floor
Little Of sense could be made from
the fragments but the writing was
identified as that of Mrs. Woodill:
The letter was about the visit oil
some one TO some place, to pt
"chaperoned or not as she saw fit
The verdict was that on Sunday. June
4 90. IN his bungalow on Broad creek
ROBERT E. Eastman feloniously killed
or was accessory to the crime of muir
dering Edith May Thomson Woodill
wife Of Gilbert Woodill of 10:
Angeles Cal"
He Talked With Eastman.
II testifying at the inquest Georg'
Powell related a long conversation h
had with Eastman in front of the bung
j allow on Wednesday morning.
Usually when 1 passed he invited M
in" said Powell, but Wednesday h
did not and thought it little strange
Eastman said he had just returned from
the greatest time in his life and tina
his experience would make great read
ing He said he had some girls owe
at st. AIichaels and had asked them
they would not like to go to his bunga
low. They said they would and every
body got in the launch and started out
= A storm arose, however. and Eastman
said the girls got cold feet as he ex
pressed it, and wanted to go home
Then they ran aground off Bob Seth
place. Eastman said he wanted tn
girls TO take off their shoes and stock
InSs and wade ashore. but they woul