Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1909-06-29
CONVICT TELLS
OF 6 MURDERS
INMATE OF MISSOURI PENlTEh-
TIARN ADMITS CRIMES;
WANTS TO HANG.

Jefferson City, Mo-, June 24.-Pre-
ferring death on the gallows to any
further continent in prison, William
Murphy, who has served only seven
months OF twenty-five year sentence
to the state penitentiary, confessed
that he had murdered six persons. he
has convinced the prison officials tnat
he is telling the truth about at least
four of the killings. The list OF Mur-
phys homicides is as follows:
Baby at Leavenworth.
Roy Ibes, butcher, at st. Joseph
Joe Warden, Old Mexico.
Red McMintery, ST. Joseph.
Missouri Pacific fireman, ST. Joseph.
Charles Vance, ST. Joseph.
Nothing is known yet OF the murdef
of the baby at Leavenworth, kas., or
of Joe Warden in Old Mexico.
Letter Believed Ruse.
Last Saturday night the prison
officials intercepted letter Murphy
had addressed to his wife in ST. Joseph
in which admissions were made con
cerning five of the murders. The let
ters contained no mention of the muir
| der of Charles Vance, boy about
years DID, who, Murphy now says, was
his nephew Little attention was palo
to the letter at first, as ruses OF tnls
kind on the part of long term conVlcts
are common.
o. S. Connor and Yardmaster Page
talked with Murphy. At first ne
/ denied all knowledge of the letter, but
later admitted he had written 1T ana
said he was inspired to write by the
/ hope that he would be taken out OF
prison and be hanged. He said he was
tired of his long life of crime and as
he could not possibly live out his
sentence he wished to die as soon as
possible.
| Connor. one of the oldest and
shrewdest officers at the prison, was
inclined to think the story ought to be
! investigated Warden Andrea tele-
graphed the chief of police at St
Joseph about the murders Murphy
said were committed there. He re-
ceived reply that the murders actually
had been committed and UP to the
present had remained mysteries. The
police chief said he would gather all
information possible and come here
to aid in the investigation.
Recalls Another Killing.
The prison officials submitted Muir
ply to rigid examination which last
ed several hours. He went over the
murders, as given in his letter, and
said it was fact he had committed
them all. Last evening Murphy was
questioned again by Warden Andrae
and added a new murder to the list,
that of Charles Vance. He said he
pushed the boy off a bridge near an
old woolen mill in st. Joseph in 1905.
4 Murphy has forbidding face. He
says he is 81 years old and looks It,.
| Almost any one would take him to be
a hardened criminal and old prison
officers suspected him the minute he
was dressed in, although this is his
! first term in the Missouri penitentiary.
He does not act as if insane, but
| talks quite nationally and in short
sentences. He seems to be holding
| back something. He was received here
in December, 1908. and has since been
employed in the shoe shops. His de-
meanor has been good, but this may
be due to the fact that he was closely
watched on the assumption that he
was an exceedingly dangerous charac,
ter. Murphy says he was raised near
Manhattan Kas.. where his aged father
and mother still live.
The prison officers could not get
Murphy to go into details concerning
any of the murders. when pressed
he would say: 70, well, committed
the murder and it will be easy enough
for the nolice to establish the facts
and furnish details. When a man ad
| mits he committed murder, is not that
enough to hang him? l want to be
hanged. hope the st. Joseph officers
will take me out of here and hane
me as soon as possible. The police
need go, to no trouble to work up evi
, dence to convict me of any of these
murders. for I now admit com
! mitted them That ought to be
enough to hang me, which is jus
what long for now. It's better
should tell the truth and be hanged
j than end my days in the penitentiary.
The Hub lease has been assigned
{ to L. n Martin of Centerville wht
: will soon take possession. The Hui
n people could not stay in business more
than few days even If they wanted
= to: therefore everything will be sold a
bargain prices to close out quick ant
IL.