The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1909-06-30
LEDBETER'S BODY FOUND AND
HIRED MAN ACCUSES His WIFE
Body by Searching Party Sunday Afternoon and the
Hired Man Tells Horrible Story of the Crime.
All Four Implicated Placed In Jail
Mrs. Souty Denies Story Completely With the
Crime, but While Accuser is Confessed LIAR
the Case Looks Dark for Accused.

was piece of plank. He pulled the
spear to his nostrils, and detecting
the odor of decomposing flesh, the
party procured shovels and soon ex-
humed the remains of the murdered
man. The body. covered. with mud,
was taken to Mankato undertaking
room. The arms were drawn over
the head and one leg was drawn up
as though doubled that way when
dumped into the hole. The body
dressed as described by Mrs. Led
better, and it is assumed that the
rope was used to drag the remains
to the place where they were found,
STATEMENT BY SMITH.
Smith talked as rapidly as the re-
porter could write, and had to be
stopped occasionally. He said that
on the evening of Tuesday, May 4,
Ledbeter took the lamp and went to
bed about nine o'clock, and Smith
went just afterwards. Mrs. Led
better remained up and took bath
in the tub in the kitchen. Smith
thought for the purpose of having
an excuse to remain until her hus-
band should be asleep. He did not
know what else she did for he fell
asleep.
Smith said that it was not quite
midnight when he was awakened by
Mrs. Ledbeter, who came upstairs to
his bedroom and shook him by the
arm and said: I've got him al
ready"
Smiths account follows, substan-
TALLY in his own words:
said, What do you mean?" She
replied: "You know. l have killed
him." l said: II can't believe ii"
She replied: Come down stairs and
| look" l went and saw H. ]. Led
better lying in his bed, which was on
the first floor. His head was covered
with blood, and blood was coming
out of his mouth, nose and head. In
a minute or two he gasped for breath
several times, and his wife picked
up bloody axe that was in the room
and struck him over the head with
the blunt end many times, until he
lay still. While she was doing this
went into the next room, and she
presently came in and put her arms
around my neck and said: "Let us
put him away"
answered: "God, l don't know
what to do with him." She said:
1--WE can't let him lay here" and
replied: Il don't know where to
put him." She said: I'VE have got
to plant him somewhere" asked
"Where?" and she replied: "Out in
the barn."
Mrs. Ledbeter then wrapped the
bed sheet around the dead mans
head, and | took him by the should
ers and she by the legs and we car
ried him to the barn and lay him on
the floor near the door. 1t was then
a little after midnight. Then we
studied where to conceal the body.
Mrs. Ledbeter suggested that we
place it in the big manure pile just
outside of the barn, but | told her
that was no place to put him. and
that we had better lay him in the
barn before putting him there. She
said to this: mo, we have got tc
put him away. Go and get the
spade" Invent and got it and she
went and got the lantern and she
commenced to carry hay and to stuff
it into the windows to prevent the
light shining, so that no one would
see us there.
i Mrs. Ledbeter told me to dig 8
hole in the runway or feedway be
tween the rows of horse stalls. This
was about four feet wide and had nc
/, floor and was covered with hay and
chaff. forked the hay and chat