Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1909-07-01
FLAWS PICKED i'm HIRED MANS
STORY OF CRIME NEAR
MANKATO.
THINK man AWAKE WHEN SLAIN
No TeiItaIe Evidence Is Found In Led
better Bedroom.-SpeciaI Grand
Jury May Handle the
Case.

Mankato. Mimi, June 29.-Frank
Smith, the hired man, Mrs. Grace Led
better, widow of the murdered man,
and William Schwandt, brother-in-laW,
and Mrs. Goldie SchWandt, sister-ln-
law, the latter two of Sanborn, have
been formally charged with murder
in the first degree, in complaint Is
sued against them by County Attor-
ney Plymat, and signed by Philip A.
Ledbeter of Hayward, Wis, brother
of the murdered man, formerly res
ident of this county.
They will probably not be arralgned
until after the inquest has been held,
which is to take place this afternoon.
Six or seven witnesses have been
summoned.
Prisoners Constantly Watched.
A force of special deputy sheriffs,
armed with Krag-Jorgenson army
rifles, supplied by the local militia
company, are on guard day and night
to be prepared in case of any trouble,
and the prisoners are constantly
watched to prevent the possibility OF
any doing injury to themselves.
Smith, accompanied by two deputy
sheriffs, was taken to the Ledbeter
farm yesterday afternoon to point out
several things told about in his con-
| feSsion.
Several features of his statement
have been corroborated, but there is
still the general opinion that he was
connected with the murder to great
er extent than he has admitted.
One thing came to light at the au-
topsy that tends to disprove Smiths
account of the murder. A large quid
of tobacco was found in Ledbeters
mouth 1t is claimed that this shows
| that he was not asleep in bed when
! he was murdered, as he was not in
the habit of chewing in bed Some
consider that this corroborates the
theory that he was milking early in
the morning when struck on the head
| by Smith.
The powerful, crushing blow on the
head that was inflicted could hardly
| have been made by woman, doctors
say, while there were number OF
| lighter blows thought TO have inflicted
| lesser wounds, as though made by a
hammer. A woman would have been
apt to have struck such blows.
| If Smiths story is true as far as it
goes many feel he has not told the
whole of the circumstances attendant
to the murder.
| Attorneys for three of the accused
say they will demand immediate trial.
summon a special grand jury in order
that the cases may be tried at the
term of court now in session. The
next regular term does not occur until
| November.
Arouses Entire Country.
| Mankato, Mimi, June 28.-While
Frank Smith, hired, man, protested
that the body of his former employer
would not be found, posse, search
ing for H. J. Leadbeater, farmer,
who disappeared from his home three
miles out of this city two months ago
found the mutilated form of the miss
ing farmer buried three feet deep in
a potato patch, not ten feet from the
identical spot on which Smith stood.
Following the disappearance of
Leadbeater who was prominent
farmer, the entire country became
Iaroused and suspicion at once pointed
toward Smith. Nothing was done in
the matter, however, until Richard
Leadbeater, a brother, of Hayward,
Wis, came to Mankato several days
ago and started a systematic search
| for his brother.