The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-01-07

49,
when the body of said Holland J..
Ledbeter was so found, it had upon
it marks and evidences of an assault
having been committed upon the body
of him the said Holland j. Ledbeter
and that it showed evidences of the
said Holland j. Ledbeter having re-
ceived several blows upon the head,
one of which was inflicted upon the
front part of the head, and was of
such force and violence that it had
crushed the skull at said place; that
the said wound inflicted upon the front
part of the head was of itself NOR
tai and fatal wound: That there were
evidences of other blows having been
received and struck upon the head of
him said Holland j. Ledbeter, at diff
ferent points and places, one of which
was upon the back of the head, but
that the said several wounds so found,
were not fatal or mortal wounds,
save and except the one first mentioned,
that the wound so inflicted upon the
front part of the head could not have
been ard was not self inflicted
wound. but must have been produced
by and through the agency of some
other person or persons; that the body
of said Holland j. Ledbeter, when so
found, was found buried in the ground
at depth of about three or four
feet; that said body was at said
time clothed in all respects as it would
have been ordinarily clothed in the
life time of said Holland j. Ledbeter:
That there was upon the body, I'M
derclothes, and outer garments or
dnarily worn by him, and upon his
feet shoes and stockings, and that
the shoes were high top shoes, and
were laced to the top; that in the
mouth of the body of him the said Hol-
land j. Ledbeter, at said time, was
found chew of tobacco: That the
said Holland j. Ledbeter had come to
his death by reason of an assault
made upon him by some person or per-
sons. and that the said death was
caused by the mortal wound found in
the front part of the head as before
stated.
There is evidence in this case tend
ing to prove, that prior to the inter
ment of the body at the place where
it was found, it had been inferred in
a hole or grave dug in the basement
of the barn upon said premises, and
that after it was so inferred i'll the
basement of said barn, said body had
been removed from said place in said
barn and placed and inferred at the
place where it was so found.
There is evidence in this case tend
ing to prove, that on the morning OF
the 5th day of May, 1909, the defend
ant in this action called up and
otherwise notified several of her neigh
bors of the disappearance of said Hol-
land j. Ledbeter.
There is evidence in this case tending
to prove, that the defendant in this
action, on the said morning of the
9Th day of May, 1909, informed sew
teral of her neighbors of such disappear
ance of her husband the said Holland
| j. Ledbeter, and claimed to the sale
parties that her said husband had
arisen in the morning of said day al
the usual hour; that he had gone te
the barn ON said premises for the pur
pose of doing up the chores and work
as he had usually done. That he
said husband, said Holland j. Ledbeter
was by her seen in the barn on thu
morning in question, ard that on
Frank Smith, the hired man befor'
mentioned, was at said time in thu
barn with him, the said Holland j
Ledbeter; that the last she had seen o
said Holland j. Ledbeter, her sait
husband, was, as he was passing from
one part of the barn to the other
towit: from that part of the barr
called the COW barn, to the other par
which is called the horse barn, witt
pail in his hand, and that she sup
posed he was going to get feed for TIN
chickens. That she saw the said Franz
| Smith come out of the barn at abou
the same time with a wheel barrow 0
manure. That the said Frank Smitl
left the said barn and came to tn
house, and that she shortly thereafte
inquired of him about her husband
asto whether he was coming from tn
barn, or not. That her husband no
coming from the barn to the hous
for his breakfast, she, the said de
| PENDANT, went to the barn and callet
for him: That not finding him in on
part of the barn, she went to an
other, and not finding him about tn
barn she went to the pasture to loo
for him; that not finding her husban
nor hearing from him, she called u
her neighbors, and among others, on
Matt Borgmeier.
There is evidence in this case tend
ing to prove, that the said defendant
on the morning in question, elaine
she had called up her said neighbor
within about fifteen minutes after hav
ing last seen her said husband.
There is evidence in this case tend
ling to prove, that after said defendan
had called up said Matt Borgmeie
over the phone and some Others
she left the house and notified an
other neighbor, Frank Schaeffer.
There is evidence in this case tend
ing to prove, that she informed tn
said Schaeifers that she had seen he