The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-01-14
The CONFESSION
WAS Big FAKE
Story Alleged to Have Been Told by
Lamphere About the Guinness
Murder Farm
Mystery.
LIKE A DR.. COOK STORY
Did Not Require Copenhagen Uni.
versity Committee to See That
it Had Too Many
Flaws.

La PORTE, Ind. Jan. 14.-Tbe al
ieged confession of Ray Lamphere
reported to have been made to a i .
forte man by the former hired man
Q Belle Guinness, while he was con-
nned IN the La Porte county Jail and
printed in st. Louis paper. aroused
interest in La Porte, but found few
DelleVers, because of the inaccuracies
u contained. Both Prosecutor Smith.
VINO convicted Lamphere, and Attor.
ney II. w. Worden, who defended the
GUINNESS prisoner, picked the weak
spots quickly. Prosecutor Smith saws
ne is confident, from what DR.. e. "A.
ochell told him, that Lamphere, while
IN jail here, made confession to him.
put ne thinks that If Lamphere made
any other confession 1t would have
become known before this.
Ihat Mrs. Guinness is dead, having
lost her life in the fire that DESTROYED
ner house On the morning of April
2S, 1908, has been proven time anG
again" said States Attorney Smith.
and SO that much of this confession
is true, but that part of re story re-
garding Jennie Olson is not right. for
convincing evidence was produced
soon after the fire which showed that
Jennie Olson disappeared more than
year before. We found her hody
in the little burial ground, not in the
ruins OF the fire, and SO she wasn't
burned to death. Jennie Olson disap-
peared, having undoubtedly been mur-
dered by Mrs. Guinness, long before
Lamphere became acquainted with
Mrs. Guinness. Here is another part
that does not coincide with the prov
en- facts in the case. Ole Budsburg
and Tonnes Peter Limo left their
homes and came to La Porte before
Lamphere became acquainted with
Mrs. Guinness, and so he could not
have purchased chloroform for her to
kill these men and he could not have
even assisted in burying them. The
only man disposed of by Mrs. Guinness
after Lamphere became acquainted
with her was Andrew Helgelein. on
January IA, 1908, and I am confident
that Lamphere either had a hand in
this one murder or had knowledge of
the facts sufficient to put Mrs. Gun.
ness In his power to certain ex-
tent.
"Linne could not have been the
third husband of Mrs. Guinness. The
records show she was married only
twice-to Philip Sorensen, who died
in Chicago under mysterious circum-
stances. and Peter S. Guinness, who
was killed in La Porte with a meat
chopper. Of course, several men
came here expecting to become the
husband of the woman, but there are
no records to show that she married
any of them, for she managed to get
their money without any ceremonies
If Lamphere had any woman accom-
plice that night in robbing the Gun
ness house, as the purported confess
sion says it could not have
been any other person than
the one at whose house
he claimed, after his arrest, he spent
the night. He was with no other wo-
man that night, excepting Mrs. Cum
ness, for there has never been any
doubt that Lamphere set fire to the
house that morning"
The officers last night were unable
to cast any light on the identity of the
man who is supposed to have secured
the confession from Lamphere while
he was in Jail Lamphere had many
visitors during that time, relatives
and friends but never before has it
been intimated that Lamphere made
any confession to any person except
ing DR.. Schell
Warden Reed reiterated the state
ment that while in prison Lamphere
made no statement or confession to
any person connected with the insti-
tuition, so far as he has ever been able
to discover, and he says he surely
would have learned of it had Lam
phere confessed while in prison.
Prosecutor Smith received letter
from DR.. Schell, in which he says that
he will never reveal the contents of
the confession.