Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-08-12
WIDOW, NOT SLAYER.
CLEAR LAKE GIRL WAS WIFE, OF
ATTORNEY THOMAS, NOT
HIS MURDERER.
iINcoRREcT REPORTS SENT
OUT REGARDING TRAGEDY
Former Miss HolIinsworth, of Clear
Lake, to Return to Fathers Homo at
MISUNDERSTANDING Was Graduate
of State University and Successful
Lawyer.
special to Times-Republican.

Mason City, Aug. 12.-Reports re-
ceved here and sent out regarding the
tragedy in Sturgis, S. D., in which a
former Clear Lake girl was said to be
the slayer of Attorney Thomas, were
at variance with the facts, and it de-
velops that Miss Hollinsworth was the
wife Of the man murdered, and his de-
stroyer.
Miss Hollinsworth was the daugh-
ter of Charles Hollinsworth, who was
a practicng lawyer at Clear Lake. In
1900 she was married to D. P. Thomas,
attorney at law. Her husband was
reared at Corning, Iowa, graduating
from the Corning high school, then
took a law course at the state univer-
sity at Iowa City. After being admit
ted to the bar he practiced law In Iowa,
Oklahoma and New Mexico. He was
United States land Reconnaissance at
Washta, S. D. In 1909 he moved with
his wife and four children to Sturgis,
taking up the practice of law. He
formed partnership with Mr.. Nc
Mahon. Mcmahon died few weeks
ago. since which time Mrs. Nellie Nc
'Mahon, his partners widow, was de-
terznined to eject Thomas from the law
office. She had several stormy con-
versations to convince him he ought to
leave She nailed the office door but
he entered anyway. She served a legal
notice on him to vacate. He held his
ground. claiming q year to settle up
his business with the law firm
Woman Secures a Gun.
That she secured no rent from the
room seems to have angered Mrs. Nc
Mahon, for after the demand on July
20 that he vacate the next day she
went to physician of the town, asked
for a revolver, stating that several men
were prowling about her house nights
so that she was unable to sleep. She
was loaned a Colts automatic. That
night, according to report, she slept
little and arose the next morning at !
o'clock. She concealed the revolver IN
the folds OF her dress and with her sis
ter. who was visiting her from Chicago
and her niece, Mrs. Harry Hanify, they
all proceeded to the law office of Nc
Mahon & Thomas. That morning D. r
Thomas was arranging to go to Dead
wood, where he was to plead case
then to return and go with his family
to Hot Springs to remain over Sunday
He went to the office and sat down at
his desk and went to work on some UNI
finished business. There We're present
in the room Attorney /. L. Andrews and
NJ. ]. Kerper, assistant county auditor
of Meade county.
Ordered TO vacate.
At about $3.50 Mrs. Nellie Mcmahon
walked in with two ladies. Thomas
Z, n o11r @1,4
Mrs. Mcmahon in stern voice com
manded him to vacate the office at
once. Mr. Thomas slightly turned and
looked over his shoulders and smiled
at her. b1lt before he had spoken a
word or had time to move, she pointed
the revolver at his head and sent a
bullet crashing into his brain. The
bullet entered just over the right eye,
going clear thru his head and thru the
back Of the chair in which he was
seated and dropped on the floor. Mr..
Thomas without uttering a sound sank
back dead in his chair. After this
awful deed Mrs Mcmahon leveled the
gun on Attorney Andrews, who ran for
his life. She then walked to the office
OF the physician Of whom she had Dor
rowed the gun and returned it, at the
same ClIHc ilAlIi ~ LIN s'ANS
OF the man she had slain. The three
women who had entered the office
were placed under arrest Their pre-
liminary hearing was held Aug. and
a large crowd was present. Feeling
ran very high.
Trial in October.
Mrs. Mcmahon and Mrs. Hanify
were bound over, waving examination.
=, M, Vt ta,~y
OF the court, which sets the last Tues
day in October. Their trial then will
occur early in November. Charles
Hollinsworth, of Hampton, Iowa, the
father, is preparing to take his daugh-
ter and four children home with him.
D. P. Thomas was buried in the Sturgis
cemetery over which Bear Butte and
Fort Meade with its 500 soldiers stand
n