The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-11-24

""e" 'ne Little Fellows Feet
Were Frozen-DecIares He Only
whipped the Boy to Correct Him.
Madison, Neb., Nov. "a Special to
| The News: The Stehr murder cos,
had not gone to the jury at noon IN.
day, but probably will 20 this after.
noon.
Mrs Stehr was on the stand all the
morning. Yesterday afternoon Horny
Stehr the defendant, occupied tho
stand and the general Impression M
| 'hose III the courtroom was that his
storN weakened the case. The manner
| OF his telling the story. answering
questions only when prompted bv AT.
torney Barnhart, indicated his IN.
| truthfulness
Stehr said he was 26 years old and
had married Minnie Lucon, April 6
l9o9, at Hamburg, Germany. when
haurt Stehr was not quite 9 years
I Old He came to America and lived
at the home of his sister.in.law. Mrs
bankrath seven months, until his
Wlte and child followed him. He stat
ed he had whipped Kaurt with a strap
taken from an old harness several
times for bedwettng. 1t was this
habit of the child's that made Stehr
want Kaurt to stay in Germany, he
said. He denied making threats
against the child in case Kaurt should
be brought to America, as Mrs Bank
rath had testified He said he enter
tanned no i'll will against the child.
and denied striking him with an iron
rod Intentionally, insisting it was an
accident.
Says Feet Were Diseased.
He said the child's feet were dis
eased and had been treated in Ger
many by doctor. He denied having
been arrested in Germany for Ill
treating the child, but admitted he
had been called into police court on
complaint of a woman for investiga-
ton in this connection.
, He explained to the jury that he
had bandaged the child for a disease,
, causing marks on the stomach and
hips. He explained the mark on the
! eye by stating the child had fallen
1 out of bed, striking his eye or box
[ Photographs of the exterior and in.
, terror of the Stehr home and an exact
r model of the child's bed were intro.
, duced.
: Stehr said on Monday proceeding
{ the amputation he had half busheI
| of coal and $3.50 in cash and was out
S of job. Asked why he had failed to
5 call a physician earlier he said he
S had no money.
RI Child's Feet Frozen.
i He said the child's feet were frozen
e during the blizzard of Jan. l. He was
r awakened in the night and found the
e walls of the room white with frost
b and snow, the boys bedding being
I frozen stiff. He arose, changed the
1 boys bedding, put dry cover over
him, covered his feet and went back
to bed The next morning he found
much snow in the house and the boy
complained that his feet hurt Cat an
). other point Stehr had said the boy did
not complain about his feet until
=, about five days later.J
- Put Feet in Hot Water
4 He put the child's feet in hot wa
y ter and later put vaseline on them
h Stehr said he first called DR.. Pill
ger. Later the same day he called
, Dr. Verges, who administered appli-
4 cations and later returned with DR..
q Tashjean. Then County Commissions
err Burr Taft came. Next day, assist
O ed by LOebus, Stehr took the boy to
o the KlentZ home and never saw the
. little fellow afterward Two days
n later he was arrested. He was not
n advised of the death or the funeral.
During cross-eXaminatiOn by Judge
Powers, Stehr admitted whipping the
boy with leather strap for the rea-
, son complained of, at least three
times and admitted telling Julius Kell
the boys feet We're frosted in the
6 blizzard. He denied that he had lock-
; ed the child in an outbuilding during
!. the storm.
o Madison, Neb Nov. 23.-Special to
I The News: Henry Stehr took the
f witness stand in his own behalf this
O afternoon, to try to convince the jury
:. that he had no intention of killing
: his 4-year-old stepsOn, Kaurt.
Court reconyened at 9 o'clock this
morning with Minnie Bankrath, Mrs
Stehr's half sister still on the stand
- The defense waived crossexamina-
:, ton.
: d. Rees, a juror at the coroner's
|, inquest, testified that the body ap-
- peared "a bruised and mangled mass"
q This testimony was violently attack
ed by NJ d. Tyler, counsel for the
defense. 1t was characterized as vi
cious and the defense moved that the
D court strike it out. The court sus-
u tanned the objections in part
At this juncture the state unexpect-
B. eddy rested.
The defense then moved to the
court that the state elect the count
on which it desired the case to go to
the jury. The motion was overruled.
u The defense moved then that the
s. court instruct the jury to find the
le defendant not guilty of murder in the
es first or second degree for the reason