The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-12-01

suffering with gangrenous feet. The
feet were amputatcd. one OF them fall.
ing off during the operation, the gan.
creme having rottCd the bone. It de
vclOpod that the child had been frozen
in the blizzard. Neighbors said the
little fellow had been shut in an
Outbuilding during that awful storm.
Witnesses told of Stehr's having
whipped the child cruelty. Mrs.
Klentz and Miss Klentz, the nurses to
whose home the lad was taken for
the operation, told Of finding welts on
his stomach, cash on his eye and a
cut on his thigh. Stehr admitted hav.
ing whipped the child with strap
to correct MIN Of a disease.
The death of the little fellow was
| pathetic and tragic. lie had called
for his mother but she failed to come
to his bedside on the day of his death,
| despite the fact that the word was
sent to her
Three days after the childs feet
were taken off he died in the arms of
his aunt Mrs. Bankrath, in the Klentz
| home.
The jury apparently decided that
Stehr was wilfully negligent and dere-
lict of his duty toward the child, and
therefore brought in n manslaughter
verdict in accordance with Judge
Welchs instructions.
Judge Welch instructed the jury
that no verdict of first or second de
l,V I,, "A
of insufficient evidence. He defined
mansaughter and stated that if the
jury found that Stehr had wilfully
been Indifferent of negligence in his
treatment of the child from Dec. 81,
when the boys feet were frozen, to
Jan. is, when they were amputated,
that a verdict of mansaughter must
be returned. The judge said ignorance
could not be regarded as an excuse
for failure to exercise care and dill
gence toward the child.
County Attorney Nichols concluded
his closing argument with an eloquent
appeal for conviction in the interest
of childhood when court convened this
morning.
The defense rested it's case yester-
day afternoon, having kept Mrs. Stehr
upon the stand all day.
The state then recalled DR.. fash
jean who testified that he did not no.
tice any indication of diabetes when
he made examination at the time of
the operation. DR.. Verges was recall
cd
grenous condition of the boys feet
was the result of freezing and that the
boy was not afflicted with diabetes,
although he had a number of symp-
toms.
Mrs. Bankrath was recalled and said
she had had trouble with Mrs. Stehr
over some laundry, but it did not
amount to much; that they were
friends and she had told Mr.. Stehr
a number of times not to punish the
child
Mrs. Klentz was recalled and testi-
fled that she did send word to the
mother before tho child died and told
her she had better come, but she did
not come until o'clock at night and
that the child never asked to be taken
home. He told her to go away.
Murder Charge Ruled Out.
At this juncture both the state and
| defense rested. And the motion of
counsel for the defense to find the
defendant not guilty of murder in the
| first and second degree for the rea-
| son of insufficient evidence of DELHI
crate and premeditated purpose and
motive to kill, was sustained and the
| jury was so instructed. At 8 o'clock
Attorney Isaac Powers made the open
ing argument to the jury on behalf of
the prosecution. He talked but a few
minutes. Then followed NJ. d. Tyler
| for the defense. Mr. Tyler for one
| hour spoke with tremendous force
and conviction. His argument was in
every way a mastery effort. II. F..
Barnhart followed, thoroughly going
over the evidence from a defensive
point of view. County Attorney Mich
OILS contended ably for conviction in
the limited time allowed him in the
closing argument, which was contin-
ued when court convened this morn
ing.