The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-03-22
Suspect in Platt Murder Re.
leased at NOen.
REARRESTED AT ONCE
Must Answer to Police for Sell.
ing Liquor.
Leaves Murder Case in a De.
mOralized Condition.

After the refusal Tuesday night OF
f. r. Simon, county attorney, to issue
a warrant for Charles Lolley for the
killing of Benjamin Platt, the only real
clue that the officers have ever pro-
duced went to pieces and at noon to-
day Lolley was released from the city
prison. When Samuel Friedberg, SON
in-law of the murdered man, demand
ed a state warrant for Lolleys arrest.
Simon refused to issue it. He was i'm
mediately rearrested by the police on
a charge of selling liquor.
In statements made today the coun-
ty officers declare that they did not
have sufficient evidence on which to
base a conviction and that they could
not hold their man longer without
stronger evidence. The threat of Lol-
leys attorney that he would today ask
for habeas corpus had the desired re
suits. The bluff was good. HurrledIy
the officers invoiced their testimony
and concluded that it would be useless
to try the case in the courts. The OF
ficers declare that they VIII continue
to work on the case. They ADMIT,
though, that there is little or nothing
in sight on which to work.
When Lolley was arrested last
Thursday night, he was SWeated anu
made numerous conflicting statements.
Then the Berrey woman was brought
to the stand. She admitted having ad-
dressed the letter sent to DR.. h II.
Keith. and which contained the Platt
bill book and coins. Lolley could not
give a thorough account of himself the
day Platt was murdered. The case look
ed good. SO the officers took nap.
Friday evening, a newsboy was al
lowed to walk through the station, en-
ter the quadrangle and sell Lolley
COPY of the State Journal containing
q complete account of the progress OF
the case. Lolley who has been IN tl Jan
before and never sleeps on the JoD,
slipped a few more over on the alleged
diligent officers. Through trusty ne
sent word to the Berrey woman to be
careful just what statements she Hlaue-
This was enough for the auburn halr-
ed woman who addressed the envelope.
In the next examination she dwelt at
length on her misfortuneS, her aDillty
to forget embarrassing circumstances
and made many conflicting statements
10 offset her former testimony. rms
was the big loophole through which the
officers crept in refusing to push the
case I,olley was still behind the bars,
but he seemed to have a working know
ledge of what was happening OUTSIDE.
He kept right at work. Through some
Derson he sent note to friend urg-
r,escue So I.olleys friends got busy
They helped patch up what was sup
Dosed TO be an alibi. The officers ac-
cepted it.
Lost the Evidence.
Early this week the officers prop
n
which they believe Lolley tore strip
to vrap the coins sent to the state
Journal. But the officers nave mao mao
other things than newspapers on I tileII
mind some broadminded criminal
catcher had carefully deposited the
strin of paper in a waste basket The
evidence was lost. Io,,o.. "a
Then it was learned that Loiiey hd6
snent several days in the vicinity OF
enencer and Perry, talked eXclteoly
abou+ the Platt murder and asked TOT
Information regarding deVelopInentS.
But in the excitement lncloent VIII
the aDproaching election no one fouho
time to visit that community and
gather a few details
A. q last resort a detective was
brought from Kansas CITY 70 s"Sa1
+be prisoner. But there were no de-
T1eIonmeuts Lolley, it seemed. ap-
neared to know as much about the
eyidence as the police and detectives
themselves. The next day Lol1ey was
allowed to consult lawyer Habeas
cornus proceedings were threatened:
Then Friedberg- went to the once OF
tbe county attorney and demanded
warrant.
,eicerS had allowed the greater part
of their real evidence to slip from their
1rasn is an excuse more or less log
icaI Yet, if the officers were unable
r,,al-a Trogress with the case when
Tollev was behind the bars, it would
be a modern miracle II they produceu
real evidence after ne is releaseu-
Simon saw numerous reasons why ne
t,o,IId not furnish a warrant. Sheriff
Sorton agreed with him in his action:
Another important reason for not
,,,,sLire the case is the fact that
1rosecTtion would be expensive and
the dear taxpayers should not IN JUS
fice be compelled to pay for hghtlng
n casa which the county attorney can
not win
Simon Tells Why.
.orbere was absolutely not enough
a,,idence on which to hope for a con-
Iyiction.'- declared Simon, as he sat in
his nrivate office at noon today and
vointed ont the defects in the states
case "and [ won't commence action
until there is some reasonable ground
10 believe that we will win. In the
first place I don't really know that the
Rerrey woman addressed that en-
veIone But suppose she did. She is
an ept1eptic and couldn't tell good
straight story on direct examination,
~ saw rothing of standing under a
erilIing cross examina ton which
would surely be made. Take the let
fer circllm stance out of the case and
t6ara is nothing left. We couldn't get
nv the preliminary on that sort OF evl-
dence and if we did we would be
rushed into the district court and
beaten to a standstill Murder cases
are expensive, too, and there is no
use spending a lot of money on case
we can't win OF course, we VIII Keep
at work and may dig up something
when asked if the state expected to
find more evidence with Lolley out OF
iaiI than when he was in Simon ad-
mitted that the case would be harder
to handle with the man at large. He
thinks there is good reason to believe
address