The Mena weekly star. (Mena, Ark.) 1904-1977, 1911-05-04
STELLA SCH MEIDER
MAKES CONFESSION
Says She Had No Idea OF Suicide
duplicates Man Friend in Plot TO
Cause Schmeider's Death--W0-
mans Statement Follows.

Schneider was told to choose and
not even hung jury to prolong her
suspense, was the rsult Of her trial
in the First Division of the Circuit
Court this week, but only five years
in Ehe penitentiary fell to her lot as
the result Of an agreement between
her attorneys, the prosecution and
the court yesterday.
The agreement was that Mrs.
be allowed to withdraw
her plea of not guilty to the charge
OF first degree murder and enter in
its stead a plea of guilty of murder
in the second degree, after which
the court instructed the jury to re-
tire and fix the punishment. This
was done TO save a second trial of
the case, because it was seen that
there was no hope for the iurys
agreeing upon verdict under the
instructions.
Ten Favor Conviction.
After the finale of the proceed
ings, it was learned that the jury
was deadlocked at 10 for convic-
ton and 2 for acquittal and that
at least one of the two holding out
for acquittal would remain stead
fast in his opinion until the frost
was on the pumpkin Having an
intuition of this through questions
put to the jury by Judge Fulk when
the jury had been called into the
court room about $50 yesterday
morning, Judge Il. L. Vaughan of
counsel for the defense obtained
Mrs. Schmeiders consent to the
change of plea and then took the
matter up with Judge Fulk and
Prosecuting Attorney Rogers. Their
acquiesence was obtained and the
lenient verdict resulted.
Nobody seemed to be more pleased
with the verdict than Mrs. Schmei-
der, and she not only expressed her
gratitude to the jurors by taking
their hands and thanking them, but
gave vent, for the first time since
the trial began, TO a hcod of tears.
One of the terms Of the agreement
was that Judge Vaughan be allowed
to address the jury for 10 minutes,
and in doing SO he begged for mercy
for his client so pathetically that
the spectators, the jury and the
defendant gave way to laehrymal
floods.
In her cell in the county Jail yes
terday morning Mrs. Schneider was
found smiling and apparently hap
Ply, and TO Deputy Constable Charles
Jones and a reporter she made the
first real confession of her guilt,
duplicating one of her numerous
male friends. She seemed to be
greatly relieved over having entered
the plea of guilty and spoke of her
trip to the penitentiary as when |
go away" and the completion of
her sentence as when come back"
When | come back" she said,
II am going to be a good girl. | have
had enough"
Never Married Schneider.
Mrs. Schneider diselaimed all
right to the Mrs, saying she was
never married to Fritz Schneider.
She said that her mother had in
sisted on her marrying "the old
man" while they were in Texar-
kama and she was preparing to run
away to Texas, when somebody
placed dope" in her coffee and
her unconscious. When
she regained her senses she was
in shack with the "old man" and
fled from it. She found her way
home and asked her mother what
It meant. Her mother said she
was Fritz Schmeider's wife and she
must go and live with him. She
said she went back to the "old
man. and tried to be nice to him
but, although she insisted upon see
ing the marriage license, it was
never produced.
duplicates Man Friend.
The woman said that the first
dea of doing away" with Schmie-
Ter was put into her mind by a man
friend. She said this man had
forced his attention upon her and
she hated him, but when she ex-
pressed the wish that 'the old man
would die" the man told her how
o make that matter easy, and she
iook his advice. She said the man
gave her pistol and told her to
shoot Schneider, but when she re-
ported that she had not had an op-
portunity to do that he bought her
some strychnine and told her to put
lt in his food. She said the man
gave her the suicide compact idea.
and she bought second bottle of
poison while Schneider was with
her to carry out the idea.
I'VE really did enter into a sui
eide agreement said the woman.
but | never had the least idea of
carrying out my part of it. The old
man was so drunk that he didn't
know what he was doing when he
drank the poisoned beer. really
didn't know that the poison had
killed the old man, but wanted To
get away from him and that is why
went to Chicago with Wadsworth
! didn't know that he was dead
until Constable Jones told me in
Chicago