The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-07-20
P. P. Apkins. Arrested Here
Last Night, May Also Have
to Answer Murder Charge
if One Wife Dies.
CHASE FOR MONTHS
HAS DRAMATIC END
One of the Matrimonial Vic
Tins of Apkins Was a Rich
mond Woman, Mrs. Bertha
kohler, S. 2nd St.


Behind the arrest of P. P. Apkins,
thirty-three, forger. bigamist and prob
able murderer, there lies story of
hypocritical. designing love and Of
crime of demonical ingenuity
Apkins career rivals the black tales
of Gaboriau. Poe and Doyle and has
thoroughly confounded the police. so
it will probably be week before
Chief Gormon will have enough ma
terial to give the man preliminary
hearing.
There are charges against Apkins
for bigamy and forgery of which the
police are positive. Previous to May
20, he worked at the Starr Piano COM
pany On May 90. after cashing three
checks at the Second National bank,
totaling $3.50. forged on r. H. Mason.
he left the city for Paris. ILL.,. with
Mrs. Bertha Kohler, a widow who
lives on South Second street He at
tempted to cash $2S check, made
against Centerville man, at the
First National bank. but failed. Ap-
kins and Mrs Kohler were married at
Paris. on May 81. Then they came to
Richmond for a few days. later going
to Indianapolis, from where Apkins
sent the woman back to Richmond,
telling her he would so to Chicago,
and arrange for their home She did
not hear of him again until Chief
Gormon notified her he was wanted
for forgery.
He Avoids Chicago.
Instead of going to Chicago. Apldns
took a train to Nicklasville, Ky,
where he had been corresponding with
Miss Elizabeth Young. On May 27s he
married Miss Young at her home and
on the twenty-eighth the couple went
to Cincinnati, where they put up at
hotel. On May 80, the Cincinnati En-
quirer carried the following story:
'Hideous screams. evidently from
a woman, coming from the apart
ments of Peter Apkins and wife in a
Cincinnati hostelry, brought hotel
authorities running to the room. 1t
was opened by Apkins, who claimed
his wife thought there was a burglar
in the room. She fought violently. as
doctors sought to calm her. and she
was finally taken to the Grand View
sanitarium by the husband"
Later the woman became a raving
maniac, and it developed that the
man had robbed her of $40 and val
liable jewels, after having given her
"a powerful drug. The husband dis
appeared, after notifying the girls
relatives in Lexington, KY, that she
was insane.
She was removed from the private
sanitarium under habeus corpus pro-
ceedings. as the husband had given
strict orders to the sanitarium Off
cials that the girl should not be seen.
Her death, according to the police IL
probable.
Chief German had learned that the
man was courting Miklasville. KY,
girl but he was unable to communi-
cate with the police there in time to
prevent the marriage. On May 81. Ap-
kins was in Stirling, Conn. For sev-
eral weeks he had been writing to a
girl living there, whose name he had
seen III d uidiffiuouidi nuFSdu QuDItC1a-
ton Fortunately the girl was away
from the city when he arrived.
Returns West Again.
The Whereabouts of the man are
unknown between this incident and
June 21, when he registered at a ho-
tel in Youngstown, O.. for one day
Gormon learned this fact from Chief
Dowell, of the Youngstown police
force He was at Gary, Ind, a little
later and on July / he was at Harvey.
III. Another one of his mysterious
disappearance then occurred, lasting
until uly Is, when he appeared at
Chicago. Yesterday Apkins came to
ConnersvilIe, wrote chack for 81 on
signing the name OF E. Hensley, a
Richmond saloonist. II was payable
to the order of Charles Mayer It was
found in his effects
Yesterday afternoon, Mr.. Gormon
learned that Apkins was in Corners
Vile. Afterwards he received infor-
nation that Apkins was on the $50
p. m. interurban car bound for Rich
mond. AS Apkins stepped from the
car, Gormon stepped up from the
shadow and said:
I've just been waiting for you, Ap-
kins.''
The man stepped back and trem-
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