The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-04-13
WOMAN ONCE CONVICTED OF
HUSBANDS MURDER GETS HIS
INSURANCE.
MONEY LOST IN BUCKETSHOPS
The Nebraska Supreme Court Twice
Sustained the Conviction of Mrs.
Lille, Then, Aftsr Her Pardon,
Decided for Her in Suit for Money.

? Lincoln, Neb., April l2.-The de
cision of the supreme court Samr-
=. day in upholding the verdict in the
lower court which awarded Mrs.
Lena Nj. Lille the insurance on her
husbands life, is in erect an acquit,
tai of Mrs. Lille of the charge of
numbering her husband, which con
viction the supreme court twice up
held.
Mrs. Lille served two years in
prison and was pardoned by Cover
nor Mickey. 1t is common law that A
murderer may not profit by the
crime. AS the result of a decision
Saturday, Mrs. Lille will get about
$4,000 in cash from the various
lodges and companies in which her
husband was insured
The case is most unusual one.
Harvey NJ. Lille was the represent.
ative at David City, in 1902. of a
hicago grain buying house. His
wife was an ambitious, pushing wo-
man and, impatient of The slow
growth of the family wealth, opened
a dressmaking shop Al this she
was very successful. Yet not getting
rich fast enough to suit her, she
began dabbling on the Chicago
board of trade
Early one morning in October,
1902. Mrs. Lille aroused the neigh
borhood by her screams and declare
tions that her husband had been
murdered as ne lay by her side in
bed. Her story was that she was
aroused by the presence Of a bur
glar in the room. AMI that her first
comprehension Of what was happen
ing came when this burglar stand. |
ing close to her husband, shot him
in the head. The man, she said.
then turned his revolver on her, but
she rolled out of the bed, Just a
second before the outlet whistled
over her head.
A series of circumstan devel-
oped by the investigating officials
led to her arrest on the charge of
murder. The states theory was that
Mrs. Lille had become involved
through her grain speculations and
that 1t was n order to obtain DOS
session of the life insurance carried
by her husband that she killed aim
Several doctors swore that the
wound in Lilies head was SO locat-
ed that apparently the bullet had
been fired from the wife's side of
the bed. The detectives evolved the
theory that Mrs. Lille shot her his
band as they both lay in bed and
then in order to give strength to her
story, turned over and fired the
second shot out OF the window. They
bolstered up this theory by showing
that the hole in the window screen
was a trfle higher than the hole
in the window ITSELF Indicating that
the bullet had not been fired by a
person standing up on the opposite
side of the bed.
Mrs. Lille did not take the stand
in her own defense, and was con.
Victed and sentenced to prison for
life. After serving two years she was !,
Dardoned by Governor Mickey, who
believed her innocent. Shortly after
her release from prison, Mrs. Lille
began suit on all the policies on
her husbands life. At the trial of
he suit against the Modern Wood
men, selected for test case, Mrs. .
Lille took the stand and for the
frst time told her story of the af {
air. She said that she had desired
o testify in the criminal case but
Ter lawyers would not allow her. $
The jury in the insurance case de- 7
'ided that she did not kill her hus- !
'and and that she was entitled to /
Ter insurance money. That decision y
he supreme court now aftirms, and r
he policies will have to be paid In :
he criminal case the supreme court f
aid that while the evidence was
purely circumstantial, there was suf- {