The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1912-09-27
SON
ON CHARGE
OF MURDER
Clues Point to Young Man
as Slayer Of His
Family

few hours Investigation into the mys-
terry surrounding the murder Tuesday
night Of Theodore McKnelly, his wife
and their 1S-yearold daughter, Gret-
ia, Sheriff Lingenfelter arrested Otto
McKnelly, the 21-year-old son Of the
murdered man. The youth now is in
jail here charged with staying his
father, mother and sister. The only
evidence the sheriff has found against
him is that his mother and father car,
ried insurance policies Of $1,000 each,
which would 80 to Otto in the event
OF the death Of the rest of the family.
He also is said to have been absent
from his work as a car repairer at the
Santa Fe yards for two hours the night
the murder is supposed to have been
committed. The boy protests he is
innocent.
The coroneris jury convened at 10
o'clock yesterday morning to look in.
to the murders. The jury visited the
tent and the railway yards where Me
Knelly is employed. The jury adjourn
ed at 800 o'clock yesterday afternoon
and will meet again today
When the sheriff arrested MoKnely
at the home Of J. +. Thompson, the
prisoner calmly submitted to being
handcuffed and said, 4 am ready to
90"
The youth replied to questions as ID
his whereabouts the night Of the mur.
der by saying that he was repairing
some break Shoes on a coach IN The
railway yards
The prisoner directed the officers
to his locker in a supply house in the
yards, where they found his clothing.
In the lining of the coat and on one
leg Of the trousers were found spots
OF blood. which the boy said We're
stains OF blood from an injured finger,
In the SCOT on the floor OF an abaa
doned hut near the tent where the
crime was committed the searchers
found an indentation, which some i'm
mediately concluded was the print Of
a mans shoe, and others even clung
to the theory that it might possibl,
have been left there by the mysterloa.
murderer.
In the door OF the hut, which faces
the tent of the McKnellys, the aler
sleuths discerned a mark that hai
been cut there recently. The cut Il
: the door is at about the heights tha
e an ordinary sized man would choosl
+ if he wished to mar the woodwork an
e at the same time watch stealthily th
i tent nearby That's what The Oft
GERS believe. because they found tt
Z mark easily could have been cut b
/, a man while in a STOPPING position
) Fresh shavings OF wood were foun
Il scattered about the floor, 50 the 81
} ficers now express the theory that III
4 slayer Of the MeKnelly family stoppa
d there for few minutes before unde
d taking his work
/. He may have been waiting for
good chance or he may have take
time to summons sufficient nerve
commit the crime. The officers al
not certain on thls point
G. The investigation was 50 thorous
e that even an irregularity on the wos
ie that might have been caused by a nil
a in the knife was not overlooked.
Il. In endeavoring to connect the b,
Is with che deaths Of his family, the ,
fieers examined his pocketknfe We
carefully It has a nick in it, and
j is said this nick fits the Irregular
: in the shayings that were left 10y 3
+ itinerant Of Tuesday night, supposed
= the SLAYER.