Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1912-09-19
AT FIVE O'CLOCK ONLY FOUR
WERE IN FAVOR OF con-
yICTiNG HARKINS.
The TRIAL ENDED At NOON
Final Arguments We're Completed
and Case Given 10 the
jury at Noon.


ciaD-C. l.. Harkins. charged with
the murder OF his young sweetheart.
Elsie Adams, and Mr. and Mrs. Alive
Hurst. must spend another night ia
suspense because tho jury, which for
the past five days has heard the evl
dence In the trial. failed to reach an
agreement before being locked up for
the night.
The case went to the jury at noon
today and at o'clock Judge Brown
called them In 10 learn II there was
any hope Of them reaching a verdict
tonight.
The foreman OF the jury misunder-
stood the courts question and be-.
fore he could be stopped announced
that they stood eight for acquittal
and four for conviction. The jury
was then locked up for the night
On the night OF February 3. 1912.
Arvie Hurst. Sophronla Hurst, his
wife. and Elsie Adams. a young girl
temporarily residing with the Hurst
family, were cremated In n fire which
consumed the Hurst home, in tho
small town of Delekare. 1t was 10
o'clock on Saturday night when neigh
bors. aroused by the glare OF the
flames. rushed from their homes TO
the burning house. which was a small
one-story structure. There was~-no
sigD7of life and the~enttre population
Of the little village were in agreement
In tho coneiusio that the meinbers
Of the household were absent from
home. TN
Only two men remained unnl the
flames subsided to permit Of an es--A
animation OF the ruins One of these
men was c. L. Harkins, the dspro-
portionately aged lover of Elsie
Adams. The two men soon made dis
covery Of the triple tragedy. Har-
kins volunteered the statement that
only one hour before the fire ne had
accompanied Elsie from evening SER
vice IN nearby church to the Hurst
home. and that he had stayed few
minutes before going to dance hall
from which he was summoned when
the village was aroused by the alarm
of fire.
Stunned by the nelghborhood trag-
edy. the gossip OF the villagers ex-
hausted every theory Of the probable
cause OF tho calamity except that OF.
murder On the surface there WAS
complete absence of motive. One OF
the victims. Arvie Hurst. was only 20
years of age, and Elsie Adams, the
sweetheart of Harklns. was only
slightly past Is years Of age. None
of them had a known enemy, and
the last to see them alive was Har-
kins, the 50-year-old lover Of Elsie
Adams. The postmortem examination
revealed no evidence Of violence, but
there was disclosed the fact that
Elsie. the child sweetheart, was en-
ciente.
This discovery was the first link in
a chain of circumstances, all Of which
the state declared as pointing to the
that, HarSinsl hedSttredSoI
hb 9irI wqetheart. and smartlhg uni
der theSthyeatof the Hirsts- 10 exposs
and prosecute him. had planned tho
triple murder and carried bis yplansCt
execution by tho zad igip isr4tisn Tot
poison AMI The Apbsea adnt lbnrpihs lof
the home, so-fha tAthe- -SrsmAtedAbodies
of the victims might disclose no in
eliminating evidence.
Then there were those who remem.
bered incidents, ordinarily Of little
moment. but which, In the light OF
the tragedy. and the certainty Of ex.
posure, had Elsie Adams lived, stood
out In bold relief. The belief was
universal that Harklns was responsible
for the delicate condition Of his
sweetheart. Nelghbors testified that
prior to the murder the lovers met
frequently and after each parting Elsie
seemed to lose all spirit, and often her
outbuTsts Of grief appealed to their
sympathetic interest. But to no Nv
ing person did Elsie reveal the cause
of her sorrow. If the Hursts shared
In the knowledge of her secret grlei
it Is with them in the grave.
The state introduced testimony TO
show that during the last ten days OF |
her life Elsie's pleas brought angry |
retorts from her lover, and the as
sumption would naturally follow that
the girls condition was burden |
from which Harkins would gladly |
escape.
only sixteen days prior to her |