Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-03-13
Mrs. CoStner Says Acquittal
of Accused Man Completely
Clears Her Name.
SHE LAUGHS AT SECOND
ARREST OF DEFENDANT
Attorney Latham Says IndiCa-
ton Is That Case Is Closed,
Despite indictments.

Mrs. Minnie Costner, widow of Engi-
neer Jake Costner, who was killed in a
train wreck near Cornelia on October 4,
is home in Atlanta today, satisfied with
the verdict of the Habersham jury
which freed Ed Renfroe of a charge of
wrecking the train to bring about her
husbands death
Mrs, Costner sees in the verdict her
complete vindication. Renfroe's ac-
quittal, she insists. clears her name alb
solutely of insinuations made that she
conspired with Renfroe to STAY her hus-
band.
She laughed today over Renfroe's
second arrest, which took place before
the Gainesville court house last night.
Mrs. Costner declared that the railroad
would not dare to send Renfroe to trial
again on a charge of killing the negro
fireman.
The whole thing was a complete
vindication,' she said. 1T came OUT
just as l thought 1t would, except
thought they would charge me with a
conspiracy and make me take the stand
to clear my name"
Release Indicates Case Closed.
Edgar Latham, Renfroes attorney
who returned to Atlanta with Mrs
Costner last night, said today that Rem
froe had been released on $1,000 bond,
which he signed himself. This, Latham
declared, indicated that the prosecution
considered the case closed, despite the
fact that the other indictments held
against Renfroe had not been disposed
of formally
The attorney said that it would DE
Illegal, in his opinion, to arraign Rem
froe for the murder of the negro fire.
man. He said that such a prosecution
would be trying man twice for the
same offense.
No one who followed the develop
ments of the dramatic trial concluded
in the little Gainesville court house
yesterday afternoon was more surprised
than Mrs Costner that the prosecution
failed to bring out the charge that she
had conspired with Renfroe
1T shows that the railroad detectives
circulated that story to prejudice the
people in Gainesville against Renfroe. 8
she said THE stories were circulated
to get some kind of conviction so that
the railroad company would not be liza :
Bile for damages as a result of the
wreck
Ready to Take Stand.
Il went to Gainesville certain that I
would have to take the stand in Rem
froe's behalf to fight to clear my name.
And ] was willing to testify for the
defense because I believed Ed Renfroe
was innocent of any hand in wrecking
the train.
Il do not believe that the train was
wrecked, and the people Of Haber-
sham by their attitude at the trial,
showed that they did not believe that
the switch which caused the wreck had
been cooked by a human agency.
Everybody who saw the track after
the wreck happened knows that It was
an accident due to a split switch and
the condition of the roadbed.
Tom Tanksley. who made a confess
sion on the stand duplicating Renfroe-
his testimony utterly discredited by the
iury-was taken back to Murray
county last night to face a charge of
horse stealing.
Case Hinged on TanksIey.
In conducting the trial of Renfroe
the railroad prosecution pinned its case
wholly on Tanksleys alleged confession
and the testimony of several engineers
who swore that they had crossed the
switch an hour or 50 before the wreck
Six engineers of the railroad COM
pany left Clarkesville last night dis
gruntled with the verdict All six de-
clared that the verdict means they are
without protection. While none of
them would discuss Renfroe's alleged
connection with the wreck after the
jury had declared him not guilty, all
said that the train was wrecked by a
human agency and did not leave the
rails because of a split switch.