The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1913-09-19
Brother Of The Prisoner
Makes Appeal To Gov. Cox
And Charles COtGlI May Very
Soon Be A Free Man

Akron. O., Sept. 16-Declaring that
he has new evidence to prove that
Romy Cotell is innocent, a Chicago at
torney, brother of Cotell, who has
been a prisoner at the Ohio peniten-
tiary for sixteen years for the murder
of three persons on the Stone farm
near here, will make an appeal to
Governor Cox asking him to pardon
the prisoner.
According to the attorney If the
young man Is freed a request will be
made for the arrest of one Of dozen
suspects detained at the time of the
crime. 1t is declared that new eyi
dence obtained by the brother points
to one of the suspects as the murder
er. 1t is also declared that the con-
fession of Cotell made after the muir
der was forced from him under threats
and that the real slayer was given but
a cursory examination and freed.
AT the time of the murder Romy Co
tell was a youth OF seventeen. He was
received at the penitentiary February
s, 1897, and in the last year has been
employed as trusty at the state tu-
berculosis farm at Mt. Vernon. His
health has broken down as a result of
his long confinement in prison.
Detectives employed by Cotell's
! family have been working in Akron
for the last few months trying to delve
further into the evidence upon which
Cotell was convicted.
The Stones, an aged farmer and his
wife, were slain In their beds late al
night They were beaten to death
with club OF some sort, and the hired
man, who had been out late and hac
just returned to the house, came up
on the slayer at work. The man at
/, tackled him and beat him so badly tha
he died few days later without re
! gaining consciousness.
Three daughters of the Stones were
also in the house and one of them sav
the slayer. The murderer wore
| mask She got out of the house ant
gave the alarm, but by the time th
nelghbors arrived the slayer had hed
Cotell was arrested and Charge
with the crime. A baseball bat wa
produced with which 1t was declare
Cotell committed the murder. Rom
as indicted for first degree murder bu
after the preliminary eXaminatio
1 pleaded guilty to second degree mu
l der and was given life sentence b
Judge J. A. Kohler He continued t
declare his innocence after he wa
sentenced and insisted that the ma
who really committed the murder wa
allowed to so free.
= Six years ago friends OF Cotell p
titioned for pardon for otell an
o presented evidence which they d
- clared tended to show that the priso
p" en- was innocent The state pardc
board cook up the case, but after i
W vestiga ion declined to recommend
"a don
IL Since then Cotelrs brother hi
IT spent considerable time in going ov
le the evidence and he declares that nc
Is he has procured enough new eviden
to TO induce Governor Cox to make an
OF vcstigation,
II is declared that the Stone g
nd who saw the slayer has declared tn
ie the man who killed my father al
as mother was a much larger man tn
IL Cotell" Another bit of evidence W
es be the transcript of a part of the gra
of jury minutes and trial testimo
which It Is said will show that t
lip blood on the baseball bat wi
lis which the murder was supposed
ne have been committed was analy2ed
er paint by chemists who made the {
sc alysis at the time Cotell was arrest,
u Is further declared by those wol