The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-03-13
A PRIEST TESTIFIES.
Brought Here From Ohio in Beers
Murder Case.

One of the sensational development:
in the w. L. Beers murder case yes
terday afternoon was the introduction
of Father John p. Kunert, of New
| Washington Ohio, who told of a meet.
| ing with Beers at the request of the
minister early one morning in 1908. The
priest testified that Beers, decidedly ex-
cited. had called him by telephone be-
| tween and O'Clock one morning ano
| urged him to come to the Beers home
| at once. When he reached the place
Beers told him of finding that his wife
| was thinking of suing him for divorce
and a letter that had fallen in his hands
from a lawyer mentioned the name OF
| the priest.
At the interview, according to the
witness. he told Beers of statements
| that had been made by Mrs. Beers to
TO detail to the court, consisting in
charges of abuse against the husband.
Mrs. Beers told him, he said, that Beers
had choked her, beaten her and kicked
her.
According to Father Kunert. Beers
told him, when he reached the latter's
home. that Mrs. Beers had tainted at
the Methodist church the night before,
and that while assisting her home he
heard the rattle of paper that was con-
cealed in her dress. He demanded that
the paper be given him and upon her
refusal to do so, took it away from her.
Then he found it was letter from
lawyer regarding a proposed action for
divorce against Beers. The letter mem
toned the name of the priest, which led
to his being called.
On cross examination Father Kunert
admitted that he had told Mrs. Beers
she could not again become a member
of the Catholic church unless she Sc
cured from her husband a written
agreement to the effect that any chill
CHI
be raised in the Catholic religion. This
Beers refused to do. He admitted also
that the only other course the woman
could take to reunite with her church
was to leave Beers. but denied that he
urged her to leave her husband, or that
he suggested such a course.
If anybody doubted that Attorney
Otis Hungate, for the defense, does not
understand the anatomy of the human
throat. he changed his opinion after
the grilling cross examination of DIR. F.
J. Ernest one of the states star wit
nesses. DR.. Ernest told of finding the
body of Mrs. Beers on the bed in room
81 at the GIenwood hotel on the af-
ternoon of the tragedy, and located the
position of the false teeth that strangled
her to death. The teeth, he said,
started down the woman's throat and
then one point of the plate had passed
through the back wall of the pharynx
and had rotated to a certain extent
around the trachea. In answer to a
question he declared in his judgment
the teeth could not have reached their
position when he found them without
having been pushed there by outside
force. They could not he said, have
reached such position by being swal-
lowed.
Thereupon Attorney Hungate began a
long cross examination in which he dis
cussed the carriages, muscular forma-
- I,
throat. Several times he had the
physician guessing, DR.. Ernest admit
ting he did not know, or at least did
not remember; some of TIE formations.
For the most part the questions re-
ferred to technical matters, and the
large crowd was treated to an expert
lecture on the anatomy of the throat
before the examination was finished.