Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-08-02
Boy of IA Years, Who Killed Wife Of
Benefactor and Two Babies, Fin
ally Breaks Down.
SECOND JEKYLL AND HYDE
SAYS ONE OF HIS GUARDS.
Messenger in Prison, But He Has to be
Watched, Especially When He
Has Sullen Look.
UNITED PAnss LEASED wlAn.I

Joliet, ILL.,, Aug. 2.-Fourteen years
of age and sentenced for life. Granting
that Herman Coppes, mere baby, lives
to the average age of prisoners, this
youth who calmly shot to death, for no
apparent reason, the wife Of his bene.
factor and crushed the heads of two
babies with an axe, today is looking
forward to the so years he must still
serve behind prison bars before death
liberates him.
Herman Coppes is tousle-haired, un.
dersized boy, just like hundreds to be
found on corner lots playing baseball
or at the swimmin holes" taking a
stolen plunge. There will be no base
bah or swimming, however, for little
Herman COppes.
''The most battling study in juvenile
criminolOgy that has ever come to my
notice" was the Characterization of
the Coppes boy expressed today by
Warden Edmund NJ. Allen, of the Hi
nois state prison at Joliet. And alien
lists, crimonologists and penitentiary
officials who have examined this
strange little fellow, echo the warden g
statements. All are agreed that it
would be menace to any community
for the boy to be free in it. All are
agreed that the boy suffers from homi-
cidal mania Of the worst type The
alienists-at least some of thein-say
the boy should be sent to an institution
for the insane for treatment, but they
admit that his condition is such that to
be treated at such an institution some
freedom would have to be given him.
At any time, they say, during one Of
the periods of apparent sanity, he
might cunningly plan and succeed in
satisfying what they call his lust to
kill. Penitentiary officials admit
frankly they haven't the slightest idea
what to do with the boy. Never be-
fore, they say, have they been forced
to turn a cell into a nursery"
Queer Little Fellow.
"He is a second Dr. Jekyll and Mr..
Hyde" said one of the guards, in
whose cell block he sleeps, "He's the
queerest little fellow I ever did see,
and have some youngsters of my own,
about his age, who are not white an
gels One day he'll be as happy as
a kid with a baseball bat. The next
day he hangs his head, mopes ip his
cell, marches into the dining room with
eyes half shut, and eats barely enough
to satisfy the hunger Of kid One-fifth
his age. He will refuse to talk even
when we talk to him Of the things he
likes. Then, the next day, he's hap
py and smiling and cheerful again"
When he was barely 13 years old
the Coppes boy was sent to the st,
Charles state reformatory because his
father declared him to be incorrigible.
Ten months ago he was parolled and
given into the custody of Nanny Sleep,
a farmer living near Elgin.
One evening when Sleep was away
lrom home the boy shot the farmer Is
young wife. With an axe he dashed
out the brains of her two babies, Sar,
ah, aged 4, and Ertille, aged 2. Re.
moving the cover from an abandoned
cistern under the kitchen he pushed
the dead mother and her dead babies
into the well. Then he carefully and
so cunningly erased all signs Of the
triple murder that no trace Of the kill
ing showed when Nanny Sleep returned
to his home.
Finally Confessed.
During the five days that Sleep and
his neighbors engaged in frantic search
for some sign of the woman and her
babies, Heroman Coppes went about his
minor tasks. He calmly ate his meals
on a table which sat on the disused
cisten top. On the sixth day Sleep
distracted begged the boy to tell what
he knew Of his missing wife and chill.
dren.
"T killed them. They are down
there" he answered calmly, pointing
to the old well. Then, under severe
sweating, the boy confessed every
thing-except why he did it.
"Why did I do iti Oh, I dunno
he would invariably and indfferently
reply.
d Shows No RemOrse.
The boy was rushed to trial, pleade,
guilty and was sentenced to a lif,
term. He showed absolutely no re
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