The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-08-29
Case Like H. X. Thaw
Found In St. Peter
From Fridays Daily.

-,
From Fridays .oails.
Out of st. Peter comes the story
of case that parallels that OF
Harry X. Thaw. Bjorn Ostby es,
capped from the st. Peter asylum on
July "a, 1912, and was at large un.
til March this year, when he was
picked up in Chicago, where he was
working i'm railroad office. He was
quickly returned to ST. Peter, where
he has since been confined.
Judge w. A., Cant, County Attor-
ney Warren e. Green and Sheriff
John r. Meining of Duluth were never
notified of the return of the young
man to st. Peter and supposed I'M
til yesterday that he was still at
large. The escape of Ostby has fire.
quently been the subject of con-
versation among the court officials,
and the rumor yesterday that Ostby
had been caught some time ago was
received with no little surprise.
Sheriff Was Surprised.
Sheriff Meining got into long dis.
lance telephone communication with
Superintendent Phelps and inquired
if there was any truth in the ru-
NOR. To his surprise he was in
formed that Ostby had been at the
asylum since the latter part of March.
Young Ostby shot and killed his
father, Duluth grocer, and after a
trial for murder in district court was
found not guilty on the ground Of
insanity He was committed by
Judge Cant to the hospital for the
criminal insane at st. Peter in
November, 1903. Ostby is now TWEEN
ty one years old
Mrs. Ostby, mother of the boy,
when interviewed, admitted that she
knew of his return to the asylum
shortly after he was /. found In
Chicago, Superintendent Phelps
notified me at once" she said. 81
didn't tell the papers about it be-
cause l thought they copld find it
out themselves"
MOtneF r1eaFQ FROM MIN.
mo, didn't know that he was 60
ing to run away" she said, "but / did
hear from him a few times before
he was caught in Chicago / do
not remember now just where he
went after he got out. l think it
was somewhere in Iowa. l heard
from him at Bancroft, where he
worked for few weeks. Then l
think that the next heard from
him was in Kansas City. After that
he went to Chicago"
Mrs. Ostby talked freely of her
boy. She is a rather frail little woman
and she looks considerably older than
she did when her son was tried for
the shooting Of his father three
years ago.
"No. they didn't find out from me
where he was. l knew that he was
trying to make an honorable living
and was doing no one any harm. Of
course, he took an assumed name.
You or | would do the same thing
if we were in his place. But he
was only making an honest living
and was not harming anyone.
"Of course, l wished that he hadn't
run away. But after he did so, you
couldn't expect that his mother
would turn against him and tell the
authorities where he was.
Worked in Railroad Office.
'sIn Chicago he worked in a rail.
road office for quite a while. 1t
must be that he told someone who
he was and that they let the officers
know Anyway they came and got
him, and took him back to ST.
Peter.
"The asylum people are kind to
Bjorn and it is not bad place for
him to stay. The surroundings are
congenial and the care that they
give him and others kept there is
the best. have visited him there
quite a few times.
Lately people have asked me if
ever heard anything from Bjorn since
he escaped from st. Peter. l told
them that l had and he was back
in the asylum. They wouldn't be
lieve me-"
| "Do you think that his mind is still
affected?" she was asked
| "Well, that is hard question" she
said Il don't think so, but / sup
pose that is question for the doc
tors at ST. Peter to decide. They
may think so, but don't know" {.
Little Hope for Freedom.
Asked as to whether she contem
plated taking steps to secure hi!
release from the institution, she re
piled that she had often wished thai
! he were home with her again, bu
that she supposed that it was {
vain hope.
you see, in order to get hin
free, the district court would have
to order it and as l understand it
they would have to be pretty vel
satisfied that he was now in hi.
right mind.
"Bjorn wants to get free. l al
ways tell him to wait and do it il
the regular way and not to escape
Bjorn is a well educated boy. H,
likes to read The Herald and W,
send it to him every day now One,
he asked me why the papers neve
\ had anything in about his going bacl
to the asylum.
=