The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-12-18
Kato Friends OF q "a
Charlotte Sharpless
From thursdays uai,y.

From Thursdays Daily.
Minneapolis, December 10.-The
Sharpless case Will 60 10 the jury
tomorrow. Life Imprisonment Is the
extreme penalty exacted by the law
In Minnesota for conviction on either
first or second degree murder. She
was indicted for first degree murder
AS the case was drawing to a close
today, just the faintest animation
lighted the unusually stolid features
of the woman to whom the outcome
means SO much. She chatted with
friends of her girlhood days, friends
who did not desert her but came to
her when she needed them.
II didn't do II. wasn't there.
was on the roof getting my cloak"
These statements made by the sword
widow following her arrest, repeated
by her on the witness stand where
she has been for more than six
hours, form the defense.
Defense Has Rested.
The defense has rested its case.
The state has a few witnesses to call
in rebutal Then will come the clos.
ing argument by Matthias Baldwin for
the prosecution, followed by George
Armstrong, who will make the final
plea for the widow. District Judge
w. c. Leary. before whom the case
has been i'm progress seven days,
will charge the jury.
Mr.. and Mrs. Eugene Hickock and
Mrs. Bertha Sutherland of Mankato
came to the defense of the sword
widow. They told of frequent visits
to the Sharpless home when the
couple lived in Mankato. Happiness
was always apparent between hus-
band and wife, they said.
Mrs. Marie Luhman, wife of a
dentist at Pennington, Mimi, told
of knowing Mrs. Sharpless before the
marriage. The defendant was then
Charlotte Smithers, seamstress. Mrs.
Sharpless was n guest at the Luh-
man wedding anniversary at Farm
ington, month before the charge OF
murder was laid at her door.
Under Face Of Questions.
Mrs. Shrapless was cross examined
yesterday afternoon by Assistant
County Attorney Baldwin. For two
hours he rained question after ques-
ton down on her, but she stuck
pretty close to her original story.
All attempts of the defense to in
troduce testimony which would tend
TO show that Sharpless had re-
ceived a threatening letter or that
the dead man was the father of
an illegitimate child were ruled out.
The line of defense was along the
lines predicted in The Free Press on
Monday.
Unless witness other than Mrs.
Sharpless can be found to substanti-
ate the theory of the defense that
Sharpless was murdered by man
who loved his child, that line Of de-
Tense must be abandoned and the
defense must rest on the woman's
statement that she knew nothing of
her husbands murder without at.
tempting to show that another had
motive Of committing the deed.
Testimony was introduced, how
ever, TO show that for six months
before his death Sharpless had been
almost beside himself with nervous
ness, and that particularly on Thurs
day night before the murder he was
unable to eat supper or to sleep on
account OF fear and worry, occas.
stoned, Mrs. Sharpless said, by the
visit Of a young man to their home.
The man, she said talked for a long
time to Mr.. Sharpless In a very low
tone. The subject OF the conversa-
tion was ruled out by Judge Leary
as hearsay IL established by the ties.
timony of Mrs. Sharpless.
Mrs. Sharpless scored the testi.
mony Of James Donovan, whom the
state called to blacken her character.
She answered clearly and slowly
every question. She was never en-
tangled or tripped by clever cross.
examination. She seemed almost
like a machine instead of creature
Of flesh and blood. Never for a
moment did she evince emotion.
Without rancor she denied the at.
tempts Of the state to blacken her
character. Equally without feeling
she responded to questions touching
the home life of herself and her
husband. whom she said she loved.
Without passion, Mrs. Sharpless
declared that James Donovan, Mrs
Bertha Marsh and all of the other
witnesses for the state who said
her married life was not happy had
lied. At times Mr.. Baldwin ridiculed
her story before the jury. She re,
taliated only by saying over and
over again, 1T Is the truth"
On one point only in the testimony
was Mrs. Sharpless' memory indis.
tinct. That was In reference to her
conversations with the police on the
night of the murder.
Il didn't remember anything and
didn't think of anything that night"
she enid.