The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1915-04-23
DIETzEL CASE TAKEN UP u
BY THE SUPREME COURT
Judge J. M. Anderson, of Nashville,
for the Defense.
ATTORNEY GENERAL THOMPSON SAYS ROB-
Berry MOTIVE.

ATToRNEY-GEN THOMPSON SAYS Rol
Berry MOTIVE.
Jackson, Tenn, April 20.-Intere
centered this morning in the speech {
Gen. Thompson for the State. Yestel
day morning Judge ]. M. Anderson, c
Nashville, had put up powerful pie
for a reversal Of the decision OF th
lower court in the case. Gen. Thomp
son followed this morning with pow
erful plea for an affirmation Of the de
cree Of the criminal court of Obiol
County, which found Dietzel guilty ano
sentenced him to be electrocuted.
In opening his argument Gen. Thomp
son said:
Frank Dietzel was convicted OF muir.
dering George Wehman and was given
sentence of death by the lower court.
His case was appealed by the defense
and they assign six errors.
The theory of the State in the lower
court and my theory in this court is that
robbery was the motive for the crime.
Wehman was IS years old, was pc
culiar character, dressed slovenly, shah
billy and sometimes filthy. He was a
painter by trade, and when not paint
ing he did odd jobs about Union City.
He had practically no acquaintance,
because he was not social in his nature.
He had no friends, it appears, except
one ]. G. Burdick, fish stand keeper,
who seems to have been kind adviser
in money matters, to whom Wehman
entrusted his money at times. Web
man saved and boarded his money.
That fact was generally known about
Union City. He frequently counted
his money in the presence of others
and would get others to count it for
him. He was known to be rather weak
minded, but was thoroughly industrious.
Young Dietzel, living on different
plane in life, boy of sociable nature
and having absolutely nothing in COM
mon with Wehman, sought him out
and was known to have been with him
on occasions prior to the time of the
murder. Four days before this MUIR
der occurred Dietzel drove with Web
man to the town of Rives, they ate sup
per together in a restaurant, and at
tempted to buy beer in that place, but
could not. They came back late that
night to Union City-nobody in the
buggy except Dietzel and Wehman. On
the Saturday night following Wehman
was murdered.
REVIEWS FATAL TRIP.
The State insists that Dietzel COM
mitted the murder. The facts in the
case show that Dietzel went to the liv-
cry stable OF one Alexander obout 9 or
$50 that night, secured horse and
buggy and went out driving, in which
direction the record does not state; that
the horse and buggy was brought back
at lao or II 80 that night. The con-
tention of the State is that Dietzel took
Wehman in the buggy with him either
back of the marble shop or back of the
Dietzel harness shop, or back of the
younger Dietzel's iewelry store; that
they drove west of the city; that at a
point few miles from the city Dietzel
fired bullet into the back of Web
mans head, the bullet entering near
the base of the brain; that Dietzel then
took from Wehman's person his roll of
bills, amounting to $3.50 or more; that
he then threw the dead body, head fore
most, into the we'll, covered it with
plank, and then drove rapidly back to
the city, jumping out OF his buggy in
front of the livery stable and allowing
the horse to walk in, Dietzel or some
one yelling at the same time, Here is
your horse
Now, the defence contends that Diet
eel could not have left the livery stable |
and gone west with that buggy without
going through the brilliantly lighted
part of Union City known as the White
Way, and could not, therefore, have
gone with Wehman without being de-
tected," continued Gen. Thompson.
At this juncture the prosecutor took
up the large map of Union City and
showed that there were three other
routes that Dietzel could have gone
besides the White Way route; that all
three routes were more or less dark at
night, and one especially was through
a section where there were practically
no street lights. Leaving the Union
City map, Gen. Thompson began further