Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1916-11-28
NOW CONDUCTING NEWSPAPER.


Coroner's Jury Links His Name
With the Murder of Promi.
nent Politician.
A. S. Ainsworth, who left Web
|ster City for the west some twelve
or fifteen years ago, will be remem-
bered by many of our people as a
young lawyer of considerable prom
Use. He lived here but short time,
when the family, CHS wife being
the former Miss Mabel Near,) left
to make their future home in the
Northwest. They now reside at
Thompson Falls, Montana, where
Mr. Ainsworth is in the law bust
ness and manager of the Independ-
ent-Enterprise. A short time ago a
prominent politician of Sanders
county was killed in Thompson
Falls, and the coroner's jury inves-
tigating the matter implicated Mr..
Ainsworth in the murder. The Mis-
soula, Montana, Muscular has the
following dispatch from Thompson
Falls concerning the unfortunate af-
fair:
A. S. Ainsworth, attorney and
manager of the Independent Enter
prise, and J. Manire, editor of the
same paper, were today held in con-
junction with Miss Edith Colby as
responsible for the murder of A. C.
Thomas, prominent politician of
Sanders county, who was killed on
the streets of Thompson Falls a
week ago last Thursday. The YER
dict was returned by the coroner's
jury after having been out for ap-
proximately three hours and after
having brought in one verdict which
was thrown out by the court on ac-
count of the fact that it endeavored
to limit the extent to which Aims
worth and Manire were incriminat-
ed in the matter.
The whole day was more or less
charged with excitement for the
spectators and court attaches, as it
was. considered very possible that
Miss Colby would take the stand in
her own behalf and tell her entire
story. When Miss Colby did ap-
pear, after it had been decided once
by her attorney, Mr.. Mulligan, that
she would not take the stand, it was
at the request of one of the jurors,
William Davidson, who asked Attor-
ney Mulligan that Miss Colby be
permitted to testify in regard to her
conversations with Ainswofth on
the day of the murder and pledged
that she would not be questioned by
anyone except the jury and that
they would confine themselves strict
lily to the conversations alleged to
have taken place on the day of the
shooting.
In response to questions asked by
the juryman Miss Colby gave an ac-
count of her actions during the
morning of the tragedy. She told
about going to the Enterprise office
for her mail; of leaving the hotel
at a quarter after nine; of how she
could not quite remember all the de-
tails of the morning as she had not
slept that night and was upset.
''The conversation l expect you
want is that in regard to this
trouble" said Miss Colby. "Yes," re-
piled Mr.. Davidson.
GAS near as l can remember" re-
sumed Miss Colby, "the first thing
did when l got to Ainsworth's Office
was to take my gun out of my hand
bag. I opened it and took the bull
let's out. I tried to pry out the lead,
but l could not do it. I then said it
didn't matter as l wasn't going to
shoot at him anyhow. Mr.. Aims
worth asked me what l was going
to do. Are you going to shoot A. C.
Thomas | told him no, | wasn't
going to do that. l am going to
scare him and make him take back
what he said. l said didn't intend
to shoot at him. | was there a few
minutes and was thinking about it
and l asked him how far | could go
in this thing. said. will you
stand by me?' He replied. Yes,
anything you may do but kill him,
and 1 will stand by YOU l then
said. suppose l kill him and he an
swered, If you kill him, we will get.
bonds for YOU
Mr.. Davidson then queried the
witness in regard to the CONVERSE
ton in Ainsworth's Office after the
shooting had taken place. Miss Col
by stated that she went directly to