Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1918-04-11

as a hand on the girls fathers
farm. They loved each other, but the
father objected to their marrying and
sent Adkins away. The pair met Sc
erctly. however, and finally, aided BY
Mrs. MCGOWAN. who had herself mar
ried al the age of fifteen years, were
married in October, 1915. Life with
them was apparently not altogether
happiness, II the stories of neighbors
are to be believed. The girl was tax
en- to her fathers home finally and
was told not to see her husband
again.
Before the coming Of the baby, Ad-
kins obtained exemption from the
draft. The baby was born at the
MCGOWAN home.
Adkins finally came TO Mexico to
work at the Brick Factory, and took
a house here. Still he did not leave
the girl alone. He was constantly tel
ephoning her to know when she would
be coming back home. She would
never make promises, but would US
ually say: "You will have to ask
them"-meaning, as the neighbors in
terpreted it, her parents. She was
sick all winter, first with German mea-
sles, then with pneumonia fever.
Adkins desire to have his wife at
home seemed to have grown to such
an extent lately that he would no lon
ger tamely submit to a refusal. He
visited the farm in the early part of
the week which preceded the shooting,
and remained in the barn over night.
There was loud talking and quarrel
ing that night at the MCGOWAN home
Mrs. Annie Hatfield asserts; Mrs.
Hatfield lives a quarter of mile from
the farm, and with her son, was the
first to reach the place after the
shooting occurred.
The night before the murders, per-
sons on the rural line overheard Ad-
kins making an appeal to his wife to
come home and bake him biscuits
He said he was tired of eating light
bread. His wife would not promise
to go to town and warned him not tc
visit the farm. He is said to have
talked to her twice Saturday, having
installed a telephone at his home fol-
that purpose.
Mrs. ]. R. Adkins, mother of the
murderer, said Monday that she knew
her son had brooded over his trouble
until he was crazed.
"He loved his wife and when they
wouldn't let her live with him, after
he had fixed the house up nice for hei
and the baby, his mind just gave way
Mrs. Adkins declares.
The baby was in Mrs. Adkins cart
at the Planters Hotel Monday, an(
she says she will keep it. She is tht
mother of ten children, one of whom
Ora, is an engineer, now in France
Her grief for her son and the deet
he has done seemed intense. She wa
giving Baby Leland bath when ;
reporter called.
Baby Leland is a friendly littl,
soul, ready to reach out dimpled hand!
to the newest conner, and, while a bi
displeased at having to undergo (
bath so early in the morning, appear
ed most unusually good-natured.
He is a pretty child, and resembles
his mother, Mrs. Adkins says. Mrs
Gladys Adkins was a blonde, with al
unusually sweet face, Adkins was I
brunette, about medium height.
'T don't know what the trouble be
tween my son and his wife was," Mrs
Adkins said. "They say he wrote M
letter but l have never gotten i
yet. suppose it is now at my home
l know my son loved his wife and bab,
and wanted them with him. He neve
would have done such a deed il hi
mind had been right"
The note left by Adkins for hi
brother, Albert, is incoherent in plac
es, and seems to have been write
under the stress of deep emotions.
reads:
"Well, l have done this on account @
love Of my little sweet wife, becaus
they wouldn't let her come and liv
with me; so l killed them all and the
killed myself. Now, Albert, war
you to see that mother gets the b;
by. You phone her at Mr.. Morri
and take the keys out Of my pock'
and everything in the house goes
mother, so | want to be buried
] Beaver Dam Cemetery, right besiC
) my wife. So good lucketo all. | a
] going to Heaven and l hope to see W
: all there. Albert, you take my 81
= and keep it as long as you live to r
member me of. So, goodbye to a
. | | am gone. The last thing am thin
ing of is home, sweet home. So goo
bye to all. | wrote mother lett
and told her all the trouble-mailed
Saturday night. This leaves me or
!, ing so goodbye to all as | drop te'
: on this paper"
!, If a letter had been mailed a fe
e hours earlier than it was mailed, it
d probable that the terrible triple mu
d der and suicide of Sunday mornii
might have been averted
|. Mrs. ]. R. Adkins, mother Of De
{ by Adkins, who killed his father-i