The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-08-29
RUFF KING HELD
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get a horse belonging to a neighbor
and which had been loaned to young
Woody.
| On one occasion King told the boys
! father he had bought John Woody
/ out On another occasion he told the
father he had heard from the boy.
Another time he said he had seen the
missing farmer boy near Rossville-
Again the elder Woody was on his
way TO Topeka to attend the fair
| King approached him and told him
another story regarding John. But
the father and mother waited for a
letter that didn't come.
| Identified the Skeleton.
Woody's attention was called to
| human skeleton which had been ar
ranged at one end of the press table.
ton was found"
Yes; I was there when they were
| digging near Kings barn"
| DO you know whose skeleton that
IT'S my boy's-John Alexander
Then the father told of a missing
| tooth in his sons mouth, Of two filled
teeth. of the peculiar shape of the
| head and of the extreme black hair.
with the fathers description.
| The first real consignment Of
trouble was aroused when the de-
| Tense in cross examination sought to
| gain from Woody information regard
| ing letters written or received by
members of the family. State counsel
/ objected strenuously. They had not
touched this subject in direct exami-
! nation. 1t was incompetent. irrelev-
/ ent. immeterial and lot of other
| things. The court sustained the OBJ
lection Then the defense laid back
! he ct in which
came in the Ringer preliminary.
! Witnesses who were present when
the body declared to be that of
Woody was unearthed. John Clark
and Dick Jones told of the digging.
He Worked for King.
Evidence by the missing boys ia
Their and by Maurice MCNEIL, assist
| ant attorney general, showed young
Woody worked for King a few weeks
before he disappeared. Mcneil told
| of a talk with King at the Shawn ee
county Jail. King was quoted as say
| ing he had bought WoodY's horse and
buggy. Woody boarded at Kings
! home and slept in the livery barn.
Testimony by Drs Richardson and
! Menard of Paxico was to the effect
that the person whose body was ex-
hibited during the hearing was be-
| tween IS and % years old al time of
! death. Statements as TO age were
based on condition of teeth. No state
ment was made by medical men as to
the probable cause of death.
As soon as the state announced it
/ was ready to rest, attorneys for King
! inspected the complaint. They called
John Clark, John Woody, Mrs. Daw-
son Woody and J. E. Widdington-all
state witnesses. 1t was a clear at
tempt to learn in advance of the hear
ing before a jury just the evidence now
n 81 IN Of ha fof 70
made no objection. None of the wit
nesses called from the states rolls in
Kings behalf was cross examined for
the state
John Woody. an uncle of the miss
ing boy. positively identified the body.
So did John Clark, who. helped un-
earth the bones. The state asked no
questions.
John Turnbull. Maple Hill black
smith, was the first witness called to
testify against King in the case charg-
ing murder of William A. Ringer. Just
before this case was called the state
amended its complaint and filed a new
warrant against King charging him
with the murder of Ringer. Former
complaints were for the murder of a
man named Gregg with second
count for killing of an unknown man.
said He Buried Horse.
Turnbull said he once saw a place
behind one of the livery barn stalls
where a number of boards had been
removed and roughly replaced. A
sick horse had been in the barn. Wit
ness thought the horse had died and
had been buried by King. There was
blood on the boards. Later Turnbull
asked King about the matter. De-
! PENDANT said he had buried a horse
near the barn, but asked Turnbull not
to say anything about it.
Not until after the first skeleton
was found in Maple Hill did Turnpull
? suspect that human bones might be
near the barn He directed a party
of searchers. At a spot indicated by
, Turnbull the skeleton of a man al
legged to be Ringer was found.
On cross examination Turnbull was
unable to state the month or year
} when he saw the boards removed
sensed no odor around the barn, he
said.
r J. A. Ketterman, a deputy sheriff
= told of the finding of the bones at g
= spot just east of a former lean-to Of
flee of the livery barn and just south
g of the main building.
David Stewart of Maple Hill helped
to uncover the bones. He told of tbs
! finding of old rifle barrel beside
the bones. He said a sea shell and
wire links-sin1ilar to those owned by
Ringer-were found in the buria
plot less than a foot below the sur
face Of the ground. A decayed horse
n blanket was also found. witness said
1 and evidence was clear that the blan.
\ ket had been wrapped about the body
and head of the man whom King /,
alleged to have murdered. A rope
only rotten strands remaining-wa.
2 found around the neck bones.
4 Body Buried Face Down.
=. The body of the peddler had beer