The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1919-12-16
Confessed Slayer Of Frieda Lesser
Slated for GriIing Before Jury;
Crime Committed Night of
July 5.
DEFENSE PLAN FLAT
DENIAL, RUMOR SAYS
Defendant Claims To Be Son Of Sen
ator Harry s. New of Indiana;
Alleged Signed Confession
To BE Used.
BY United Press.

By United Press.
Los Angeles, Cal, Dec, 49,. The
question Of whether Harry S New
claiming to be the son Of United
Stltes Senator Harry S. New of In.
diana, murdered brown-eyed Freida
Lesser his 1S?year-old sweetheart
on the night OF July ), started ON its
way to an answer today.
Harry New, appearing to have ben
Gifted rather than to have wasted
away as a result of five months in
Jail, was brought before Superior
Judge Calvin Craig here for trial.
While United States Senator New
has never visited the man who
claims him las his father, the fact Le-
Compile Davis, noted California altor-
ney. sat beside Attorney John L.
Richardson at defense counsel's TIA
BE, recalled to MANY the only state
ment on the case that Senator New
has mIlde-"I have never shirked
responsibility and never will"
Since the days which Immediately
followed the death of Frieda Lesser,
News two attorneys have developed
a defense which observers predict
will prove battling.
BY this defense, according to it's
outlines permitted to become
known a flat denial thlt New muir
Gered the girl will be made. New is
the only person, the prosecution ad-
mits. who could have witnessed Erie
da Lesser's death. He cannot be
forced to testify.
This plan of defense attorneys
agree, will force the prosecution to
rely on two lines of evidence to prove
its case.
One will be circumstantial evi-
dence.
The second, and most important,
will be the story which New told po-
lice detectives when he drove to the
central police station here during the
gray of !he dawn of July 6.
1--WE killed a woman" he told 1.-The
detectives when he walked into the
station. She's out there in the au-
tomobile."
In the rear seat of News sedan,
covered with a blanket, was the body
Of Treidl Lesser, blood from a sing'e
bullet wound in the temple cIottlng
a mass of curly brown hair
Two hours later New signed an al
legged confession. 1t told in few
words the story CT four months
sourtship, and finally an auto ride
Jarting on the evening of July 4 |
which near midnight found New and |
Treida Lesser sitting in the relr seat
Of News sedan. at the roadside in
lark Topango canyon, 20 miles from,
Los Angeles.
While they were sitting there, the
Alleged confession recites, Miss Les
.er told New THAT she was approach
ing motherhood
The idea was pleasing to New, the
signed a9atement intimates, and he
pleaded with his sweetheart to carry
out their plan of becoming his bride
he following night
She, the confessor says, refused
md revealed that instead she had I
planned for what was to have been
heir wedding night, an operation
Tsich would end the approach of
New was enraged at the idea, the
recital goes on, and shot dead the /
pretty girl beside him.
Then, the allegation is, he started /
'cr Los Angeles and after hours in
which he drove the delth sedan
through the city streets and over
'ountry roads, came to the police sta
ion and delivered the body of the
girl.
Whether or not the girl actually I
was facing motherhood, has never
been established publicly. The Off
sial findings Of an autopsy never
have been announced. Relatives of
he dead girl scout the story.
Since the first few days following
his arrest New has consistently re- +