Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1920-01-08
ZINllMERMANS DENY
ADOPTED DAUGHTER
STARVED TO DEATH
Claim Little Seventeen Old
Girl Found in Shawstack
Was Lost But a Few Hours
Stories Conflict.

Stories Conflict.
Towner, N. D., Jan. 5.-Mrs. Wal
ter Zimmerman was recalled to the
witness stand today when the trial
of her husband, charged with mur-
dering their 7-year-old adopted
daughter, Margaret Kottke, was re-
sumed in the district court of Nc
Henry county.
Mrs. Zimmerman commenced her
testimony late Saturday afternoon.
She followed her husband, the de-
fendant, to the stand. He testified
that Margaret Kottke disappeared
from their home the night before her
body was found in a strawstack on
the Zimmerman farm, and that he
had made an extended search for her
during the night without avail, He
testified that she had wandered from
the home on other occasions.
Contention of State.
1t has now developed that the state
contends that the child was starved
to death in the Zimmerman home,
and that the body was taken to the
strawstack after the child died.
Prosecutor E. r. sinkler thus far has
been able to prove that there was no
food in the child's stomach, with the
exception Of undigested wheat; that
rigor mortis, which sets in about six
hours after death and continues for
some "a or sc hours, had not set in
when the body was found, and did
not set In afterwards, going to show
that such condition had taken place
and all traces Of it disappeared be-
fore the body was found, altho Zim-
norman claims that the child was
lost only ;afxspr eight hours before her
body was found. and that the girls
body had commenced to decompose,
which could not have occurred in
the time the defendants claim tran
spired between the child's disappear
ance and the finding of her body. It
seems that the state is endeavoring
to prove that the child died in the
Zimmerman home, and the body was
kept in the house for a day or two,
then taken to the straw stack and the
alarm that the little girl had disap-
peared given.
Doctors Are Called.
The first two witnesses called for
the defense were DR.. Craise and DR..
Allen, Of Towner, who testified as to
the length of time required for food
to pass thru the body. Considerable
importance is attached to this, mas
much as the state contends that the
child was starved to death, while the
defense contends that the little girl
had been fed regularly. DR.. Craise
and DR.. Allen testified that certain
foodstuffs would pass thru the body
within a few hours, which was more
or less contradictory to the evidence
given by DR.. Stone, of Balfour, coro-
ner for McHenry county, and DR.. T..
H. Kermott, of Minot, who gave ex-
pert testimony on this point while
testifying relative to a second post
mortem examination he conducted.
Bruises on Body.
DR.. Stone and DR.. Kermott also
testified as to the number Of bruises
and sores found on the child's body
and declared that number of them
were caused by the little girl being
struck by some sharp, heavy iron in
strument.
Saturday Zimmerman testified that
the child had wandered away from
her homo on another night, and was
away;for several hours. Cross-exam-
ination brot out the fact that the
Temperature was Is above zero that
night, and the state contends th1t the
child would have frozen 70 death.
Zimmerman also testified that the
night the child - supposed to have
disappeared and died from exposure.
he searched for several hours for her
IN n11 tvalis and nm ;1in Sa 80 hin. =