The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1920-12-03

science kept assuring me that it was
misfortune and not error on my part
that had brought me here. At every
point In the strange chain Of circum-
stances l felt that ! had acted as q
man Of honor should have acted. My
sense of innocence upheld me ever
though the deliberate malicious plot
J ting Of evil men might make 1t appear
to the Judge, to the jurors, to the
whole world that l was a murderer.
Even though l should be sentenced to
death for killing a woman ! never had
seen the knowledge that at every point
I had done what / still believed to
have been right. brought me strong
comfort and filed me with new cour-
age.
Yet 1t was with lack Of interest that
I listened to the monot0nous question
Ing that formed a part of the selection
Of 4 Jury.
"So far as I am concerned" l had
said to my counsel In our last chat,
"any sort Of a jury will do. Unless
we succeed in upsetting the evidence
| against me with a crash that all the
world can hear 1t makes no differ.
! ence."
II guess you are right" he answer
ed, despondently, 1t seemed to me-,
land II the worst happens, we always
can take an appeal"
His reply convinced me that he, too,
was anticipating the result, which I
long ago had decided to be the only
outcome, unless something unforeseen
~happeneA-a verdict against me Of
murder in the first degree.
I heard, almost with amusement,
the district attorney, with eloquent
oratory, tell the jury the crimes he
expected to prove against me. Y
smiling q little at the picture he paint
ed OF a gangster seeking employment
In an apartment occupied by families
Of wealth that he might find oppor-
tunities for plundering them, and
when he was surprised In the midst
OF his burglarizing, brutally choking
the unprotected oma whose home
he was despOiling and then as she lay
there. helpless and insensible, shoot
Ing her through the heart.
In fact, l quite agreed with all he
said. ever to his most strenuous adj
jectives-except for the one fact
that / knew l was not the man he
was talking about. It had been a bru-
tai. cowardly murder, and I was fully
as anxious as the district attorney
could possibly be to see tho miscreant
who had killed Miss Lutan brought
to book.
The testimony that was to come, I
devoutiy hoped. would give some clue
that would lead to the unmasking Of
the real murderer. The first witness
called was one of the detectives who
had arrested me. He told concisely,
as though repeating a well rehearsed
story, Of having been summoned to
the Granddeck and finding there the
body Of naisy Lutan. He said that
she had been shot through the heart.
WAS there anyone In the apart
ment when you arrived"
Yes, Q DOCTOR"
Anyone else2"
YES, Mr.. Wick. the superintendent
Of the apartment, and the prisoner"
"Wfat did they say1 How did they
explain their presence there7"
THEY said they had heard a shot
and had come in to investigate"
He toA Of examining the body.
questioaiag the physician and Of max
Ing q search Of the apartment for the
murderer, but finding no one else
there.
What did you do then"
my partner and l followed the
prisoner to his apartment and placed
him under arrest. We searched his
md In the dresser l found a
rev oivsr1 with one chamber recently
dincfyrged."
"Vhat made you suspect Nelsoni
Why did you arrest him?"
my partner and ! talked It over,
and we both were of the opinion that
Is was an inside job. A burglar would
have no chance to get into a building
like the Granddeck and make his get
away. It a between the superin-
tendent Of the building. who was a
man Of responsibility, and this young
fellow-who val only a caretaker."
Had anything in Nelson's actions
madeSy suspicious Of himT
II noticed that he was greatly ex-
cited"
Anything elser"
AFTER Nelson had gone upstairs to
Ills v apartment, I questioned Mr..
Wick. He said he had been in the
elevator when he heard the shot. He
had gotten cut ut the fifth floor, where
Il seemed to have come from. At the
door Of Miss Lutan's apartment he
had found the prisoner"
That's ALL" said the district attor-
ney triumphantly.
Ny attorney waived cross+examlna-
ton. The second detective was put
N tA0 stand and corr0borated his
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