Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-05-17

MRS. ||V|VES III BE
TRIED IN j, s, COURT
FOR MISUSE Of MAIL
Mrs. Ida May Innes, who gained
nationwide noteriety as a defendant
in connection with the mysterious
disappearance seven years ago of
Mrs. Eloise helms Dennis and Miss
Beatrice helms, young daughters of
Mrs. John w. helms, of 80 Gordon
street, is slated to face a jury in
United States court at an early
date-probab1y in July, on an in
Gictment charging misuse of the
mails in the famous case, it became
known Saturday at the federal build
ing.
IAcl flCIOI 1HHSS, now
serving seven years in the state
penitentiary for larceny after trust
OF large sums from the missing sis
tiers, is under federal Indictment on
similar charges and will be placed
on trial Immediately after his pris-
on term expires in October Of next
year, it was further learned.
Trials of the Illnesses in federal
court will probably mean that the
famous case will again be aired in
all its details. The previous trials
IN San Antonio, Texas, on murder
churges, which resulted in acquittal
for the couple, and in Atlanta on
larceny after trust charges, which
resulted in their conviction, were
the sensations of the entire coun-
try while they were in progress.
MRS. Innes and her husband were
convicted in Fulton superior court
court in 1917. He was given a
seven-year sentence and she got
three years. After the latter's re-
tease she went to Portland, Oregon.
and is said to still be residing in
that city.
~dNAOSOA Va &1uIuGT
The United States grand jury here
t uiiulcted the famous couple more
than a year ago. Mrs. Innes is under
$4,000 bond for her appearance for
trial ioi
According to government officials
the SPECIFIC allegation in the indict-
ments charge that the Illnesses en-
ployed the mails in extracting large
sums of money from the NeIms sis
ters on the pretext of investing il
Tor them in farm lands in the west.
The Nc!ms sisters left Atlanta
more tn ! seven years since and
went to san Antonio. where the In
mes couple were said to have owned
a nome: The sisters; it is alleged.
lnnes home in San Antonio.
Mrs. Nelms. the mother. and
Marshal helms. their brother. charg-
ed openly shortly after the young
women disappeared that Times and
his wife had planned their destruc-
money.
The trial of Times and his wife for
murder in the Texas courts followed
and resulted in a Verdit of acuuittal.
due to the states failure to produce
the corpus delecti. Under the law
this must be done!
Evidence was introduced at the
trlaL it is said. to the effect that
large meat choppers and a supply of
acids were found in a search of the
lines home. The state contended
that the, bodies were destroyed by
the defendants. lines and his wife.
Murder Theory
After the couple secured their re-
lease from the Texas murder
charges, a long fight followed for
their extradition to Georgia for tri-
al here on state charges of larceny
n tnI. 4 L. F.
cessfully evaded eXtradition for sew
eral months, but a court decision
was finally passed ordering their re-
turn.
Governor Hugh M. Dorsey, then
solicitor general of the Atlanta cir
court, and secured convictions.
While both defendants were on
trial, Governor. Dorsey, then solicit
tor, openly stated his belief that the
Nelms sisters were murdered by
the case for many months and devot-
ed a large part of his time to it. But,
of course, there was no legal way
to bring the defendants to trial in
this state on murder charges, as the
alleged murders were said to have
been committed in Texas.
The aged mother Of the missing
young women has been exceedingly
active in the prosecution Of Mr.. and
Mrs. 1nnes. She and her son, Mar
shall helms, who at one time was ex-
ecutiVe secretary to Governor Dor
sey, remain firm in their belief that
the sisters were put to death by In
mes and his wife. Mr.. helms has WIS.,
tied practically every section of the
country in hunt for evidence, and
Mrs. helms has spent the greater
part of comfortable fortune in the
effort to bring to justice those she
believes responsible for the disap-
pearance of her daughters.
The health of Mrs. Innes since her
release from the state prison in Mil
ledgeville, is reported to be very
poor. She is said to now be under
medical treatment in Portland, Ore.
Had Bank Accounts
Mrs. 1nneS is now so years q age,
and her husband is SO. In a state
ment to The Journal, Marshal Nelms,
brother of the missing sisters, de-
clared his belief that the reports of
Mrs. Innis' i'll health are untrue. He
characterized them as ruse on her
part to delay her trial in Georgia.
Victor Innes and his wife, prior to
their first arrest in Texas, had
been Of rowing dispositions and had
made extensive tours Of the country.
Many people called them adventur-
erS.
Both of the missing sisters had
comfortable bank accounts of their
own, and it was charged at the for
mer trial in Fulton superior court
that Innes and his wife succeeded in
obtaining most of the money of Mrs.
Dennis. 1t was stated that Miss
Beatrice helms had gone to San An