The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1921-03-20
MEMORY OF EARLY DAYS
WHEN CHURCH BELLS CALLED
LED BOY TO CONFESS
CONTINUED From Page Ore,

Continued From Page One,
and seek forgiveness. combined with
the softening influence Of motherly
advice given by Mrs. c. b. Moon, wife
Of hte sheriff of Kosciusko county, has
resulted in a confession from Virgil
Decker, IS years old, in which he de-
clares that he alone was responsible
for the death of Leroy Lovett, a 1s
year old youth of Elkhart, Ind, with
whom he had chummed.
Decker signed the confession early
today in the presence of Mrs. Moon,
her husband, three detectives and two
Warsaw citizens.
Since his arrest Tuesday at Marion,
Ind, on the charge of numbering Low
ett, Decker has insisted that he had
no part in the Lovett lads death.
Late yesterday, Decker requested a
Bible. Later, Mrs. Moon heard him
talking as he walked about his cell.
She listened and heard him quoting
the Scriptures.
ibid you find something to comfort
your she asked.
The boy said he had found some
thing comforting.
"Are you familiar with the Bible?"
asked Mrs. Moon.
Decker replied he could recite many
passages of Scripture and told her
Of earlier days when he attended
church regularly.
my favorite verse is John. Chapter
3, verse 16," he said, and quoted:
:. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that
whosoever belleveth in Him should
not perish. but have everlasting life
Isn't that good?' he shouted. ut
makes me feel better already"
''If you keep on telling lies" sug-
gested Mrs. Moon. don't you know
that you viii only make your case
worse"
'Yes, I know it, and I'm ready to
tell ALL" declared the boy.
He then gave complete account
OF his trip from Elkhart, Ind. with
Leroy Lovett, which started Friday
night March II. and which, according
to the confession, ended Saturday
morning in a summer cottage on the
Tippecanoe river with an attack on
the Lovett boy.
THE devil told me to do 1t and
just did it," he said.
The attack, with heavy iron bar.
was made, according to the confes-
sion given out by the officers and
was not fatal.
Virgil, the confession revealed. chang
ed some of Lovetts clothes for his
own, obtained horse and buggy. and
drove with the injured lad TO a rail.
way crossing, where he released the
horse, leaving the buggy with Lovett
seated unconscious, expecting that a
train would hit the buggy and leave
body so badly mangled that identl.
fication would be impossible except
by bits Of clothing. Decker planned
To. disappear.
The buggy was hit by q slow freight
train, however, and the body not mu.
hlated.
The boy denied to Mrs. Moon that
there was an insurance plot to obtain
payments of policies aggregating s24..
200 In event Of his accidental death
He told me-" said Mrs Moon, that
he had simply taken out the policies
because different insurance agents had
been after him and had persuaded him
II was q good way 10 save money"
The policies had been made pay.
able to his brother. Fred Decker. on
the advice Of agents, Mrs. Moon said
the boy told her.
The officers apparently are satisfied
with Virgil Deoker's latest statement.
In which he assumes the blame for
the crime, but they believe there are
many details yet to be revealed.