The Butler weekly times and the Bates County record. (Butler, Mo.) 1918-1950, 1921-01-20
JOE REEDER MURDERED
Former Bates County Man Murdered
on the Streets Of Casper,
Wyoming.

~. Grant street. shOme' and had arrive,
within 50 yards of his destination
Absence >of any possible motive, witt
the exception of an attempt to ro1
Mr.. Reeder has>left the local official
helpless in their endeavor to run t,
carth the degenerate for the crime.
III. Reeder, who is reported to II
q well-to-do business man.. cherished
afn0ng his prize possessions, q di2
fn0nd ring, which according to TIL
statement to his son, was worth S.,
500 and . diamond stud valued /,
$1,000
On this faint clue the police and
shefiff's forces are pinning their hope
Of eyentually solving the crime. They
think that the only motive . for the
murder was the possibility of prize
Of these valuable pieces of jewelry.
If robbery was the object, the as
4 sassin failed niiserably for after Mr..
Reeder fell mortaly wounded, the
v would-be robber fled the scene Of his
crime without depriving the man OF
the jewels nor a large sum of money
which he was carrying.
That the man who murdered Mr..
Reeder may also be wounded is pos
sibility because" claspcd tightly in Mr.
Reedcr's hand was a rs calibre Colts
automatic from which three shots had
been fired. The fact that Mr.. Reeder
was shooting also may have some-
thing to do with having prevented the
robber from accomplishing his pur-
pose.
A pathetic side Of the case is that
the three sons of the deceased man,
comfortably situated in their home
just a few feet comparatively, from
the point where their father was,
gasping his last, rushed to the doors
of their home, but seeing no conmo-
tion returned to their leisure.
" According to statements made to
the officials. Cecil Comfort, brother
of Mrs. Fred Nxe, who resides lat
400 South, Grant street, was the first
one 10 find the dying form !. oof Mr.
Recder. Others soon arrived and
Drs. Johnson and Mcclellan Il were1
summoned, but Mr.. Reeder. expired
almost before they reached the scene.
The body was taken, to the Shat |
fer-Gay chapel where a post-mortem
examination conducted by the physi-
clans summoned in the case. Their |
probe developed that bullet entered |
on the left side of the neck severing |
the juglar vein and, then 4 apparently !
plowed course upward. An abrasion |
on the side of the head might mean
that the second shot fired by the as
sassin all but took effect in the hu-
man target
Another angle of the gruesomc
tragedy is that Mr.. Reeder had a pre-
monition of his fate. For the past
two Or three weeks, ever since his
home was robbed once and his store
had been robbed twice. Mr.. Reeder
has felt that someone was dogging 4
his tracks, learning his every habit
and custom. Never was he able to
discover who was shadowing him.
Mr.. Reeder had been advised by |
James E. Lynch, chief OF police Mon
day evening to quit wearing the val
liable gems. At the same time Mr..
Lynch is said to have. advised Reeder
to arm himself if he felt uneasiness
about his safety. At the time, how
ever, he said he had not known
enemy
Mr.. Reeder is survived by three
sons in his immediate family His
wife died three years ago in Mis-
souri,.
The sons, are Jack, age I6; Green,
age II, and Robert, age 10. The two
older boys are students at the high
school and both have taken an active
part in the athletic teams of the in
stitution. W.
Neighbors took charge of the fam
lily affairs temporarily last night and
notified relatives. Jack, the oldest
son, upon whom the realization of
the crime has not yet dawned, stated
that it was his wish that his father
be laid beside his mother in little
at Butler, Mo.
Three of the most valuable of Mr..
Reeder's properties here, besides his
personal effects, are. the store build
ngs which house his shop on Westi
Second. the Good Eats cafe and <hisl
aine-room home on South Grant
Itreet.-The Casper wyoming Her
ID. Jan. II, 1871.
The remains,s accompanied BY the
nree sons and y B. Townsend.
Aehier of the Stockman's Bank Of
Eaeper. were brought TO this city and
11e4fday afternoon funeral services, III
e1ceed ~ Rev ,. Clyde, wereH
q the Rrestytsxian church and
spent ! rede = OAK Hill eene
lE eeser sas bon On ! aasm Ii
y nofehefa psst q this scountyt
oeenafy 91,Iez9 le vas e6ueeI-f
4 = the P1lllc school6 q t11e sS
a vas deputy eouaA1 tyeeuneefl
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