Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1921-07-07


Fargo. July 2-Wm. GUNNER ho-
tel clerk is blamed for the death of
Marie Wick, IS, Grygla. Mimi. in
local hotel June 7, according to the
verdict of a coroner's jury today.
Fargo. July 2-William GUNNER
was held for trial, charged with
!! murder in the first degree. Bound
over to district court, the case may
be tried this month.
The end Of the preliminary hear
ing in the Wick murder case came
yesterday afternoon at o'clock af-
ter the defense had moved for dis
charge on the grounds of insufficient
evidence, and after states attorney
Green had urged for several hours.
stantial evidence that has been Wrapt
about the accused man in the three
weeks since the murder took place.
The state closed it's argument at
$40 o'clock and Judge Barnett for
the defense rebutted briefly in fav-
or Of his motion to dismiss Justice
Bingham overruled the motion i'm
mediately Judge Barnett sat down.
GUNNER waived further preliminary
hearing and will be held without
bond to the next term of district
court.
In presenting his argument to the
court States Attorney Green built up
wall Of circumstantial evidence in
tended to exclude the possibility of
the crime having committed by any
other man than the defendant. The
happenings Of the night from the
time Miss Wick stepped off the train
at Fargo until she was found dead
in her chamber at the Prescott hotel
the following morning, were related
in sequence to fit it with the testi-
mony Of the 25 or more witnesses
who have testified for the state.
The only tilt of counsel during the
entire hearing came when Judge Bar
nett called Sheriff Kraemer to the
stand early in the day to testify to
declarations made by GUNNER on
June a.. 1t was the first move in
an effort to get rid of the damaging
testimony given by GUNNER to Of
ficials while he was being grilled in
a cell at the Cass county Jail. States
Attorney Green objected on the
ground that the cross examination
was an improper one because the
witness was being asked to testify
to declarations made not to him but
to the states attorney. The court
allowed the first question, but sus-
tanned Green's second objection rela-
tive to the same matter, allowing
the testimony considered to be the
M n OF NJ In tnfn ~
dence. to stand.
Visited Room Twice, Claim
Rape was the motive for the crime
declared the states attorney, and the
man who committed the deed went
first into the room and choked and
gagged his victim, then returned
several hours later and completed
the murder by beating her on the
head with the fire nozzle. The noise
heard by the maid. May Mellass, was
said to be that Of the murderer on
his second visit to the death chamber
When he first went to room 80 for
the purpose Of raping the young wo-
man he was heard by Mrs. Van Worst,
some time between 1890 and 100
o'clock. The attorney brought out
how the experiments conducted by
one of the officers in room 30 a
couple of days afterwards had been
identified by Mrs. Van Worst as re-
those she had heard on the
night in question.
The murderer must have been a
man from the inside of the hotel
either an employe or guest-the
states attorney averred. The free
dom with which he moved about
while doing his fiendish work, ut
terly excluded the possibility of it
having been someone from the out
side, it was contended. The use of
the fire nozzle in beating the girl
was interpreted further as indicative
of the work of an inside person. ),
Murderer Familiar With House
''The man who committed this
crime knew where to get the nozzle
and we. have no outsider taking the
chance of standing in
The hall unscrewing the hose nozzle.
knowing he might be surprised at
any ume", said the states attorney.
'The murderer not only took the nOz-
zle from the hose, wiped it, practic-
ally eliminating every trace of blood.
but returned the nozzle to its place
and placed the towels underneath the
covers.
"An outsider would have no pos
sible object in doing this. In fact,
from his standpoint. he would leave
The nozzle in the room to make it ap-
pear an inside job. The man inside
The house, however, by putting it 4
back in place and eliminating all
races of its use would make It ap-
pear that the weapon with which
he crime was committed was taken
INTO the hotel by the murderer and ID
AIKEN out again when he left. Z.
The use OF the light in the room a
which was violence by the bloody
,ulb was again brought up in fur- "
her confederation of the theory that
To- one except man who was fa-S
Continued on Page Il z ssss