The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1922-01-19
WIN. GUNNER BEING TRIED
AT VALLEY CITY FOR MUIR
DER OF MARIE WICK AT FARGO

VIM. GUNNER, the young clerk Of
the Prescott hotel in Fargo, charged
with the murder of Miss Marie Wick
in Room 80 of the hotel on the night
of June 7, is being tried at Valley City
this week.
GUNNER, who has spent more than
six months in Jail awaiting trial, came
into court wearing the same brown
suit he wore when he appeared in
court in Fargo last summer.
The attorneys for the defense are
w. H. Barnett and Claire Bickner of
Fargo, and H. w. Swenson of Devils
Lake, brother-in-law of GUNNER.
IS Hans Wick, father Of the murdered
girl, of Grygla, MINI. and Morris
GUNNER, of Mayville, N. D., father of
the accused man, are attending the
trial. Both men are farmers and
Gummer's father is putting up the
money with which to defend his son.
Accompanying the murdered girls
father is his cousin, Hans Ness of
Grygla and Arnold Rasmussen, of
Grygla, the young man who accom-
panied Marie Wick to the hotel from
the train the night she was murdered.
Judge Cooley of Grand Forks is on
the bench.
H. J. Hagen, former president of
the Observation-Disclosures bank of
Fargo, who is now living on a poultry
farm near Seattle, arrived as a volun-
tary witness. Hagan occupied a
room next to the one in which the
young woman was murdered that
night.
Fred Lawrence, son Of the prop
rietress of the hotel, told of Gummer's
actions the morning after the murder.
He said:
"Gummer called me at about 6:45
and said he could not awaken the party
in room 80, and wanted me to go down
and see if l could get them awake,
that they probably had the sleeping
sickness, or were dead or something.
III told him to try again, and then
to call me in about 20 minutes as
was still very tired" testified Law
renee.
Lawrence said that he told Gum
mer Ito look over the transom" and
that if he couldn't wake the party up
any other way to "throW some water
in, that will wake them up"
Lawrence said that he told GUNNER
''if there is anything wrong, come back
and tell me"
GUNNER, said Lawrence, came to
his room short time later.
@. Did he say what he had seen?
A. He said there was red rag
with spots on it over her face and that
there was table before the door and
he said he looked over the transom
and saw her with the rag over her
face.
@. Did you look over the transom?
A. Yes, there was table there
and I looked over the transom, and
saw her. with the rag over her face.
After had seen her went and call
~ ed the police. saw one of the maids
her skeleton key.
her she called and jumped out in the
hall and said she didn't want to go in.
Hans" Wick, father of Marie Wick,
who was assaulted, brutally beaten,
raped and then murdered, after being
Hotel Prescott in Fargo, was the first
witness called by the prosecution to-
day in the trial of William GUNNER,
accused of being the man responsible
for the crime of the night of June z,
last Mr.. Wick broke down on the
witness stand, when questioned con-
corning the last time he had seen his
daughter alive.
- It was at Thief River Falls, on the
morning of June s. when she was pre-
pairing to go to Warren, Mimi, and
from there to Fargo, bound for Petit
bone, N. D., to visit an aunt. that Mr..
Wick last saw his 18-year-old daugh-
ter, the second eldest of his family Of
seven children.
'And the next time you saw her was
in Fargo?" he was asked.
He tried to hold back the tears,
overcome with emotion. He could
only nod his head, and when excused
a moment later, Mr.. Wick went to
his chair at the side of the court
room, and for many minutes sat with
his eyes shielded by his hand, wiping
away tears that would not be kept
back.
A dozen feet from Mr.. Wick, sat
GUNNER, eyes straight ahead, his head
erect, his hands folded, his legs cross
ed, seemingly unmoved. The jurors