The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-04-27
KING IN CUSTODY
tcontinued from Paee onel


Phiiippines.'' The remark caused or
gsnization of searching parties. Weird
letters came to Wabaunsee county Of
ficials regarding strange disappear
ances Digging parties were organized
and one hundred men spent a Sunday
digging for human bones.
The spectacle of crowds digging in
the yard at Kings former home. in Il
livery stable and barn yard. attra cted
several thousand people to the scene.
element shortly after the digging be-
gan Bones of a man were found bur-
led near the little office room in
Kings former livery barn. A little
later a second skeleton was found.
Port of Missing Men.
Maple Hill suddenly became a port
OF missing men Frantic parents.
wives and children journeyed to the
little town to look at the piles of hu-
man bones which the Wabaunsee
county sheriff had placed in a gunny
sack. The mails brought letters from
all parts of the country asking for
information.
Then came talk of mob violence.
King had been brought to Topeka for
safe keeping. The little town talked
with a tremor in their voice King
wild ways and his profane tongue.
The town revived and magnified all
the thrilling tales of Kings proves
as a fighting man, his inhuman treat
ment of animals, his seemingly born
many evil deeds in the barn that had
become a mystery house.
One of the skeletons found near
Kings barn was identified by rela-
tives as that of John Woody. a young
farmer who had disappeared. The
last and third skeleton was asserted
to be that of T F. Ringer, an timer
ant peddler. who often spent days at
-
following disappearance OF each of
the men property which they were
known to have owned was found in
Kings possession. In the inveStfga-
ton many trinkets and bits of cheap
Jewelry which the peddler carried in
his wagon pack were found in Kings
former home.
Case of CircumsfantiaI Evidence.
1t was largely a circumstantial
case But relatives chung tenaciously
to their Identification or the human
Fearing a mob. King was taken
from the Shawnee county Jail to Esk-
ridge for two preliminary hearings.
The country town justice OF the peace
who heard the bit of evidence which
the state offered. held the defendant
for trial in the district court without
bond.
A heavy guard of armed deputy
sheriffs surrounded King during the
pie of Maple Hill knew there would
be a killing if Kings hearings were
held there. So the preliminaries were
staged at Eskridge. Kings former
home At no time, however, was
there a demonstration which reached
a stage where the crowd sought to
take the prisoner.
Change OF Venue Granted.
1t was asserted that jury could not
be found in Wabaunsee county which
would give King a fair trial. So a
change of venue was granted and the
case was tried in Lyndon, Usage
county. before Judge Robert II.
Heizer. A jury found the defendant
guilty of first degree murder when
he was tried for the killing of Woody.
Identification of Woody was more
positive than that of any of Kings
other alleged Victims
Recently King has been working at
He has been carefully OBJ
served by the state and the special |
decision of the supreme court came |
today following information that the |
defendant had in the last few days
refused to answer letters King viii |
probably arrive in Topeka on the !
Santa Fe plug tonight. He will be |
brought here by Usage county Of |
ficials.