Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1922-04-19

o'clock on the afternoon of that day
when they first announced having
found the dead bodies over there. |
think the testimony will show that
Frank kneeskern told Ole Russell his
story of it. | think the witness Rus
sett was testifying that Frank told
him at that time that he went up
toward the cabin and was going to
hunt for rabbits. He said that he
had given Charlie a horse and that
Charlie told him that he had a chance
to sell the horse and Frank said
he told him, if you have a chance
to sell him, sell him because you
! haven't any feed or room for him
and Charlie said, believe | will
take him down now, so he took the
horse down to Swenson'S and Frank
told Ole Russell that he walked up
to the timber and looked for rabbits
and claimed he couldn't see anything
and so he walked back toward the
shanty and heard a racket or row
of some kind and watched and he
didn't want to go there and interfere
in, and started to come away again
and he heard shot and he said he
thought there was something wrong
and started for Bill Cooks place and
got Bill Cook to go there with him
to the cabin and when they got there
they found these two people dead.
| think the testimony will show that
there was some talk about telephon-
ing for the sheriff there from Rus
sett's, but they didn't telephone for
the sheriff, but they went west stay
ing on the same side of the fence
until they got to the gate and then
on West to Cooks place. | think
the testimony will show that when
they got to Cooks the sheriff was
called up and | believe it was shown
that was about four o'clock. Now
it may be a few minutes before or
later, but | think it was just about
four o'clock, and that Frank Knees
kern at this point went home. /
think the testimony will show that
in going over to Cooks that day he
told Russell he would go up and
that he went over east GA rods and
got his car and that he drove it along
the highway past Ole Russett's and
1874 rods further on until he got to
Cooks place and that he went into
Cooks place and that he and Cook
! went back there together, think the
testimony will show that he drove the
j car up into Cooks place and left
! it there, that for some reason or
other they didn't take the car and
went back afoot and went to the
cabin. Well as / said | think the
testimony will show that Immediately
after this telephoning was done, and
before it was through probably, that
Kneeskern took his car and started
for Castalia. Now gentlemen / want
to give you some idea of this house
inside, the location of the bodies as
they were found by the sheriff when
he came down there. want you
to use your imagination and picture
that house for yourself so you Will
understand the evidence as it goes in.
In that little room fourteen by eleven
on the west side, which is the main
part of the shanty there was bed,
and in the northeast corner and dir
ectly opposite on the northwest was
cookstove, then right south of that
bed on the east, partition wall be-
tween the two rooms was table,
| presume it was the dining room
table, anyway a table that they ate
on and down in the south east corner
of the room was a heater, little
round heater | think. There was a
chair or two and perhaps a rocking
: chair and another chair. The floor
was made out of ordinary boards and
the roof was the same covered with
tar paper and there was just one
joist right across north and south
l and boards nailed on the top o.
that. ! don't believe that in some
e places the room was more than 81.
: feet high. 1t was so low that ;
I six foot man could not stand VI
4 straight in the east part of it.
, think the testimony will show tina
. later on the sheriff went down Their
l and that the Coroner also went dow
I there. | believe the testimony vii
S show that the body of Charlie Va
; Brocklin was lying just inside tn
z lean-to door on the west side wit
! his head toward the casing, and tn
Z feet here toward the north, that tn
e body lay upon its back, fully dress
5 ed, and the legs straight out 1
" perfect alignment. Now there wi
n be possible some conflict as to whe
Their the legs were crossed, but
e think the testimony will probabl
2 preponderate that the legs WEI
: straight and / think the undertake
/ says they were Strengthened out ver
e perfectly. There was glove upo
n the left hand of Charlie VanBrockliI
y which lay at his side, that is II
y hand with the glove on it. TIL
u glove was covered with blood, I'll
;. right hand was partially up over IL
y body and was covered with bloc
II that is blood streaks on the glo'
q and blood streaks on the hand.
= believe the testimony will show tn
&c there was very little, if any bloc
- upon the floor of the shanty. The
- may have been a small amount
&c blood, but it was a small, if al
II amount of blood at all. | believe t
u testimony will show that the DO,
~ ~ of Irene Van Brocklin lay in t
III west room with her head iowa
AZ the southwest corner of this bed a
AZ her feet extending off toward t
a stove in the southwest corner, til
~ she was lying partially on her rig
side, her head thrown backward a
y that there was very large pool