Evening star., 1923-08-09

NContIhued from First Page
crowded courtroom as Miss Rickett.
nHlsned was so audible that the cIerE
OF the court leaped to his f.et .rF
shouted: Silence, silence In IN.
court But the spectators y,sra -.
,'.au ~ oe Siitheed 50 soon. Half 4 dozen
women, in their anxiety n pnt 49,,
view vi the witness. stood m ..na ~ ~
cierh was obliged to bang heavily ~
@ .ne ueSk with his gavcl before ordff
"'9 IoFyo ana I'll" trial continued
g, Hiss hlckettS presented n pa1h.t.,
.tE ure as she sat in the Scared o,,1,
witness box. nervouSIy wrinciUt, -.
handS and alternately PLAYING witf,=
me black braid tassels that bobb.,i
from her quiet, black crepe a aftrrIt1o,
dress. ON her head she wore a biact
picture nat, tipped over her right -.
q an attracttv" angle. \ tone Iay4fr.
uer rose attached - the moderat.b
wide brim Of her hat was ~ a,f
bit Of color about her COSTUME
testimony that neither IN. C1ro
neF ; jury nor the grand jury had heara
mas MfHng from the girl under tn.
persistent questioning OF States A.
torney Anders, who himself va.
prompted time and again 10y ASSIST
ant Attorney General Lindsay Sp-E-
Ger. Ihe girl began with Il fran
description of how she first mct krl,-
nef nine months ago, when he hega.
10 take meals at her restaurant fre.
quently. Sometimes, she admitted H.
saw her twice a day and then III
began TO take automobile rides
Tells of Trysts.
We went various places Two s
three times ne drove M around f1.
farm of his father-ir,-i law, Mr.. Houri
We also Went TO Baltimore aid
Hagerstown, but as rule we would
lake rides out into the country str
ping frequently along the roadsid
for from twenty minutes to half 4
often stopped was the old Monocar,.
bridge. on the road to Buckeystour
We usually had liquor and h. huggea
and kissed me and showed his ~
fection for me"
Ask ed if her friendship with Kcpuel
mad ever gone further than that, Mis-
Ricketts answered in the megatiy,
She tod how kepner "ad given her q
wrist watch and various amounts ii
money totalinG about $500. Ms
Ricketts, told also of kcpncr VISITING
her the day of his Wife's funeral all1
how he called 10 present her with .;
bouquet of flowers about lunch tim,
on June Is, the day Mrs kepner Eas
shot TO death. Once she said. It'll.
prisoner visited her at her home wisis
she was confined TO bed with a severe
toothache.
Il had engagement to meet II
kepner the evening of the day h.
wife died. Miss Ricketts, continue
but he said nothing about breakiu-
IL When he gave mc the flowers tha.
noon. He told me H. had made an H..
vestment in oil and that he was look
ing for gusher. should ii come in
said, he expected to leave FrederICk
and asked me to go with him, but J
never promised. Then he told me l..
had bought me $500 worth of Stock
but he never gave me anything -
prove the truth of that statement. II
often spoke of taking me away with
him.
Mentions Threat.
Sometimes l asked him what E#~
wife thought about his remainin@
away from home at night. and hr Sat,.
no questions were ever asked. He jt,.
say on several occasions that hi.
wife's family nagged him. especially
Eleanor, but he did not mention TIL
wife. Once he said 4 am gettii-r
tired of the nagging. Some time th.E
are going to wake up and find SOM
body gone We had little TO say T.
each other the day of his wife.
funeral, when he came into the storc
At this point States Attorney An
brs again wrung from the witncs-
new testimony when he persuade
her to tell how kepncr had visited
her on another occasion soon after
his wife's death and asked to see her
left hand. He carefully examined the
jeweiry on her fingers and remarked
rs that all Of the rings you have
When the witness answered in the
affirmative she said Kepner dropped
her hand and said: That is what
wanted to know None OF tie rings
had been presents from the defend
ant. Miss Ricketts, added. Asked il
Kepner had ever mentioned his wIfe'f
death. Miss Ricketts, replied in tn"
affirmative.
Shooting Believed Accident.
81 said he had gone home at the
usual hour that day, she said and
upon going into his wife's room found
her lying on the bed. apparently
asleep. When he raised the curtain
he saw that she was dead. He told
me it was his opinion that SHE had
been sitting on the bed playing with
his pistol. 1t must have gone off. he
said, because he didn't think size knew
anything about gun
This, too, was brand new testimony
three judges-Chief Judge Hammond
Urner and Associated Judges Glenn II.
Worthington ard Edward c. Peter-in-
terrupted the witness To ask her point
ed questions. Her answers We're frank.
but nervous until she was obliged to
bare the secret of the notes between
herself and kepner soon after Mrs.
kepner's death.
Tells of buying Pistol.
Immediately preceding Miss Ricketts,
on the stand was Charles +. Seegef.
who reiterated how kepner had come
20 him several days before his wife
was found shot to death and asked him
to explain the use of the pistol with
which she was slain.
Benjamin Biehl, a clerk in the same
hardware store. corroborated the tes-
timony that kepner had been in the
store, and told of seeing Mr.. Seeger
with the weapon. Mr.. Seeger was ar
parently talking about the gun, he
said. Osborne Price, Il customer, told
about the same thing. He was in the
store buying paint brush at the
time. he said.
John T. White. the city tax col
lector. was used by the state in an IF
fort to show that kepner'S financial
condition was bad at the time of his
wife's death. My. White said Mr..
Kepner had paid his 1921 taxes in
1922, and that his 1922 taxes, which
were due last September IA, have not
yet been paid. The witness said, how
ever, that Kepner had asked for his
bill this spring, promising to pay 1t,
Immediately. The collector said, in