Imperial Valley press., 1924-07-25
Big Fight for Life
Term For Boy
Slayers in Chicago
rContinued from n,ce 7,

after they pleaded guilty.
Grove Is Adamant
State s Attorney Grove, however,
is determined to fight to the last
for the extreme penalty. He has
served notice repeatedly that he
would cOuntenance nothing less
than hanging. For this reason he
has refused the defense suggestion
to dispose with questioning witness
es TO build up his murder ease.
Grove win forge many more
links in the chain of proof of muir
der, and, with his witnesses dis
posed of, he still has the confes-
sions of the youths to read. Grove
plans to delate certain phases of
the confessions, at least as far as
the public is confereneed. He said
he would have the court and attor-
neys read these excerpts in private.
One of the excerpts dealt with Il
certain pathological incident be-
tween the boys at CharlevOix,
Mich, - last year.
Grove holds the public reading of
these excerpts would not aid the
prosecution 5 case in any way and
on the other hand. might cause un-
necessary pain TO the already sorelv
harrassed parents of the defendants.
Court convened ut 1905 Il. m. A
moment later Leopold and Loeb
were brought in. Both We're in eX-
cellent humor and smiled their
greetings to the attorneys.
Frank Blair, tall, rangv Young
man, a professional diver. described
how he searched the depths of Il la
COON in Jackson Park for the port
able typewriter on which the boys
wrote their $4,000 letter to their
victim s father.
The battered machine was placed
before the witness and he told of
its being found on the bottom of
the lagoon.
Blair made his successful search
after several other divers had fail
ed. After many hours search Blair
was about TO give up when he saw
the typewriter half buried i'll the
mud, II feet from the surface. For
this find Blair received 81 900, the
stipulation having been made that
he would receive that sum, or moth.
ing if he failed.
Pasts Under Starlight
The pasts of Nathan Leopold
and Richard Loeb. Slayers of Rob
ert Franks, were put under the
searchlight this afternoon in the
judicial hearing in the court OF
Chief Justice Caverlv.
Professor Z. w. Puttkamer Of the
law department of the University
of Chicago, an instructor of Leop-
| old. was the first witness. First
the professor said he had n c0nver-
sation with Leopold on Wednesday,
following the murder, al the uni
versity
"What did Leopold say TO you?''
Grove asked.
lie asked me relative 10 the
Franks ease, what the law would
be. lie asked me what the situa
tion would be if it was supposed
that the little boy was taken into
the car with the intention of kill
ing him. ! said the intention APP
peared obvious, that the purpose
was to take human life.
Suppose the victim was killed
| during the act of kidnapping, would
| that be manslaughter or mur,ler?'
| the witness said Leopold asked him.
''That would be murder, told
him.
/ Professor Puttkamer said that he
! and Leopold discussed the case at
length and that Leopold said he
wanted to know if he thought the
, criminals would ever be found out
| Puttkamer also said that Leopold
told him that an instructor at 4
i private school attended by the
Franks boy had induced certain pu
! pills of the school TO commit act,
of perversion.
Planned Suicide
Leopold, according to the witness
es, deplOred these acts and said he
hoped the instructor would be pun
ished. The witness gave the name
of the instructor as Mott Kirk Nit
, chell, who was taken into custody
by the police during the early in
vestigation of the Franks murder
/ Professor Puttkamer told of having
tutored Leopold in criminal Law
for considerable period. Leopold
1 . ha nr a+t Io
laughed openly at the professor :
! statement that he had tutored hin
! in criminal law.
Leopold planned to commit suicide
| rather than submit 10 arrest if hi!
crime was discovered, he told de
/ tective sergeant Immediately after
signing a full confession of the kill
ing, the sergeant testified.
/ Sergeant William CrOt, one OF
| the three detectives whose sparkling
investigation and trailing of clues
( led to the arrest of the millionaire
youths said that Leopold had {
long talk with him in room ad
joining the states attorneys office
While Sergeant Crot WAS giving
/ his testimony Leopold blushed, shift
ed in his seat and then laughed out
right. Loeb looked strangely at
Leopold, apparently hearing this
| story for the first time. Loci
then nudged his attorney and start
ed whispered conversation. Grove
was much amused at the eXagger
ated reports of an incident in his
outer office when Loeb and Leop-
old were being led TO the courtroom
this morning. Loeb bumped sharp
ly into Grove. Loeb drew back,