The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-01-12
DEAD NAN PROVOKED
Staying BY CRUELTY
LANCER Will PROVE
Bringing Up and Trend Toward
Insanity in Family Are Evil
dent, Defense Claims
CALLED DELIBERATE PLOT,
I Shot to Kill Him, Feeling lt
Was His Life or Mins,'
lnez Says on Stand q

AS the second day Of the trial OF
1nez Gontka, 17-year-old Emmons
county girl for the murder Of her
father. Charles H. Gontka, last Sep
tember 3. progressed here, the issues
In the case had been clearly defined.
A triple interviewer defense had
been outlined by Attorney william
LANCER Of Bismarck. He plans to
prove that the Staying was In self.
| defense. provoked by cruel treatment
and threats upon the girl whose men.
tai state was very susceptible to In
fluence because Of this treatment
Her bringing up and q trend toward
insanity in the Gontka family are
quite evident defense claims In the
Staying Of the man.
Other influences promoting the
IDEA OF murder, LANCER claims, q
the TACT that several murders In the
vicinity Of the girls home In two Of
which shotgun was the instrument
OF death. suggested the use Of this
weapon in the destruction Of her
father. Suggestion made BY the
young man, Henry Redmill, that she
old not have to stand for such treat.
ment, also was pointed out by the
defense counsel as in influence.
Called Deliberate Plot
On the other hand States Attorney
Lynn Is attempting to disproye the
seH-defense theory by the facts In
the case. claiming that the murder
was . deliberate plot In which at least
the defendant and her younger sister,
Eula. were implicated.
Lynn claims the murder was
prompted BY resentment against the
latherS punishment for disobedieuce
such Is attending Of dance on the
saturday night before the tragedy
oy the girls In the company Of young
Redmtll and his friend Osserman.
The defendant continued on tx
stand at the trial opening toda1
steadfast In her assertion Of SELF
delenSe and that her father knew
nothing about their attendance at the
dance. The defendant claimed her
father beat her because OF his dis
torteo mind which made him danger
Gus TO her life and the lives OF other
The trial adjourned at IL 80 O'Clock
that some law might be looked up be-
lore conventng again at 1:30. Argu-
ment as to what evidence might be
introduced and what constitutes self
defense was injected into the case
Wnen Attorney LANCER placed his Sec
ond witness on the stand ct the con.
clusion Of two and q half hours Of
questioning the defendant, following
an equal time Friday.
Tries to Prove Insanity
This witness was Reinhardt MuIxke
OF Hazelton, an acquaintance Of the
slain Charles Gontka for some Is
years. His testimony LANCER declared
was intended to prove Gontka insane
at the time he was shot to death by
his daughter Inez.
Attorney Lynn objected to the In.
PRODUCTION Of such testimony declar.
ing no evidence Of self defense had
oeen shown and that self defense
must constitute an act committed
while actually engaged in the preyen-
lion OF an offense, committed ct the
Time or attack or when an attack Il
actually being made and cannot refer
to acts either that have gone be6ore
or may be contemplated. He con-
tended that 1T is Just as unlawful Is
Kill an insane man as to kin I sane
man."
Judge Jansonius declared that Il
was his opinion that in this case aelf
aelense does not necessarily mean
"tnat she was in danger but whether
or not she had reason to think she
was IN actual danger and to prove
TINS we must 60 into the victims Reu-
eral demeanor."
members Of his family.
Tells Her Own Story
The Hazelton farm girl took the
witness stand In her own defense Ffi.
day afternoon and calmly told the
Jury now she shot her father to death
September In self-defense.
Despite the sharp questioning Of
Lynn IS to why she did such things
aS hiding the body and covering t6e
nlood spots. she stuck firmly 70 thu
statement i shot to kill him. feeling
tnat It was his life or mine"
Wnlle lnex related her story Of TIN
Tragedy and what led up to It. her
l4-year-old sister. Eula, who Was tl1a,
only witness and who assisted her a
loading the body Of their father in1o
the wheelbarow and rolling e awa8
70 the bushes for hiding, at apnor-
emily unmoved except for suniline -.
casionally at her sister, pale-faced buf
calm on the stand. As
Newer 0poon Kind Wera
1nes told Of living IA fer ~ -
father stnce she could rc1,neri1laors fros n
0lRnHaklw n<nSSnap Sn~aA.. ~. -