Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 239, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 October 1912 — MURDER AT ATTICA; WOMAN THE VICTIM [ARTICLE]

MURDER AT ATTICA; WOMAN THE VICTIM

)H us band Accused After Finding of Footprint in Pool of 8100d —Had Lived Unhappily for Fears. Gilbert Crumley, a retired farmer living at Attica, was arrested Friday charged with the murder of his wife. Her lifeless body was found in the bedroom of her home Friday morning by her husband, who stated that he had been away for the night and' returned in the morning finding that the terrible crime’had been committed. Thursday evening Crumley and his wife had a quarrel and he states that' he went to her room at 10:30 o’clock that night and found the door locked. He says that he then went away from the house and walked down the railroad track until he came to a pile of ties, where he sat down and soon went to sleep, remaining there until the next morning. He returned home, he says, at about 9:30 o’clock and found the kitchen door unlocked. He called his wife and received no answer. He went to her room and found her lying on the floor with her head beaten almost to a pulp. The only clothing on her body was a flannelette night robe. An investigation revealed that the bedroom door had been locked and had been forced open. Mrs. Crumley had been killed by repeated blows on the head. The skull was fractured on the left side and there was another fracture entirely across the head at the base of the brain. Mrs. Crumley had apparently fought desperately to save herself. Near the door on the Japanese matting was a large blood stain and in the center of this was the imprint of a heel. The blood had soaked throygh the matting and had dried during the night A shoe worn by Crumley fitted the Imprint, every nail of the worn heel showing plainly. It is believed that this evidence is certain to convict Crumley, whose story of his leaving home and sleeping on a pile of ties, sounds very unreasonable. Crumley owns a farm of 80 acres and is quite well-to-do. His wife last year sued him for divorce and alimony and was given a judgment for $1,500. He 4 paid her the money but it rankled him * and he has since continued to quarrel with her about it- although he was again remarried to her, their 15-year-old daughter having brought them together. Crumley was arrested and is confined jail atAttlca. ■ ■' / L '