Jasper County Democrat, Volume 22, Number 42, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1919 — SKELETON ON STAGE [ARTICLE]

SKELETON ON STAGE

•KULL IN MUTE ROLE ON DIMLIT BXAGE. Owner of Skeleton Farm Seos Brother Pick Up Bonos Which Are Identified. Eskridge, Kan., Aug. 22. —Out of a burlap sack—bone by bone—thighs, arms, legs, and finally the skull —a human sketon was placed on the floor Of the opera house here in the preliminary hearing of lAifus King, charged with the murder of three men at Maple Hill. Upon, the stage, behind the flimsy Lighting arrangements of a country town theater, before the eyes of the largest audience the little house has ever held, William Gutshall Identified the skeleton as that of his brother Reuben, who disappeared from his farm near Maple Hill in December, 1918. In the front row sat Mr. and Mrs. Levi Gutshall, the parents. The skeleton, save'for the skull, had been laid out on the floor by a physician. As his hand came from the sack for the last time, the crowd, now on Its foet, saw a Jagged hole In the skull. “My boy,” gasped the aged mother. Until then King had stared about defiantly ; now his eyes shifted and his head fell. King was formally charged with the' murder of John Woody. The charge in the case of the old peddler was amended, so that King, In the latter case, is now accused of the murder of an unidentified person. To both charges King pleaded not guilty. His preliminary hearing will be held here' August 28.