Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1901 — MRS. BONINE IS FREED. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

MRS. BONINE IS FREED.

Jury Acquits Washington Woman of Young Ayres’ Murder. Mrs. Lola Ida Bonine, who was charged and tried by the government for the murder of James Seymour Ayres in Washington, was acquitted. The jury was out nearly five hours. There were present when the jory [jury] handed in its verdict only the officers of the court and attorneys, but outside there was a great crowd. An affecting family scene was enacted when the woman was declared to be innocent. This ends Washington’s celebrated trial. It was the most spectacular, mysterious and picturesque tragedy in the history of Washington. The story of the

thrilling descent on the fire escape of Mrs. Bonine in the dead hours of the night, the bloody imprints on the window sill and window curtain have all been told so recently that they are fresh .in the public mind. The trial lasted almost four weeks. District Attorney Gould closed the case in a speech of one hour and forty-one minutes. Judge Anderson occupied fortythree minutes in reading his charge to the jury, and the panel deliberated over four hours. Mrs. Bonine remained in the cellroom while the jury was

deliberating. She was joined there by her husband, the two boys, her two sisters, one or two men relatives and Messrs. Douglass and Fulton, her counsel. All remained with her until Deputy Marshal Robinson sent word to the officer in charge to bring Mrs. Bonine into court to hear the verdict.

As she entered the court room her face betrayed her first anxiety, but she controlled that emotion almost as soon as it appeared. When the verdict had been recorded Judge Anderson informed the defendant that she was at liberty and ordered the court adjourned.

[Illustration of MRS. LOLA IDA BONINE.]

MRS. LOLA IDA BONINE.

[Illustration of J. C. BONINE.]

J. C. BONINE.