Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 62, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 April 1908 — PHILLIPS GIRL MURDERED [ARTICLE]

PHILLIPS GIRL MURDERED

Deformed Dan Day, With No Apparent Motive, Commits Horrible Crime. ■ “*■ GIRL’S MOTHER GOT DAN LIQUOR He Sat in the Kitchen of the Phillips Home, Drank Whisky and Exhibited Two Loaded Revolvers, and a Bowie Knife, and Mother Retires Leaving Girl Setting With Him. Dan Now In Jail. Girl’s Funeral to Be Held Some Time Sunday.

Dan Day, deformed and feeble minded, emboldened by liquor which he had bought of Mrs. Frank Phillips at the Phillips home In. the south, part of Rensselaer, last night at about 11 o’clock shot and killed Mrs. Phillips’ daughter, Daisy May dell. Probably no murder ever occurred that the details of it could be related in fewer words and the above paragraph practically tells the story. Dan Day is the son of Contractor Hiram Day by his first marriage, and he lived with his mother, whom Hiram Day had divorced many years ago. His deformity consisted of twisted legs and a disordered spine, and his head was drawn to one side and his face was distorted and he talked with difficulty. He was not exactly an imbecile, but his deformity had kept him from school and the surroundings at the home of his mother were not calculated to encourage learning. For many years he was almost entirely helpless, but as he got out and exercised himself he overcame a part of his deformity, and he shambled about the streets and was a familiar character. He had never been considered dangerous and until recent months is said not to have been addicted to the use of liquor. Recently, however,he has been carousing around a great deal at night and he has been seen and heard at various places during nights for the past several weeks, and he always talked to himself in his loud drawling way or would try to sing as he went to his home latei in the night. He was not considered to be dangerous by most people and most every one, in a spirit of friendliness for him in his affliction, spoke kindly to him and he was known to almost every person in the city. He earned a little money picking rags and gathering up old iron and this he usually spent for ammunition ’for his shot gun, and he hunted quitb a little. Many people had remarked that it was dangerous for him to be allowed to possess a shot gun, but no harm was expected to become of it and no one cared to take the initiative of having his gun taken away from him or having him restrained in his freedom. Quite recently he id said to have become emboldened in his display of fire arms and a few weeks ago he fired his shot gun at George Plunkett and some others, but at a safe distance away, and when Plunkett approached him and demanded that he desist Day pulled his revolver and poked it under Plunkett’s nose and Plunkett beat a retreat

Although Dan had hia shot gun, dirk and a long barreled 32-callber revolver he purchased another revolver only a few days ago. It was also a 32-callber, and It is the gun he -is supposed to have -done the shooting with. , j Dan spent Thursday hunting and returned home in the evening. He saw his father, Hiram Day, and bor- ' rowed a dollar of him. saylhg that he wanted to buy some copper. He frequently went to Goffs restaurant and Mr. Goff would keep his money for him. He was quite thrifty and at times Mr. Goff would have as high as |SO that belonged to him. But for the past two days Mr. Goff had not seen him and he was not in the restaurant after he returned from hunting. At between 7 and 7:30 o'clock he went to the Phillips residence, which is a nest cottage tenement house belonging to Judge Thompson and located near the river, a short distance this side of Kellner's ice house. He gave Mrs. Phillips the dollar his father had given him and she came to towj and bought a quart bottle of whiskey, which she says she got at Larsh's drug store. When she got back to the house she gave Dan the bottle and ho poured some into a

glass and the girl drank it. He then drapk some himself and then poured part of the balance from the quart bottle to a pint bottle he had with him and presumably during the course of the evening he drank more of the liquor but not much of it The family sat around the house until almost 11 o’clock, that is Mrs. Phillips and three other girls and one little boy. Mrs. Phillips and two of the girls and the little boy were all in bed before 11, and Arnie, who is about 10 years old, sat in a room adjoining the kitchen and Dan and Daisy were in the kitchen. The little girl says they did not quarrel and that a little after 11 Dan started to go. He reached the door and Daisy went to the door with him and that without any warning he pressed the muzzle of a pistol against her breast and fired. Daisy ran across the kitchen and through the sitting room and to the door of a bed room where her mother was. As she reached the door she cried out: j “My God, mother, Dan has shot me.”

Mrs. Phillips opened the door and Daisy sank to the floor. Mrs. Phillips and daughter Nora, who is apparently about 15 years old, raised her up and placed her on a bed but she died in apparently about two minutes. Dan left the house at once and went down near Kellner’s ice house, where he had the pint bottle containing some of the whiskey, and then he went to the home of his brother, Dolp Day, in the east part of Rensselaer, and Officers Parks and Thomas found him there at about 12:30 o’clock. Hiram Day accompanied the officers in the search, after they went to his home and told him of the crime. They went to the mother’s home further north and found that he had not been home and then they went to Dolph Day’s. Dolph had left the door unlocked and Dan had entered without his knowledge. -Dan made some show at resistance. He had one of the revolvers In his hand and attempted to raise it when Dolph caught hie hand and Officers Thomas also grappled with him. He told the officers as they were taking him to the jail that if he had been fixed for them they would not have been able to have taken him. They took away, from him both of the revolvers, and it was found that they were both loaded full, and thus he must have taken out the shell after firing and replaced it with another cartridge. He was bareheaded and his hat was found later in the roadway between the Phillips residence and the ice house.

A representative of the Republican called at the Phillips home before 7 o’clock this morning and found several neighbors there. Mr. Phillips, who had been working at Monon for his nephew, S. L. Johnson, and who was away from home when the murder took place, came here on the early train, and was accompanied by Mr. Johnson. They were at the breakfast table, and the 15 year old daughter, Nora, answered several questions. "Was Dan drinking whiskey,” was asked.

“Yes,” replied Nora. "Did he bring it with him?” “No." “Did he have it stored here?” “No, not exactly,” she replied. “Did your mother give it to him?” “Yes, she did,” replied Nora, “but you’ll have to talk to her about that.” She then went to the kitchen and called her mother and Mrs. PhilHps said that she bad given him the whiskey. Harry Wiltshire, who had accompanied the reporter to the Phillips* home, John Plat, who was there, and Mrs. Rachel Scott, Mrs. Allen Catt and Miss Pauline Nauff, neighbors

who were there to offer their services, all heard the conversation. When the interrogatories were going cn John Platt stepped into the kitchen and called Mrs. Phillips and she went out there. When she returned she was less willing to talk, but after some persuasion said that Dan had paid her a dollar for the whiskey and that she had procured it from Larsh’s drug store fojf medicinal purposes.

“Had Dan ever bought any whiskey of you before?” was asked. “Yes, he had some times when he was sick, for medicine,” Mrs. Phillips replied. “Oh, well,’’ said Mrs. Scott, “ if you sold Dan the whiskey you are responsible for Daisy’s death.” And Mrs. Phillips drawled out, “Well, Dan needed it for medicine.” Dan told the officers that he had given Mrs. Phillips the money and that she had gone for the whiskey with the understanding that she was to get half of it. After Dan was lodged in jail the officers went to the house and Mrs. Phillips denied knowing anything about the liquor, but when told she might Just as veil tell the truth, she gave it to them, and admitted that she had hidden it. The Phillips family is a large one, consists of the father, mother and eight children. Two of the sons are away from home. - One of them is named Floyd and he is also a cripple and he and Dan were together much of the time when he was in Rensselaer, and in this way Dan became acquainted with the family. Mr. Phillips spends much of his time away from home and the family are quite poor. Daisy and Nora have worked away from home and were both very comely girls. Daisy for some time worked in the Rosenbaum restaurant

George Antrim was the first man to reach the house after the murder and Mrs. Frank Foltz also went to the house and endeavored to pacify the family. f Dr. Gwin responded to a call to the house and after binding the girl dead he called Coroner Wright, and then at 1 o’clock today at the jail a preliminary hearing was given to Day, and the testimony of Nora and Amie Phillips was considered sufficient by Justice Irwin, to cause the prisoner to be bound over to the circuit court without ball.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Leopold appeared for the state and Attorney George A. Williams for the defendant. Mrs. Phillips was not able to appear, having given way under the excitement, and no questions were asked by the prosecutor about the sale of the liquor.* It is about decided that the funeral of the girl will take place Sunday aftemon. The only motive that has been discovered for the crime was that Dan loved the girl and was jealous of Jier, and this is what he told the officers. He later said that he guess he killed her just because he was a "damned fool." "What will be done with Dan?” This is a question that has entered every mind. He Is not crazy exactly. He is not an Idiot. There Is no Institution In Indiana for the criminally Insane. Probably the penitentiary. the best place for him, for his cunning might cause him to get out of the insane asylum some time and he might do this same thing over again. And this terrible crime might have been averted had Dan Day been kept from having weapons and had the mother of the girl not provided him w’th liquor. And this recalls the statement we have made before that liquor Is too easily purchased here In Rensselaer.