The Butler Weekly Times Newspaper, July 21, 1886, Page 1

Ni 4 ——— tr | The Butler Weekly Times. fyoL. VIT1. Soop for the fimes -—-+0se- | ‘T peabo’s Story as Taken 1 have juncture the quitl not let her that one. (at this for lriver reached a knite to sharpen his faber, but Le \ 0 insisted that he use a pencil sharpener which he produced from among the trap» in his cell,) Pro from the Lips of tne Pris- ceeding he said: Atter telling her | this she seemed reconciled and said nothing that evening. On Saturday \f oner by our Special Reporter, morning when we got up she said: | / i - | pi ted — peg asked = her where to, she said: ‘Where no f Four Hours in| Ab Interview hs a ; one will eyer hear trom me. Every- | ; Which a Full Statemen | body is against me-’ I asked her is Made. how I could keep house and take care ot the baby without her, to which she replied: ‘You can get some one else to do that for ag and still persisted in the idea ot | leaving. I then went up to Pa’s to get some water and told him how she was acting, and told him to get *Squire Wilson to come over and | talk to wite and try to persuade her | out of this notion. Wilson was good neighbor of ours and could ex- ercise much influence over my wife | Pa went up after breakfast, but Mr. Wilson could not come until after din ner. Aboutg or 10 o’clock, atter'we had gotten the house cleaned,she be gan to prepare to leave. I plead with her not togo, and so did Mr. Powers, es seme New Points in the History of the Case. —_+ 020+ Fervent Hopes of Commutation. +0 0+ Fry, July 23d the Day Fixed for the Execution. —_-+-—__—_ Presents the Times with His Photo. seees Sinday morning a special reporter \W/ of the Times made a trip to Clinton for the purpose of interviewing John T. Leabo, now under sentence to be hanged at this place on Friday next. | Through the kindness ot Sheriff W.E. Elliston and Jailer Barker, the man who lived i b were permitted to have a talk of some | i a hee st ph noe i ‘ talk had no effect. She persistec four hours length with the prisoner. ; Fi f that she must go and, put on her Leano seems to be taking things very | ? goly and spoke well of the treat ment recerved at the hands of the Henry county officers. Ue fo appreciate the call ot your re- porter and signified his willingness OH tbe mteryiewed tor the Times, al- | \ though he thought he had received | NY, thout advertising enough. After | & passing the formalities of the day td some general interogotories, the 4 Steporter queried: Well, Leabo, have you heard any thing trom petitition to the governor . for commutation of sentence ? cloak and bonnet. She wanted the baby to kiss her, but he, being in my arms at the time, retused to kiss her seemed | — 2 i She then said: ‘It 1s easier for me to go now, baby won’t kiss me.’ I told | her not to think hard of baby as was little. She then asked me if I would kiss her, and I told her of | She kissed me and started to the door. he | course | would. When she got to the door she stopped a few mo- ments and came back, and said: ‘I must kiss baby once betore | go.’ ‘The baby again retused to kiss her Not a word and she kissed me a second time and ‘What are E hasen'¢ Lantiea | Started off to the south. She went nat are your hopes torexeculive | haat x h alt agarter and wee ee demency? | @ a halt quarter and stopped, tooked about in all directions, but SB Istll have good hopes: I think Wie governor is all right. He has | Deen at Sweet Springs tor some time : | tad upon his return L hope and ex- ect a favorable action upon my Petition. “H What is your version of your wite, OE Wa’s, death? bl looked upward most of the time. I did not intend to let her leave the premises and was watching her all the time. She turned then and went northwest some 200 yards and acted in the same way. She thencame to the house, in at the south door. I said: You have come back coming | an overcoat are | up the baby and preparing to leave. ; stay and started as before, toward | | | ; Seen my wife, and was informed by | that if she could go to sleep she! : | | \ BUTLER, MISSOURI, WEDNESDAY JULY 21, 1886 it did not suit her. Powers and I ie machine into the get Supper anyhow, if I did say 1| wouldn’t, . ce - wagon | and while I was tying it in the wagon When we sat down to supper I carv to the Said: came door and ; : ed the meat and gave Powers a piece ‘J 1 you are not goi off without No. | coat and then helped my wite to a Piece. | She looked at it and began crying | and said: ‘You have given me the | best piece on the plate.’ Told her have she was entitled to it, she reply.ng back.’ [cE am not entitled anything.’ house, tend to the baby and keep|She gave half otf the piece to fires for Etta while I was gone.|the baby, and the cat having got- When he went in she was wrapping | ten that piece from the child, she gave him the other halt. I asked her to have another piece but she declined. saying she was not hungry and lett the table and took a seat near the stove. I cleared oft the table after supper. Ella said nothing during the whole time and seemed to be very sad about something. I went and milked the cows and on my return she strained and put away the milk, washed the bucket and running most of the way. Powers | placed it on the table. cared for the team and I started out I said, She met me at the door with « John, I will you get I told Powers to go to the you? and said: ‘flurry ba dinuer the to Said she was going where no one would hear of her again. Powers insisted on her not going, telling her it was too cold to take the baby out, but she could nat be influenced to the south. Powers went to Pa’s and | they told him to go tor me, which he did. I met him on the road and} we drove home very fast, horses | By that time | ‘it was dark. We sat up until usual to search for my wife. Traced her bed time. She had nothing to say part of the way by the skim of snow | for some time. which was on the ground. I fixed the baby for I met} bed and she said she would gb to Mr.. Wilsoa and asked him if he had I told her that was best, bed too. him that she was at his house he saw Said | would feel better. We went to bed r wandering down a ra-jand I fella sleep in a short time. id a r some! I slept soundly until atter part ot the to Ella Said piaining ot her head hurting ber. | go} night, when awoke me talk succeeded in getting |} com- | house with him. h wife told him that she was going to her) I asked her if I could do anything brothers, who lived northwest ten] for her and she said no. This was, miles, near State line bridge in Kan | as near I could or 3 sas and inquired for mam road lead- | o'clock. I went off to sleep again ing in that direction. her she wa as guess, 2 Wilson told | and was aroused a second time by | going inthe wrong di- } her complaining of her head hurting. } rection, that it was too late to go that | She got up and told me not to both- er about her,to care for the baby. She | take her there in the wagon the next | Went into south room and closed the \ day. | door. Ile turther said that she seemed} time, evening and that he would have me | I heard her in there for some until finally I dozed off to sleep again, and was aroused by the baby. | frightened, and looked very strange- ie out of her eyes; that her bonnet, l called for my wife, telling though ted, | her that baby wanted her. I called | for her a second time but heard | When | nothing of her, I got up, tried to! found | pacity the child, and went out to | her standing up in the back part ot | south side ot house and called again | | the room and asked her why she had | for Ella, Not getting any reply,I took | the baby up to Pa’s and told them I repeated the question without get- | that my wife had gotten up and left | ting an answer. I then said: ‘‘Ella,| again. 1 then got a lantern and Iteel sorry for you, indeed I do,’’ | started out in search of her. * * and asked her why she had gromis- | ~ = = At this junct- ed me to have dinner ready upon my | ure the prisoner detailed at length was hanging around ' her neck, and her hair hanging over ' § | her shoulders, uncared for. I went into Wilson’s house T | come there but she made no reply. jatonet black in t butcher-knife into her heart time. SPECIAL NCTICE. CASH! CASH! CASH We are offering extra Bar- gains during our and Glearance Sale | and only will sell goods at the prices we are making For Cash. Respt. SAMUEL LEVY & 60. Yherself until | that her bands | be f her throat. Also that she talked of running a} {to ced from and of} jumping out ot a window at another | That Mrs. Yoakum, her} mother, prevented her from drown- ing hers If ina well at Butler. How did you and your wife get along together? The very best kind. She often| | said, and even wrote to a lady triend | in Iowa, that it every woman had as | kind a husband as I was, there would | be no room to grumble. Do you think you had a tair tia’, Mr, Leabo? { Not by any means. It [I had, I} have been convicted. The State witnesses testified to things | which they knew were false, and my | witnesses withheld things which they | would never would | could have testified to which have cleared me. How about the juries in your tnals? Do you think they were biased ? Can’t say what their minds were. ‘ne then explained the either betore or after jumping in the well. This was nothing new for her to do. At one time she lacerated her throat so im this way that she had to wrap it with flannel. [Leabo then related seyeral inci- dents in his wite’s lite which he said were not proven at the tnals, and went to show her suicidal intent. ] Well, Leabo, if the worst comes, have you anything to fear and how are you going to take it? I have no fears and I shail stand ithke aman. fam imnocent of the charge and it will be an outrage upon the people to treat a man in any such way, At the suggestion of the reporter insurance policy which he had upon his wife’s lite, saying in substance, that pas | both had their lives insured through one Steele, in Rich Hill, some time in September, 1853, or rather that they made application tor msurance and paid their money, but never got their policies. That in November he chanced to see Dallas & McPeak in Walnut, who were azents for same company, and told them of the } failure on the part of the company |to}send the policies. That they wrote to the company and in reply received a letter in| which it was | fog s0? # 1am satisfied that she drowned Tenelf in the well of her own accord. . What are your reasons for think- return and then left before I got have you Ella? She replied: ‘Yes.! back. Then she said: ‘John, you I was not ready to go.” Told her I| know very well what I am doing! was glad she had changed her mind | here.’ To which I replied: ‘*Why, | and in minutia all the circumstances ot the search; telling how he had sent out for assistance ; where he and they searched for his wite: how they stated that Steele had never torward- They were all strangers to me, I] ed applications or money, but that think they would always decide ac-| he might make new applications cording to the last speech on side | with Dallas & McPeak and get poli- and had come back to stay with me and baby. Shesat by the stove a little while but said nothing. ° Here Leabo and She left a note in which she stated she had taken laudanum; but faid nothing about jumping in the Well. I suppose she thought the 1 *Yaudanum was not sufficient to pro- a 'g duce death and resorted to the latter + Method to accomplish her design. narrated conversations dinner very much and seemed in her Hi Can you give me the circumstan- eh § all the bal ene % 1G 8 ot the whole affair beginning at peepee ee ere eee a een \§ Ale previous to her death or as |°™™"S- ESIGN time Powers came You say suicide ? and told me ’Squire Wilson was at Pa’s. I slipped off from Ella, tell- ing her that I was going out to the barn, but went tosee Squire Wilson and explained to him why [had sent for him, teld him that Ella was act- ing strangely and I wanted him to Yes, As I have stated to several Gther reporters (here the prisoner 4 complaint against the papers for publishing only a part of his Statements instead of all) on the Sat- day betore her death she was very / Mwell and asked me to go to town | Md get her some medicine. I went | a German doctor at Walnut a can’t call his name) to get such med- _B Mite as she had been taking. but he “yf Wt being at home, I got Dr. Wil | Ns to prepare some medicine for | ber. While at Walnut I got a letter | | reasons for acting so. The ’Squire tions and that something had to be child. . = - - He turther said he would have a jury summoned and the case investi- for Ella from her mother, in reply ee eens oh aa to ehS to one Which'she had written 10 re house she was uursing the baby and S a 1 ug . : : ,. | was at her right mind as much as RArd to getting ber organ. My wite’s | “ : ee Se Monday night she was quite viiks had moved to Kansas a short | | restless ; complaint of her nead hurt- et eyer. a betore, without our knowledge | | taken the organ with them. In |" ‘etter Ella’s mother said: ‘When fee fit to let you have the orgat I B Wait you know.” This affegted Y wife very much. She always complained ot her Walnut i 1, Tuesday I went to real sick and Ske could not : the idea of be ing addressed way by her mother and alm eben afit- Itnedto reconcile ¥ telling her that I would get Morgan if her mother would ed me to take the mac was feeli: | incidents between himselt and wife | up to the time they had finished din- | net, saying: She seemed to enjoy | | talk to her and get from her the | She talked but little on the road said he had heard ot her strange ac- | | done or she might hurt herself or! fora sewing machine which I had That night she was not get up until 10 had | and By i1 o'clock she better and request- back‘ as | no, I don’t, Ella.’’ I then called | Mr. Wilson to one side and asked | him what was best todo. Told him ‘that she was getting worse all the | time. He suggested that I send for her tather and brother. I told him | tired of living. © Luria LEaso.”’ |that her father was in southwest And then entered into a full ce- | Kansas and that she and her brother | scription of how they discovered the | founa her apron and a small phial on the well curb. That he ard his sister Laura found a note inthe milk bucket which read about as follows: “T have taken laudanum. I am were not On friendly terms, but that | body in the well and proceeded to under the circumstances I would haye | get it out. Atter listening attentive- |her brother come. Atter Mr. Wil | ly and noting down his full state- |son assured her that her brother | ment of this part of his story, which | would come the next day, she con-! on account of length, we omit, the | sented to go home, saying to Wilson: | **faber pusher’’ asked: |‘Well, if you promise me that, [| Were there any marks on the will go back, but I had rather lie in| body when drawn from the well? the church yard than to go back.’| There were two or three scalp wounds on her head and some bruis- es on the side of her neck as though she had been clutching her throat either before or after falling. _ How long had you been married? | home, except to ask me if I thought | Mr, Wilson would do what he said. | When we got home the first thing she said was: ‘John, do you want! of the prosecution. I certainly had evidence sufficient to leave a doubt of my guilt in the minds of any jury. How were you treated by prosecuting attorney ? | Hetreated me very well through- !out. Always spoke very politely to ‘me. Don’t think he had any malice | toward me. It was his duty to con- jvict af he could. Do you think, then, that he over exerted himself in your prosecution ? Yes, 1 do. Are you satisfied with the efforts ot your own attorneys? the | Yes. I think they did all they ‘knew how to do It might have ibeen that they did not know how to fully handle the case. How were Judge Gantt’s rulings? He never said anything to me. | He ought to have granted me a new hearing at the close of the last trial. Ihold no malice against anyone, | however. How has the press treated you in your troubles? any supper?, I said: Of course I do, | I have had no dinner. She said: ‘Well, if you want any supper you Since October, 1881, her death oceurred Dec. rgth, 1883. How long had you known your will nave to get it yourself. I don’t wife betore your marriage? tend to get it.’ I told her all} Had known the family ever since night, I could get supper, and began | I came to the county, but never saw ' sifting flour. My wite then spoke | them oftener than once in three or and said: You are the funniest maa | tour years. leyer saw in my lite. You don’t! Was vour wife subject to those pay anv attention to what I do say | spells hefore she was married: oc do. Most men would knock my/| JI have been told so Didnot know head off for acting the way I do.’ 1) this betore trial. Who told you? the It was testified to on the witness ! stand. This was the first knowledge thatkind of a man her told her I was not would not burt lor world. Then she said: ‘You are so yoo T had of her being in this condition , | prior to cur marriage. It was stated | to me that Lam going to help you | on the witness stand in the trial that | clutched her throat with her hand, Sometimes rather rough on me and at other times very tairly. Your paper,the Times,did me an injustice in several statements in the article | which appeared therein just after the supreme court had affirmed my case. Mr. Leabo, are you clined? Yes, sir; 1 jomed the ©. P. church in Kentucky, when I was 17 vears ,old, but have never umted with a church since I came out here on ac- : count of being inconveniently iocated religiously in- Inever had any trouble with any one and my word was always my bond. How do you account tor the marks upon your wife’s throat: AsI stated before, I think she cies through them without additional cost. This they did and policies arrived shortly betore death of Mrs. Leabo. Leabo says he was opposed to taking policies, but that Steele, | who was an old acquaintance of his | father, persuaded his Wife into the | notion and the two together influenc- |ed him. He was also very emphatic |in denouncing the statement to the effect that he was in a hurry to burv his wife, but says the contrary was true. Says that he sent for her brother and telegraphed her tather and mother in Kansas. That he did not make arrangements for a iot in the cemetery until the Friday after her death, on Thursday morning. At the end of the interview the prisoner asked several questions about matters in Bates. Expresse: a desire to see Sumner Holcomb ac- quitted, and showed us asmal. scrap book which contained the various newspaper notices of his case, saying he was saving that for his little boy now in California. Upon leaving he gave the scribe a cordial grip, handing him at the time one ot his photos, which had been recently taken. The following letter was received by Sherif Hanks from John T. Leabo Monday: Jury 16th, 1586. Mr Hanks dear sir I have a request to ask ef you and that is this providing the govenor com- mates my sentence please let me stay heare all of next weak at least and if it isent immaterial with you I would like to stay longer than next weak 60 that my Brother & sisters can visit me I will notify them as soon as I heare from the govenor J also have a nother request to ask of you if my sentance is commuted please takeme to Jef in day time as I would rather go im daylight than to go down at night please grant my request providing I bare to go thare please jet me heare from you Yours respectfulley Joux T Lasso eae