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Mother Of Dead Woman Arrives Here (Continued from Page 1.) room rolling pie crust when Mr. and Mrs. Kahnfeld and their two sons came into her yard with their cows, she said. She and Mrs. Kahnfeld ex changed greetings, Mrs. Kahnfeld telling her she was going back home and cook the children's breakfast. The next Mrs. Johnson heard, so she said today, was this remark from Mrs. Kahnfeld: “Franklin, you don't need it!” “I investigated,” Mrs. Johnson tes tified, “and found that Mr. Kahnfeld was trying to borrow a double-bar reled shotgun from my husband, Kahnfeld said he needed the weapon to defend himself against Fountain. Iis wife was protesting against his borrowing the gun.” According to Mrs. Johnson's testi mony, Mrs. Kahnfeld begged her hus band not to get a gun, telling him: “Franklin, don’t you say a word to the Fountains, I need you to take care of me and our children.” Saw Men Grapple Next that she heard, according to Mrs. Johnson, was when she went to the front yard to water her roses. She saw the Kahnfelds going down the road. Presently she observed Kahnfeld and Fountain grappling. She saw Mrs. Kahnfeld running to ward the pair. Mrs. Johnson said she became greatly agitated and ran screaming into her own house, know ing that trouble was developing. She heard two shots, she said, but was unable to say at what time they were fired. She rushed around the house to the garage, where she came upon her hus band, she said. Looking down the road from where the shots had come she saw Fountain beating something on the ground, the witness told the court. She couldn't tell what he was hitting. She said Mrs. Fountain had turned and was going back into the house. Thurman Ran to Her Thurman came running to her side, she testified. “I told him to come to me—that the man might be crazy and would kill all the family,” she said. “I didn’t go to the scene of the shooting.” On cross examination the witness admitted the Kahnfelds and Foun tains had had trouble. She said she had no hard feelings toward the Fountain, although she claimed they had said she was “trash.” Thurman Kahnfeld, his eyes hold ing back the tears, told his story of how he had seen his mother and father shot, Thurman On Stand “I had heard Daddy ask Mr. John son to lend him a shotgun,” the lad testified. “But Mr. Johnson hadn't loaned us the gun. We were going back from Johnson’s place to our own. Fountain’s house is between ours and the Johinson’s. Daddy was carrying a bucket of water and leading one of the cows. As we came near the Fountains, Mr. Fountain was digging near the ditch. As Daddy got even with him he laid down the shovel and hocame toward Daddy. Fountain had Home object in his hand and he hi ddy with it, I don't know what I was, I saw Mrs. Fountain take pistol off the post. Fountain told her to shoot. Mrs. Fountain ehot ypama. Mr. Fountain said “Shoot” again and Mrs. Fountain shot Daddy. Then Mrs. Fountain turned and went in the house, Mr. Fountain started to go, but just then my Daddy raised his head from the ground and Mr. Fountain took the shovel and hit Daddy on the head. Then Fountain went into the house. Daddy had no weapon to fight with.” The lad said he had observed the revolver on a post in the front yard of the Fountain home before the shooting began. Cross-examined, the boy said his father dropped the water bucket when Fountain came toward him. On ques tions propounded by Attorney Shivers, the Iad said his father had wanted to borrow Johnson's gun to keep Fountain from killing him. Thurman said his mother was car rying a butcher knife under her arm just before the altercation started. The knife, about 10 inches long, was exhibited in the courtroom. ‘The boy said his father was unarmed. Shown a broken automobile pump which Constable Parsley had picked up near the scene of the shooting, the boy said it resembled the object that he had seen Fountain hit Kahnfeld with. The pump has a jagged edge and strands which resemble human hair cling to the sharp point. Parsley was the final witness call ed by the state. He told the court about picking up the knife and pump near the scene soon after the shoot ing. Mrs. M. A. Lewis of Dallas, mother of Mrs. Frank Kahnfeld, ar rived in Port Arthur Saturday to take charge of arrangements for the funeral of her daughter, whose body is being cared for at Grammier-Dis mukey morgue pending final arrange ments for the funeral. Pending the arrival of several brothers and sis ters of the deceased woman from Fort Worth, Dallas and other Texas points date of the funeral will not be set, it was stated at the under taking parlora, Mrs. Lewis Saturday morning visit ed the bedside of her son-in-law, Frank Kahnfeld, suffering from bul let wounds at Mary Gates hospital. At the hospital, Kabnfeld’s condi tion was pronounced “unchanged,” Kalnfeld was shot Friday warning at art Acles in the affray which resulted in the death of his wife and his condition was pronounced as critical by physicians who held out no hope for tis recovery. Officers Officers Saturday were reported in a quandary as to what steps to take in connection with the case of Mrs. Fountain, accused of having fired the shots which resulted in the fatal wounding of Mrs. Kahnfeld and the critical injury of Kahnfeld. Foun tain, also charged with murder in connection with Mrs. Kahnfeld's death, was placed under arrest by officers shortly after the Port Acres affray, but Mrs. Fountain was in such hysterical condition that she was placed in care of friends. Late Friday she was brought to s’ort Ar thur from the Fountain home in Port Acres and spent the night at the home of a friend here. Shortly be fore the examining trial Saturday of her husband before Justice J. K. Brackin, it was announced that Mrs. Fountain, charged jointly with her husband, would not be able to ap pear because of her physical condi tion. present at the opening of the ex amining trial before Justice Brackin Saturday morning were among others, T. B. Fountain, one of the defend ants, and three reported eye-wit nesses to the shooting who were to testify. These were Thurman Kahn feld, 11, and Vernon Kahnfeld, ‘, sons of the dead woman, and Heith Johnson, son of Gus Johnson, next door neighbor of the Fountains and the Kahnfelds. Fountain Is Silent An effort of newspaper men to interview Fountain at police head quarters Saturday shortly before the examining trial brought the state ment from him that he had nothing to say for publication. A few min utes later he was escorted to the justice court for the examining trial which was to determine the amount of bond to be required for his re lease if held on the murder charge filed against him Friday afternoon in connection with the fatal affray.
Newspaper Details
Port Arthur News
Port Arthur, Texas, US
Wed, May 19, 1926
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
NA, 13 Jul 2026
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