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BER 12, 190heNUMBER 210MURDERSCOUNTYaeasofney-V-inersovernn-eeshit.isanso■reni-ve?esheleris-Gruesome Stories Recalled atThis Time.FamousBakestoeMurder.Other Cases of Interestto Many.heDeath of John Bosenbark Calls Mind Other Crimes CommittedPreviously.toandthe3 ofheytvn-arkareselyDe-»nd,■rns e is ^an olt-the gbt mfc-t in r inrgil?atsJo.,kedthethe1 be the andDhiolied•ail-infourdayand the the pals the are ears een. Bar-id a •heynanimi-ater I toury.The murders which have ocurred within the embrace of Adams county history are recalled by many after the present agitation caused by the crime of Tuesday evening in Union township . The first murder which the early inhabitants of this place can recall happened over fifty years ago when John Fetrick shot and killed a man by the name of Muldone. The affair happened near Fetrick’s First street home in this city and was brought about byMuldone assaulting a sister of the murderer. Fetrick was not prosecuted. In 1872 John Zimmerman shot and killed John McLean near the Zimmerman home, corner Monroe and Fourth streets. McLean was shot three times and as was learned through evidence in the trial any one of the shots would have killed the victim. Zimmerman was acquited. The next murder, famous for the trail of eventsthat followed, will ever be remembered by those who were in this cityin the year 1884. In the early spring of that year Amos Backesto was shot and killed at his home in Blue Creek township one mile south and a quarter mile east of Oak Grove. Shortly after Fred Richardswho lived near Backsto’s home, and was considered as his enemy, was arrested after considerable difficulty by Sheriff McGriff and brought to this city. Several days later a mob,composed principally of southern residents of the county, came to town with the intention of lynching Richards. The sheriff got wind of their actions and started for the train with his prisoner in a bus expecting to elude the mob and take Richards to Fort Wayne. The mob learned of his action, however, and overtook the party near the Murray,then the Miesse hotel. The sheriff refused to obey the command to halt, and Cartwright, the leader of the mob, shot a horse and Richards was taken to the old fair ground, where a noose was put about his neck with the intention of hangingsentenced by Judge Bobo to life's imprisonment. After serving part of his term he died at Albany, while out on a parole. Both of the accused declared that they were innocent, anil it was the testimony of a small boy, Davis Smith, that convicted them. Richards is still in the state prison. Almost ten yearslater another murder trial was before the Adams county court, the case being entitled State vs Rhoda Durbin. The defendant was charged with murdering an infant child, but the jury declared her not guilty. About a year later Monroe townshipoffered a murder on the altar of Adams county crime. Oliver Wingent was shot through the heart by Alex Bombay, a young man. Wingent had threatened to beat Bombay and the latter, to frighten his aggressor, pushed a revolver through a keyhole and fired. The unfortunate Wingent stood near the door and was hit. In September, 1894, Bombay was sentenced to four years in the state prison. He served his time, but died shortly after. And now Adams county has another case to deal with as a beginning, butthe end is yet to come.THE OLIVE BRANCHSettlement of the Berne Saloon War on Tap.Fred Rohrer in Conference With Those Engaged in the SaloonBusiness.Fred Rohrer took a vacation from the commissioners’s room yesterday afternoon and went to Berne on a mission, which jf later effected, will bring about reconciliation of the waring factions at Berne. He visited each one of the saloon keepers and later in the day had a joint session with them all. He proposed to them that they step down and out of their business without causing the remontsrators to force them out. They gave him a counter proposition in which they would accede to these demands providing they were paid their actual investment in fixtures, and stock on hand. The whole situation was threshed over in a very amicable way, and Mr. Rohrer agreed to lay their proposition before those who have in charge the remonstrance. This will take some little time and a finalresult will not be known for several him. The deed was not carried out, j days. To the credit of Mr. Rohrerhowever, and Richards was taken oo Fort Wayne. His trial was finished in Wayne for it was feared that the trial could not be safely,held in this city and the grounds for this fear was demonstrated. A mob congregated a second time and Richards only escaped through the hasty actions of the Bheriff, who took his prisoner to Fort Wayne on a special train, which he had telegraphed for at the first approach of danger. Richards was sentenced at Fort Wayne by Judge St. Clair, who condemned him with life’s imprisonment in the state penitentiary.Charles Wurst was also convicted as an accomplice in the crime and washe favored the counter proposition and to a Democrat representative indicated that he would urge such a settlement. This would be a happy solution and would do more to sow seeds of temperance than anything we know of. In the event of such a settlement, all the saloon’s property would be piled up in the street and the event would be celebrated by those in sympathy and those who believe in the annihilation of the liquor fcraffiic. It would be a great event and a great achievement for those in charge of the anti-saloon movement in Berne. In addition it would greatly strengthen their cause with the public.
Newspaper Details
Decatur Daily Democrat
Decatur, Indiana, US
Sat, Sep 12, 1903
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OH, USA 17 Feb 2019
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