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A Fiendish Minneapolis Murder.More than a year ago Mrs. Mary Fridley Price came to her death on the bank of the Mississippi river in East Minneapolis, not far from the Franklin Avenue bridge. She had been riding in an automobile with her husband and a man named Etchison. They reported at the time that something went wrong with the engine and that they stopped to fix it close by the brink of the cliff, which is almost perpendicular at the spot and probably 150 feet down to the water’s edge. That Mrs. Price with her pet dog got out of the machine, that the dog fell over the brink of the cliff and that in endeavoring to save her pet Mrs. Price plunged headlong down to her death.Price claimed that he and Etchison hastened to the foot of the cliff to where Mrs. Price lay, but she wa3 dead when they reached her.That was the story that was told by Price and was corroborated by Etchison.Some of Mrs. Price’s relatives and friends suspected foul play, but there was no evidence upon which to base their suspicions.A day or two previous to her tragic death, the father of the unfortunate woman had given her money and securities to the amount of $20,000. There were no children and all the property of which she was possessed in case of her death would go to her husband.Some months later Price instituted suit against the city of Minneapolis to recover $7,500 damages for the loss of his wife, he claiming that the city was negligent in not properly safeguarding the dangerous spot on the bluff side of the boulevard.Then it was that Price’s record was investigated and it was found to be an unsavory one. He had served time in a Wisconsin prison, had been twice married and had not been divorced from his second wife when he married Mary Fridley.Indictments were returned against Price and Etchison on the charge of first degree murder. Price was jailed in Minneapolis and Etchison was arrested in Washington, D. C. On Monday, in Chicago, Etchison broke down and confessed that Mrs. Price had been murdered by her husband and that he had aided and abeted in the murder. That it had been all planned out beforehand. Then when she stepped on the footboard of the automobile, which stood within 18 inches of the brink of the precipice, he and Price put their arms behind her and flung her over the bluff, and that Price caught and threw the little dog after her.Etchison then told how he and Price made their way down a path picked out the day before to where the body lay. Mrs. Price was still alive and her brutal husband pounded her with a stone until she ceased to breathe. Then the two carried her body up to the boulevard and reported, as above related, that she had accidentally fallen over the cliff.Etchison claims that Price can-celled a note for $1,200 he held against him, and also paid him $3,500 in money. That was the blood money paid Etchison for his participation in the horrible crime.David H. Fridley of Fridley, Anoka county, a son of the late Major A. M. Fridley, is the father of the murdered woman, and it was through his efforts that Detective John P. Hoy of Minneapolis, was employed in the case and unearthed the crime.
Newspaper Details
The Princeton Union
Princeton, Minnesota, US
Thu, Dec 09, 1915
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kaukauna L.
USA 29 Dec 2024
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The Princeton Union
