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vjiuiv j ii u vm ii v. j v; i i i v. v tilEdwardsville. Stella was questioned, but she denied any know ledge of the incident and was released The three men were initially charged with murder although no direct evidence was found against them. Circumstantial evidence proved sufficient to hold themIn the intervening time, Lee Whiteside, a Pin Oak farmer, reported that one of the Christoff children purchased five shotgun shells from him around July 2nd for five centsOn August 1st, Steve Petroff admitted to Sheriff Fitzgerald that he was familiar with the stolen mail packages which were in the trunk of Frank Stroak, a 58 year old Russian living in an outbuilding on the Christoff farm. Stella, Sophia and Stroak were then brought in for questioning.Now in the custody of authorities, Stella issued a formal confession, opening with, I killed Nelson Voss, a rural mail carrier in the woods. The Edwardsville Intelligencer reported on August 1, 1933 that Stella stated, He pinched me, squeezed me, and tried to kisssion of Sympathy, which articulated, ”... Mr. Voss led an exemplary life prior to the day upon which he met his death under circumstances which have been explained only by those seeking to present their own actions in the best light.Stella Christoff was held in the county jail without bond on the charge of homicide. She was indicted for murder by a Grand Jury on August 12th.The trial, The people of the State of Illinois versus Stella Christoff the indictment of Murder, began on November 18, 1933. State Attorney Geers claimed that the motive of the Christoff sisters was robbery while Attorney Bandy claimed the motive was to ward off Voss' advances.The trial was incredibly popular, drawing a stand room only crowd. According to the Edwardsville Intelligencer, the popularity of the trial was spurred by how well known Nelson Voss was amongst the people of Edwardsville and Pin Oak.After only two days, the jury was sent to deliberate. The sentence for murder at the time Was electrocution, a fate rarely given to women.where she was the \oungest of the prison population to be convicted of manslaughter It is unknown ex actly how many years she served, but in 1937 she was denied parole for a minimum of five years.The parents of Nelson Voss re mained Leclaire residents the rest of their lives. His widow, Edna, was denied a pension by the post office She married Ben Breve in 1936 and leased the Leclaire house, which she sold in 1946 to Louis Lange.Catch All Of Your Local News In Your Weekly Times■ Tribune! 201 East Market St. 667-3111
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Times-Tribune
Troy, Illinois, US
Thu, Jun 04, 2015
Page 20
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USA 05 Nov 2024
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