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By NORMA CUNNINGHAM (Staff Writer) The defense opened its case this morning in the murder trial of Sherman Clark, who is accused of killing Joseph Huels, 75, 620 Monmouth Blvd., on Nov. 15, 1973. Walter Brand, Clark’s coun sel, called Charles W. Park er, 20, 337 S. Prairie Sr., and Mrs. Louise Wilder, Galesburg human services officer, to the witness stand in an attempt to discredit the testimony of Stanley Smith. Smith had testified Wednes day and Thursday that Clark had forced him at knifepoint to drive him to Kewanee and indicated he had been at the Huels apartment the day of his death, Mrs. Wilder told the jury that her job was to bring per sons “back into the main stream of life.” She said that while her office had once been directed at assisting mi norities, she now sees the office as one that produces help for persons with finan cial and educational needs. SHE SAID she first spoke to Smith about two weeks ago when she saw him at an inter section on Cedar Street. Ac cording to her statement, Smith told her he was getting pressure because he was go ing to testify for the prosecu tion. Mrs. Wilder said she told Smith at the time that all he should do was tell the truth, with nothing added or taken away. “I told him, ‘That’s all you have to worry about’”’, she said. The human services officer related that Helen Guerrero Smith’s girlfriend had come to her office one day this week to talk about a pro gram and needs of youth in the community and that a job was mentioned while Mrs. Wilder was on the phone. She said Smith at that time indi cated he would not allow a subpoena to be served on him in connection with the trial. Mrs. Wilder said she again told him not to run and just to tell the truth if he was called. She said she was in the car with Jack White, investigator for Brand’s office later that day for the purpose of show ing him where Miss Guerrero resided but was not a party to a conversation. Under cross-examination by Donald C. Woolsey, state’s at torney, Mrs. ‘Wilder denied ever making a statement about Clark’s guilt or inno cence, or his ability to get a fair trial in Knox County. Parker, who said he is pres ently in jail on a burglary charge, ‘testified that he and Smith had been good friends. He said it is not true they had a disagreement because he had asked Smith to purchase marijuana for him. HE TOLD jurors Smith had told him about the second week in February that he was not abducted by Clark, that he See ‘Defense’ (Continued on Page 7)
Newspaper Details
Galesburg Register Mail
Galesburg, Illinois, US
Fri, May 10, 1974
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Kim T.
USA 13 Feb 2026
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