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Show HUSBAND TELLS OFJS CRIME Murders Wife to Be Free to Marry His 15-Year-Old Stepdaughter EXTRAORDINARY PACT Man and Girl Scheme for Hours to Make Woman's Death Appear Natural Galesburg, 111., Jan. 20. New light from the part alleged to been played 1 by lf.-year-old Julia Flake in the killing kill-ing of her mother was thrown on the case today by relatives of the girl vs ho charged Robert Higgins, her ste'p-father, with a grave offense against the girl According to these relatives, the girl was driven frantic by the lapse of timo which brought no solution to 1 her crushing problem and pointed in J evltably to the day when the public must of necessity know of her plight I Higgins. likewise was desperate, I for his wife, too, was approaching ' accouchment. In the confessions at tributed to them, Julia and Higgins admitted the intimacy of their rela tions since last May, To the desperation of her situation the relatives attribute the callous ap- j peal for the murder of her mother ! which appears in two letters said to j have been written by the girl. Prosecution of the girl for participation partici-pation in the conspiracy which, it Is 1 charged, resulted in the murder of j her mother by Robert Higgins, her step father, will not be pushed too i harshly because of her youth, State's Attorney John M. Wilson of Mercer! county, said today. "As for Higgins it is different," he ' added. The alleged conspiracy terminating in the murder of Mrs. Higgins. January Janu-ary 5. the arrests of Higgins and his ' ste)-dauchter on their confession disclosing the infatuation of the two, form almost the only topic of conversation conver-sation in Mercer and neighboring counties, where Higgins and his family fam-ily were well known. The attitude of the girl toward her j mother, as shown in letters which she wrote, is beyond the comprehension comprehen-sion of the county officials. C. W. Ernst of Galesburg, brother of Mrs. HiRKlns, and on bad terms with her, was offered pay to kill Mrs Higgins. This was In a letter written by the girl last November from North Henderson, Hend-erson, home of the Hlgglnses. Galesburg, llh, Jan. 20 Robert Hlg gins confessed yesterday that he murdered mur-dered hh wife at New Henderson. Ht., January r. so he would be free to marry his step-daughter, Julia Flake. 15 years old. He was arrested after the girl told States Attorney John M Wilson of Mercer county of her infatuation for Higgins and thnt she Importuned him to dispose of her mother, who. she said, was the only obstacle between her and happiness. Extraordinary Pact Made. The prosecutor hesitated to believe the girl's story of the extraordinary pact she entered into with her stepfather step-father But she told how they had schemed for hours devising a plan i which would make Mrs. Higgins death appear accidental. She said she was in the next room when IIiggln8 fired the shotgun which brought instant death to her mother. She told show Higgins raved and struggled with neighbors for posses sion or the gun. saying that he would end his own life. Then, when tho exeitemcnt subsided somewhat, she said they expected that Higgins had been cleaning the gun and it had been accidentally discharged. Their story was so convincing that the coroner's Jury returned a verdict of accidental death. No one of the 300 residents or the village suspect-eu suspect-eu anything regarding Mrs. Higgins death and they comforted the widower wid-ower and his apparently grief-stricken step daughter. Uncle Shows Letters. Then C W. Ernst, a maternal uncle un-cle of the girl, took two letters written writ-ten by Julia Flake one to himselt and one to his daughter to States Attorney At-torney Wilson In these letters the girl offered part of a legacy she Is to receive when she becomes ol age provided they would help kill her mother, mo-ther, Mr. Wilson thought the letters let-ters were written in a fit of anger, but he Investigated. Saturday ho called on States Attorney A j. Bou telle of Knox county, and Sunday they went to see Julia, who was at, the home of a near uncle, A J Ernst at Hermon. Threy were astunded by her story. Higgins, who Is 26 years old, andj several years the junior of the worn an he killed, was found today at New Henderson. He was questioned foi several hours and made many'contra-dictions. many'contra-dictions. En route to the jail at Ale-do Ale-do in an automobile he broke down. "I can t stand it any longer," he moaned. 'I'll tell everything.'' Husband Signs Confession. The journey was interrupted at Alexis where Higgins was taken into a bank office and signed a typewritten typewrit-ten confession. He gave what he said were all the details of the murder plot and as serfed his infatuation for his stepdaughter step-daughter was the cause of it all He said that Mrs. Higgins became sus picious of his relations "with her daughter and they planned to get rid of her. Higgins" condition was such when the county seat was reached lhat hi3 hastily provided attorneys waived pre liminary examination. The girl, who Is at the home of an aunt here, became hysterical on Li arn-ing arn-ing of Higgins confession. In the letter written to Miss Ernsi. Julia made her first propoHel to bar gain for the murder of her mother This letter follows. "Dear Honey : I wonder if your father fa-ther would entertain any notion of killing mother If he does, I wish that he would hurry up and do it. as I am getting awful tired I wish he would try (o come over here to Wandhams. a couple of days next week. Of course, he would have to do it when father and I are away. He could go to the house when falhpr is shucking corn and I am in school. Tell him to come and see me at recess re-cess " The letter she wrote to her uncle was similar |
