The next article in the series is very short so I'll be doing two in this post.
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| The Bismarck Daily Tribune, November 29, 1897 |
"Staff News
The son and daughter of the prisoner Villers were at the Stutsman county jail Thanksgiving day to meet their father, who is waiting his trial for murder"
Just a side note...Martin Joseph and Octavia Villers nee Waguener had 5 children (that I am currently aware of): Florence, Mary Ann Mina Octavia, Louis, Alta Ellen Ella, and Agnes. So apparently only two of them visited (Louis being one as his only son).
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| The Bismarck Daily Tribune, December 29, 1897 |
"The Villers Trial
The Jamestown Alert says of the coming trial of the man Villers, who was taken from the state penitentiary here to be tried for murder: The trial of M.J. Villers for the alleged murder of August Tromer, It is believed, will be the first murder trial ever to have been held in Stutsman county and for this reason, outside of the local interest in the case, will attract a great deal of attention. Attorney S. E. Ellsworth has been designated by the prisoner and appointed by the court as counsel for the defendant and, it is understood, Judge Glaspell has called in Judge Fisk of Grand Forks to try the case because of his ineligibility, having assisted in the prosecution of Villers at his trial and conviction of assault with intent to kill upon Mrs. Tromer. The state will be ably represented in the prosecution by County Attorney F. Baldwin. The case will be the first on the calendar and it is expected will be taken up and the trial begun Thursday, January 6. Both the prosecution and defense are expected to make a strong fight and the case will probably occupy the greater part of the term."
Well, I don't know how long a "term" was, but the trial didn't take too terribly long...I'm running out of articles! One subtle thing I noticed in the 2nd article was how the prosecution is referred to as the "state will be ably represented"...as if the state's attorney is more important. The law is (theoretically) the law and the defendant deserves to be ably represented as well. I'm biased, I know, but still. Gives an overall feeling of, "don't worry, we'll be winning this thing". Just sayin'...
