Braun, Alta 1905-1917

BRAUN

Posted By: Glenna Rice (email)
Date: 4/9/2011 at 13:49:36

LeMars Sentinel
August 24, 1917

SLAIN BY A FIEND
Twelve Year Old Girl is Victim of a Brute
The Body is Found in an Alley
Alta Braun was Waylaid, Outraged and Murdered at Lonely Spot When on her
way Home-Authorities Are Following Meager Clue

Alta Braun, the twelve year old daughter of Chris Braun, residing on
Fremont street, was foully outraged and murdered some time on Monday
night. That the murder had been committed was not discovered until
nearly eleven o'clock on Tuesday morning when her dead body was found in
an alley near the Illinois Central railroad tracks between Cedar and
Howard streets. The gruesome find was made by Mrs. Herman Becker, after
Mrs. Porsch, a neighbor, had told her that there was a dummy figure
lying in the alley. Mrs. Becker went out into the alley and was
horrified on seeing a corpse. She immediately notified the police and
sheriff and Coroner Barnett, of Merrill, was quickly summoned. From
appearances the girl had been strangled to death. A black underskirt
had been torn from her waist and wrapped in a roll around her throat
with a tight knot under the chin. The body was prone on its back with
the head towards the north, the arms and legs extended. There were
bruises on her arms and side. Her corset had been torn open. Her limbs
were covered with dust and marks on the ground in the alley showed where
she had struggled with her assailant or assailants. Marks on her throat
indicated where she had been seized in order to silence any outcry for
help. The body was removed to the Beely undertaking parlors and an inquest
held on Tuesday afternoon. W.G. Munro, Lee Maynard and W.M. Barr were
impaneled as a jury. The evidence given before the jury was by Dr. J.M.
Fettes and the father of the child.

Chris Braun, the father of the girl, stated she had left home at 7:30
o'clock that night to go to the home of her grandparents, living in the
west end of town, on High street, and from there proposed to go to the
merry-go-round which was operating on Main and Seventh street in
connection with the Robinson show.

Her father testified he had given her a dime to get two rides on the
merry-go-round and then come home. In the afternoon her mother gave her
a quarter, with which she bought some white stockings, which she was
wearing when she was killed. She had a nickel tied in her handkerchief
when the body was found. Braun said he arrived home himself at a little
before 11 and went to bed, supposing the child was at home, as he said
she had never failed to return at the hour she promised. In the morning
he called her to get breakfast, as her stepmother is an invalid.
Receiving no response, he went to her room and found the bed had not
been occupied. He then telephoned to the homes of his father and his
father-in-law and to the houses of some of her girl friends, and not
learning her whereabouts, informed the police.

Dr. Fettes described the condition of the body. The face was swollen
and of a blueish color and there were black and blue marks on her throat
and arms. He also described the torn condition of her clothes and
stockings. The jury asked as to whether the child had been outraged and
the doctor said a fuller examination would determine that fact. Later
Dr. Fettes and Dr. Larson made a thorough examination and established
the fact that the victim had been ravished.

The coroner's jury returned a verdict that the deceased had come to her
death by strangulation at the hands of some person or persons unknown.
The Yankee Robinson circus was in town on Monday and the sheriff and the
police are working on the theory that the crime was committed by one of
the employees or one of the tough characters usually in the wake of a
circus.

Alta Braun was last seen alive between half past nine and ten o'clock on
Monday night. She had been to the merry-go-round which was operating at
the corner of Seventh and Main streets. It is learned from the police
that she went to the Vienna bakery and purchased a five cent sack of
candy and walked in the direction of her home with Mrs. T. Adney, who
lives on Cedar street between Fifth and Fourth streets. The body of the
child was found just two blocks from where she had parted with Mrs.
Adney. The supposition is that she was waylaid on the track and dragged into
the alley which is dark at that point. The streets to the north and
south of the Cedar street crossing are well lighted.

It is stated that S.B. Tingley, who lives near the track on that street,
was awakened by a noise. He and his wife had retired. They thought it
was someone running past the window. They heard no outcry. Spilled
candy was found near the spot, leading to the inference that the girl
tried to run away and escape her pursuer.

The railroad crossing at the end of Cedar street is a lonely
unfrequented spot. It is directly on the way to where the girl lived
several blocks south at the corner of Tremont street.

Sheriff Maxwell made a trip to Cherokee on Tuesday following the Yankee
Robinson show to that place and to Correctionville the following day but
no developments have resulted so far.

A local man reported on Tuesday evening to Mayor McLain, that he had
heard a negro at the merry-go-round make an obscene remark to a
companion that he would "get" that girl before he left town but it is a
question whether his remark applied to the victim. Mayor McLain
furnished the man with funds to go to Cherokee, it being a few minutes
before the time for the evening flyer to leave and told him to hunt up
Sheriff Maxwell, who had gone to Cherokee earlier in the day and
identify the negro.

The man, who had furnished the information, is stated to have said that
he located the negro who made the remark and asked the Cherokee marshal
to arrest him but that the officer refused to hold him unless Sheriff
Maxwell made the request. The local man failed to find Sheriff Maxwell
in Cherokee. The two went to Correctionville on Wednesday but the negro
in question was not to be found.

The local authorities are pushing the case vigorously and outside
assistance will be secured in tracing the crime.
Public indignation runs high over the crime which has been the topic of
conversation since the discovery of the body of the murdered girl. The
city council met last evening to formulate plans for the raising of
money with which to offer a reward for the apprehension of the murderer
and it is thought the county will also offer a reward. Many citizens
have expressed a wish to contribute towards a fund for a reward.
In preparing the body for burial the undertaker found a man's stickpin
in the girl's clothing where it had evidently fallen. It may furnish a
clue.

The funeral of the girl was held yesterday afternoon at the home on
Tremont street conducted by Rev. J.E. Benz, of the German Methodist
church and was attended by a large number of people. Many floral
wreaths and flowers were sent by sympathizers of those bereaved by the
tragedy. The body was taken to Akron to be laid beside that of her
mother.

Alta Braun made her home with her father, Chris Braun, and her
stepmother, who is an invalid. She also leaves a little stepsister
three years old. Alta Marie Braun was twelve years old on January 18
last, and was born in Colorado Springs, Col. From there they family
moved to Akron where they lived for some years and moved to LeMars about
a year ago. Mr. Braun is employed with the Hamm Petry Implement
company.

Alta Braun was attending school here and was a member of the German
Methodist Sunday school. She was well thought of by her school
companions and a number of girls with whom she associated.

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