Wife of B. F. Cook --- Falls City, Neb, May 26 1914. Her husband was a fireman in the city light plant. A tramp broke into their home and strangled her.
Falls City, Neb. June 1, 1914. The 20 year old tramp, who killed Mrs. Cook, was arrested and charged. People of Falls City made threats to lynch him, so he was taken from the city by the sheriff.
...The Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska News 1 June 1914
**************************
Nebraska Woman Believed Choked To Death
Mysterious Affair at Falls City Murder Charge May be Filed Later
Falls City, Nebraska, May 26, ----- Mrs. B. F. Cook aged 26 years, the wife of the night fireman at the City Light Plant is believed to have been murdered in her home, sometime during Sunday night. No clue to the assailant has been found. She is believed to have been strangled to death.
When Mr. Cook returned from his work about 5 o'clock Monday morning he was unable to open the screen door which he is accustomed to find unlocked. He at once went to the bedroom window and saw the body of his wife lying on the floor. He at once broke in the door and carried the body of his wife into the air, thinking that she had fainted. Failing to revive her he called a physician, who declared life had been extinct for several hours.
The last seen of Mrs. Cook was as she was leaving the light plant about 7:30 Sunday evening for her home, after spending a few minutes visiting her husband. When she arrived home she could not gain an entrance as she had left her key within the house. She phoned her husband at the light plant, who suggested a way for her to get in the house.
When Mr. Cook returned Monday morning the two small children were peacefully sleeping, and they continued to sleep for several house after his arrival. Nothing in the house was missing. At the inquest, which was held yesterday afternoon the 4 year old child stated that a man was behind the door when they went in the house who scared them, but further than that she was unable to tell anything. It was reported to the sheriff that a man was seen to follow Mrs. Cook from the business section of the city to her home. No clues have been secured by the authorities however as to the identity of the man. No arrests have been made.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Tuesday Evening, May 26, 1914
Page – 8 Column – 5
******************************
Murder Mystery Is Now Cleared
Leon Davis, Young Miner, Said to Have Admitted Killing Mrs. Cook
(Special to The Star)
Falls City, Nebraska, May 30, ----- The mystery surrounding the murder last Sunday night of Mrs. B. F. Cook was solved today when Leon Davis of Scranton, Pa. was arrested. He is said by the officers to have confessed that he committed the crime while attempting a criminal assault upon the woman.
Davis, who come from Scranton, Pa., has been in Falls City for two weeks. Today he was arrested as a "Peeping Tom." When sweated he is said to have confessed the Cook murder and to have illustrated, using one of the officers as a model, just how he committed the crime.
According the story, Davis applied at the Cook home last Sunday for something to eat and was fed. He returned in the evening and saw Mr. Cook start for work. Later in the night he forced an entrance to the house with the purpose of assaulting Mrs. Cook, she resisted and he grabbed her by the throat and knelt on her chest. Then the woman died and Davis fled. He says he did not intend to murder her.
Davis took the officers over the route he used in escaping and this proved to be exactly the one over which the bloodhounds followed the next day. Davis was hidden in the grass when the bloodhounds reached him, but were pulled off by the officers, who feared a lynching.
The murderer is about 24 years old and was a coal miner in Scranton before coming west.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Sunday Morning, May 31, 1914
Page – 3 Column – 3
******************************
Bert Franklin Cook and Ada Lavera Titus - married: March 1909
************************
Falls City, Neb. June 1, 1914. The 20 year old tramp, who killed Mrs. Cook, was arrested and charged. People of Falls City made threats to lynch him, so he was taken from the city by the sheriff.
...The Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska News 1 June 1914
**************************
Nebraska Woman Believed Choked To Death
Mysterious Affair at Falls City Murder Charge May be Filed Later
Falls City, Nebraska, May 26, ----- Mrs. B. F. Cook aged 26 years, the wife of the night fireman at the City Light Plant is believed to have been murdered in her home, sometime during Sunday night. No clue to the assailant has been found. She is believed to have been strangled to death.
When Mr. Cook returned from his work about 5 o'clock Monday morning he was unable to open the screen door which he is accustomed to find unlocked. He at once went to the bedroom window and saw the body of his wife lying on the floor. He at once broke in the door and carried the body of his wife into the air, thinking that she had fainted. Failing to revive her he called a physician, who declared life had been extinct for several hours.
The last seen of Mrs. Cook was as she was leaving the light plant about 7:30 Sunday evening for her home, after spending a few minutes visiting her husband. When she arrived home she could not gain an entrance as she had left her key within the house. She phoned her husband at the light plant, who suggested a way for her to get in the house.
When Mr. Cook returned Monday morning the two small children were peacefully sleeping, and they continued to sleep for several house after his arrival. Nothing in the house was missing. At the inquest, which was held yesterday afternoon the 4 year old child stated that a man was behind the door when they went in the house who scared them, but further than that she was unable to tell anything. It was reported to the sheriff that a man was seen to follow Mrs. Cook from the business section of the city to her home. No clues have been secured by the authorities however as to the identity of the man. No arrests have been made.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Tuesday Evening, May 26, 1914
Page – 8 Column – 5
******************************
Murder Mystery Is Now Cleared
Leon Davis, Young Miner, Said to Have Admitted Killing Mrs. Cook
(Special to The Star)
Falls City, Nebraska, May 30, ----- The mystery surrounding the murder last Sunday night of Mrs. B. F. Cook was solved today when Leon Davis of Scranton, Pa. was arrested. He is said by the officers to have confessed that he committed the crime while attempting a criminal assault upon the woman.
Davis, who come from Scranton, Pa., has been in Falls City for two weeks. Today he was arrested as a "Peeping Tom." When sweated he is said to have confessed the Cook murder and to have illustrated, using one of the officers as a model, just how he committed the crime.
According the story, Davis applied at the Cook home last Sunday for something to eat and was fed. He returned in the evening and saw Mr. Cook start for work. Later in the night he forced an entrance to the house with the purpose of assaulting Mrs. Cook, she resisted and he grabbed her by the throat and knelt on her chest. Then the woman died and Davis fled. He says he did not intend to murder her.
Davis took the officers over the route he used in escaping and this proved to be exactly the one over which the bloodhounds followed the next day. Davis was hidden in the grass when the bloodhounds reached him, but were pulled off by the officers, who feared a lynching.
The murderer is about 24 years old and was a coal miner in Scranton before coming west.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Sunday Morning, May 31, 1914
Page – 3 Column – 3
******************************
Bert Franklin Cook and Ada Lavera Titus - married: March 1909
************************
Wife of B. F. Cook --- Falls City, Neb, May 26 1914. Her husband was a fireman in the city light plant. A tramp broke into their home and strangled her.
Falls City, Neb. June 1, 1914. The 20 year old tramp, who killed Mrs. Cook, was arrested and charged. People of Falls City made threats to lynch him, so he was taken from the city by the sheriff.
...The Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska News 1 June 1914
**************************
Nebraska Woman Believed Choked To Death
Mysterious Affair at Falls City Murder Charge May be Filed Later
Falls City, Nebraska, May 26, ----- Mrs. B. F. Cook aged 26 years, the wife of the night fireman at the City Light Plant is believed to have been murdered in her home, sometime during Sunday night. No clue to the assailant has been found. She is believed to have been strangled to death.
When Mr. Cook returned from his work about 5 o'clock Monday morning he was unable to open the screen door which he is accustomed to find unlocked. He at once went to the bedroom window and saw the body of his wife lying on the floor. He at once broke in the door and carried the body of his wife into the air, thinking that she had fainted. Failing to revive her he called a physician, who declared life had been extinct for several hours.
The last seen of Mrs. Cook was as she was leaving the light plant about 7:30 Sunday evening for her home, after spending a few minutes visiting her husband. When she arrived home she could not gain an entrance as she had left her key within the house. She phoned her husband at the light plant, who suggested a way for her to get in the house.
When Mr. Cook returned Monday morning the two small children were peacefully sleeping, and they continued to sleep for several house after his arrival. Nothing in the house was missing. At the inquest, which was held yesterday afternoon the 4 year old child stated that a man was behind the door when they went in the house who scared them, but further than that she was unable to tell anything. It was reported to the sheriff that a man was seen to follow Mrs. Cook from the business section of the city to her home. No clues have been secured by the authorities however as to the identity of the man. No arrests have been made.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Tuesday Evening, May 26, 1914
Page – 8 Column – 5
******************************
Murder Mystery Is Now Cleared
Leon Davis, Young Miner, Said to Have Admitted Killing Mrs. Cook
(Special to The Star)
Falls City, Nebraska, May 30, ----- The mystery surrounding the murder last Sunday night of Mrs. B. F. Cook was solved today when Leon Davis of Scranton, Pa. was arrested. He is said by the officers to have confessed that he committed the crime while attempting a criminal assault upon the woman.
Davis, who come from Scranton, Pa., has been in Falls City for two weeks. Today he was arrested as a "Peeping Tom." When sweated he is said to have confessed the Cook murder and to have illustrated, using one of the officers as a model, just how he committed the crime.
According the story, Davis applied at the Cook home last Sunday for something to eat and was fed. He returned in the evening and saw Mr. Cook start for work. Later in the night he forced an entrance to the house with the purpose of assaulting Mrs. Cook, she resisted and he grabbed her by the throat and knelt on her chest. Then the woman died and Davis fled. He says he did not intend to murder her.
Davis took the officers over the route he used in escaping and this proved to be exactly the one over which the bloodhounds followed the next day. Davis was hidden in the grass when the bloodhounds reached him, but were pulled off by the officers, who feared a lynching.
The murderer is about 24 years old and was a coal miner in Scranton before coming west.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Sunday Morning, May 31, 1914
Page – 3 Column – 3
******************************
Bert Franklin Cook and Ada Lavera Titus - married: March 1909
************************
Falls City, Neb. June 1, 1914. The 20 year old tramp, who killed Mrs. Cook, was arrested and charged. People of Falls City made threats to lynch him, so he was taken from the city by the sheriff.
...The Creighton, Knox County, Nebraska News 1 June 1914
**************************
Nebraska Woman Believed Choked To Death
Mysterious Affair at Falls City Murder Charge May be Filed Later
Falls City, Nebraska, May 26, ----- Mrs. B. F. Cook aged 26 years, the wife of the night fireman at the City Light Plant is believed to have been murdered in her home, sometime during Sunday night. No clue to the assailant has been found. She is believed to have been strangled to death.
When Mr. Cook returned from his work about 5 o'clock Monday morning he was unable to open the screen door which he is accustomed to find unlocked. He at once went to the bedroom window and saw the body of his wife lying on the floor. He at once broke in the door and carried the body of his wife into the air, thinking that she had fainted. Failing to revive her he called a physician, who declared life had been extinct for several hours.
The last seen of Mrs. Cook was as she was leaving the light plant about 7:30 Sunday evening for her home, after spending a few minutes visiting her husband. When she arrived home she could not gain an entrance as she had left her key within the house. She phoned her husband at the light plant, who suggested a way for her to get in the house.
When Mr. Cook returned Monday morning the two small children were peacefully sleeping, and they continued to sleep for several house after his arrival. Nothing in the house was missing. At the inquest, which was held yesterday afternoon the 4 year old child stated that a man was behind the door when they went in the house who scared them, but further than that she was unable to tell anything. It was reported to the sheriff that a man was seen to follow Mrs. Cook from the business section of the city to her home. No clues have been secured by the authorities however as to the identity of the man. No arrests have been made.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Tuesday Evening, May 26, 1914
Page – 8 Column – 5
******************************
Murder Mystery Is Now Cleared
Leon Davis, Young Miner, Said to Have Admitted Killing Mrs. Cook
(Special to The Star)
Falls City, Nebraska, May 30, ----- The mystery surrounding the murder last Sunday night of Mrs. B. F. Cook was solved today when Leon Davis of Scranton, Pa. was arrested. He is said by the officers to have confessed that he committed the crime while attempting a criminal assault upon the woman.
Davis, who come from Scranton, Pa., has been in Falls City for two weeks. Today he was arrested as a "Peeping Tom." When sweated he is said to have confessed the Cook murder and to have illustrated, using one of the officers as a model, just how he committed the crime.
According the story, Davis applied at the Cook home last Sunday for something to eat and was fed. He returned in the evening and saw Mr. Cook start for work. Later in the night he forced an entrance to the house with the purpose of assaulting Mrs. Cook, she resisted and he grabbed her by the throat and knelt on her chest. Then the woman died and Davis fled. He says he did not intend to murder her.
Davis took the officers over the route he used in escaping and this proved to be exactly the one over which the bloodhounds followed the next day. Davis was hidden in the grass when the bloodhounds reached him, but were pulled off by the officers, who feared a lynching.
The murderer is about 24 years old and was a coal miner in Scranton before coming west.
Lincoln Daily Star
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska
Sunday Morning, May 31, 1914
Page – 3 Column – 3
******************************
Bert Franklin Cook and Ada Lavera Titus - married: March 1909
************************
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