The Self-Defense Trial that Gripped Garfield County
After concealing her husband's body in a potato hole and weathering public suspicion, Mrs. Lartigue is acquitted of murder.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A telephone message to the Jose Brothers today announced that the jury at Pomeroy, after being out all night, had acquitted Mrs. Lartigue of the charge of murdering her husband last September. Her plea was self-defense; she testified that she had struck him with an ax after he had fired at her three times with a revolver and was about to fire again. Mrs. Lartigue, prior to the murder charge, was highly respected. As the wife of Estes, a pioneer, her home was famous for its hospitality. Mrs. Lartigue is a first cousin of Superior Judge Chet Miller of Dayton, both having Indian blood in their veins. Public sentiment was strongly against the defendant, as little doubt was expressed that the killing of her husband was deliberate murder. Her concealment of the body in a potato hole and the many lies she told to account for his disappearance were hard facts to overcome by the defense.
“Her concealment of the body in a potato hole and the many lies she told to account for his disappearance were hard facts to overcome.”
This case highlights how public perception and local gossip often framed rural violence before trial. The mention of 'Indian blood' reflects the era's racial categorization, even when reporting on a prominent community member's legal victory.
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