 Denton- Record Chronicle
Saturday, October 26, 1918 pg. 2 DENISON - J. A. Bruhn, 34, was shot and instantly killed near the Union depot Friday night, two shots from a pistol taking effect in his breast. Albert L. Laughlin, his brother-in-law, a machinist at the Katy shops, surrendered.  Sherman Daily Democrat Saturday, April 26, 1919 pg. 1 ARGUMENT HAS STARTED IN LAUGHLIN CASE The taking of testimony for the case of the State vs. Albert Laughlin, who is on trial in the Fifty-Ninth District Court on a charge of murder growing out of the fatal shooting of Joe A. Bruhn at Denison on October 25 last, was completed Friday afternoon before the adjournment of court, and the charge read to the jury. The entire time today from 9 o'clock this morning until press hour was consumed in arguing the case before the jury. Assistant County Attorney J. A. Carlisle opened the State's discussion, followed by E. J. Smith for the defense. H. H. Cummins, county attorney, spoke this afternoon. During the arguments, Mrs. Bruhn, wife of the deceased, and her four children sat on the State side of the court room, while Mrs. Laughlin and her baby occupied a chair by the side of her husband. Mrs. Bruhn, wife of the deceased, and Mrs. Laughlin, wife of the defendant, are sisters. Their testimony on the stand yesterday was entirely contradictory. Following is the substance of the testimony Friday afternoon: Friday Afternoon Several important witnesses were examined Friday afternoon, among these being the wife of the defendant, the defendant and the wife of the deceased; also several character witnesses for the State. Mrs. Laughlin's testimony corroborated that of her husband, who followed her on the stand. The defendant, Albert Laughlin, testified that he was 22 years of age, was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he lived until he was about twenty years of age. He said that he was a machinist by trade and learned his trade in Vicksburg in the fall of 1916, going to Parsons, Kansas, where he remained three or four weeks. He then went to Muskogee, Oklahoma and then to Denison. He remained in Denison two months, meeting his wife there for the first time in February 1917. He returned to Parsons to work. He was married August 19, 1917, and went with his wife to Parsons to live. He testified that he was visited in Parsons by his mother-in-law, and that they decided to move back to Denison in order to live with her mother, Mrs. Brackett. The defendant said that he had never met Joe Bruhn, his brother-in-law, at that time, although he had met Mrs. Bruhn several times at the Brackett home before he was married. There had been no trouble at that time between the defendant and Mrs. Bruhn. The first indication that he had of ill feeling on the part of Mrs. Bruhn for, the defendant testified, was when he heard that Mrs. Bruhn made certain remarks about him not being a machinist, having bought his card in Muskogee and being a "scab." Laughlin testified that he called Mrs. Bruin on the phone and told her the information about him was a lie. Mrs. Bruhn, he testified, cursed him over the phone. This was on January 18, 1918. Laughlin testified that he had had trouble with his nephew, the Bruhn boy, about twelve years old, in March or April. He had met the boy, he testified, near Owens street and Myrick avenue. The boy said, "Hello, you scab," or some such remark. Laughlin testified that he stopped and had a few words with the boy and slapped him. The boy threw rocks at the defendant and cursed him, he testified. Laughlin next related the trouble between himself and Bruhn, which occurred in Forest Park on the night of August 7 last. He testified that he was going to work and was walking east on Crawford street. He was approached by a large man whose name he did not know (W. W. Sinclair) and walked with him through Forest Park. Near the grandstand in the park, he heard some one ask, "Are you Laughlin?" Defendant testified that after a moment he answered, "Yes." He was struck and knocked off his feet. Laughlin said that he did not know who hit him. He said he was in no position to defend himself and ran, going north on Main street to the coffee house across from the Denison Hotel. Here he was followed by Joe Bruhn and Mrs. Bruhn, where he testified he was assaulted by Bruhn. Referring to Mrs. Bruhn, defendant said, "And she was taking as active a part in it was he was." He testified that he next went to a nearby confectionery where the proprietor prevented trouble between himself and his brother-in-law. Laughlin said he went next to the Palace Hotel where he stayed for about thirty minutes. Joe Bruhn and Mrs. Bruhn called on him to come out, cursing him. Defendant testified that his sister-in-law said: "There's been one killed in this family, and if you're not careful, you'll be the next one," and also, "No, go home and show your mother-in-law what the Kaiser did to you," meaning, according to the defendant, what Bruin did to him. Laughlin said he went home from the hotel, cleaned up, and then went back to the park for his hat. Defendant testified that he had heard that Bruhn had threatened his life through George Wyre and Mrs. Wyre, and that he carried a pistol after the incident in the park for self protection. He testified that he learned of additional threats from his wife on the day of the killing, after she had a conversation with Bruhn; that he did not want to have trouble with Bruhn, but wanted to find him and ascertain the cause of his enmity. He testified that he went to the depot, and saw Bruhn talking with two men while standing in the street. As Bruhn started toward the switchman's shanty and the men with whom he was talking walked toward him (the defendant), he asked one of the men if that was Bruhn with whom they had been talking. Laughlin said he approached Bruhn and said to him, in substance, "I want to talk with you." Damn it, all I've got to say, I've said to your wife. " was Bruhn's answer, according to the defendant. Laughlin said Bruhn placed his hand in his pocket and that from the angry look on his face and his general behavior, as well as the motion, he believed Bruhn was going to carry out the threats he had heard, and that he drew the pistol from his bosom, and fired three times. Laughlin said that he didn't have his gun in his hand as he crossed the street, and Bruhn was facing him when he shot. On cross examination by the State, Laughlin admitted that Bruhn had never threatened him personally; that Bruhn made a coat pocket and not a hip pocket play. After the shooting, Laughlin, said, he went to the police station to give up. At this point, counsel for the defense introduced photographs of the scenes of the shooting and depositions of a number of character witnesses living in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Among them were James P. Farrell, chief clerk in the sheriff's office at Vicksburg; Frank A. Scott, sheriff at Vicksburg; a Vicksburg physician; an attorney, R. M. Kelley, and several machinists. The testimony of these witnesses was to the effect that they had known Laughlin in Vicksburg practically all his life and that his reputation as a peaceable and law abiding citizen was good. The defensed closed. The State introduced at this point a number of witnesses who testified to the law abiding reputation of Bruhn, among these being L. E. Senter, grocery merchant of Denison; T. L. Brady, railroad brakeman at Denison, and Taylor Walker, M. O. & G. conductor. Wife of Bruin Testifies The next witness examined by the State was Mrs. Joe Bruhn, wife of the deceased. Mrs. Bruhn is a slender woman of much the same type as her sister, Mrs. Laughlin, though older in appearance. She was dressed in black. Mrs. Bruhn testified that she and her husband had been married fifteen years and had four children, among them a boy twelve years of age. She testified that on the morning of August 7 she had a telephone conversation with her sister, Mrs. Laughlin, asking her to use her influence to keep her husband, Albert Laughlin, from coming about her home, as she feared the worst kind of trouble. Mrs. Laughlin said that there was likely to be more trouble, that Albert would kick her off the street the next time he saw her. Witness testified that she told her that Albert would have to take a whipping, and that Mrs. Laughlin replies, saying Albert had a gun. She related her version of the park incident on the night of the 7th; denied that she and her husband were waiting for Laughlin, but merely ran across him. The time was about 11:40 o'clock at night. They had been across town visiting. She admitted that her husband struck Laughlin, her testimony in regard to the fight being substantially the same as the defendant's. Her husband, she said, didn't have a pistol, did not own one, nor was there one at their home. Cross questioned by the defense, witness said she did not know what hour her brother-in-law went to work; that the trouble between Laughlin and her twelve-year-old son occurred in June or July; that she didn't curse defendant or tell him to go home and let his mother-in-law see what the Kaiser did to him; that she didn't tell Mrs. Wyre that she was going to separate her sister and Laughlin, and didn't tell her husband to kill Laughlin. Sherman Daily Democrat Thursday, December 16, 1920 pg. 4 ALBERT LAUGHLIN ON TRIAL Albert Laughlin, railroad machinist of Denison, will face a jury for the second time in Judge F. E. Wilcox's Fifty-Ninth District Court on a charge of killing his brother-in-law, Joe Bruhn, in Denison, October 25, 1918. With a special venire on hand from which to select a jury, attorneys for the defendant, Captain E. J. Smith and Judge Cal T. Freeman, announced ready when the case was called for trial Thursday morning. Two jurors had been secured up to 11 o'clock Thursday morning, and the examination was proceeding. The first trial which Laughlin stood resulted in a disagreement of the jury. Sherman Daily Democrat Saturday, December 18, 1920 pg. 5 LAUGHLIN TESTIFIES IN HIS OWN BEHALF Albert Laughlin, railroad machinist of Denison, on trial in the Fifty-Ninth District court on the charge of killing his brother-in-law, Joe Bruhn, in Denison, on October 25, 1918, took the stand in his own behalf Saturday morning, and testified that he shot Bruhn because he believed his own life to be in danger. The court room was filled when Laughlin narrated the details of the shooting, near a switchman's shanty at the Union Station in Denison. The State rested its case Friday afternoon, and began rebuttal testimony Saturday afternoon after the defense rested. Testimony introduced at the trial showed that Laughlin and Bruhn, the deceased, had married sisters, and that trouble of a family matter was engendered between the two men. Mrs. Bruhn, wife of the deceased, was on the stand Saturday afternoon. Sherman Daily Democrat Monday, December 20, 1920 pg. 2 BOND REDUCED Following a habeas corpus hearing before Judge Silas Hare in the Fifteenth District Court Monday morning, the bond of Albert Laughlin of Denison, charged with robbery with firearms, was reduced from $2,500 to $1,500. Laughlin, who is a railroad shop employee at Denison, was acquitted Saturday in the Fifty-Ninth District Court of a murder charge growing out of the shooting of his brother-in-law, Joe Bruhn. The robbery with which he is now charged is alleged to have occurred since his first trial last year on the charge of murder. The Whitewright Sun Friday, December 24, 1920 pg. 14 JURY ACQUITS LAUGHLIN ON MURDER CHARGE Sherman, Dec. 20. - Albert Laughlin, of Denison, was acquitted by a jury in Judge F.E. Wilcox's Fifty-Ninth District Court Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock of the murder of his brother-in-law, Joe Bruhn, in Denison, two years ago. The case ended more abruptly than was expected. When testimony was concluded after 2 o'clock Saturday, the case was immediately given to the jury without argument by either the State or the defense. Laughlin, who is an employee of the Katy shops in Denison, was given a trial about one year ago, and the jury failed to agree on a verdict. Testimony at the trials showed that the difficulty between the men was of a family nature, Laughlin and Bruhn having married sisters. Testimony introduced by the defense tended to show that Bruhn had made a number of threats against Laughlin. FELONY Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson CountyTXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |