MURDER WILL OUT.
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Wm. Repke Confesses to being one of the Murderers of Albert Molitor in 1875.
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The citizens of Presque Isle county are intensely excited over the confession of Wm. Repke to being one of a party of seventeen men who banded themselves together for the purpose of killing Albert Molitor, of Rogers City. He stated that after having kept the secret 16 years his troubled conscience was unbearable to him, and he could stand the remorse and secret no longer. His statement is that seventeen citizens of Presque Isle county, including himself, entered into an oath-bound compact to assassinate Albert Molitor and Frederick Denny Larke. For some reason Larke was not seen on the fatal evening, he states that the killing of the clerk, Sullivan, was a mistake. The shot he received was intended a second one for Molitor.
The story of the murder is as follows: Sixteen years ago the 22nd of this month, Albert Molitor was sitting in his office in Rogers City, looking over his books, when a gun was fired through the window and Molitor dropped with seven buckshot in his side and back. A clerk named Edward Sullivan, who was in the store with Molitor, sprang to his assistance, and received a load of shot in the neck. Both men were mortally wounded. Sullivan lived for about three days, but died as he was being taken to the steamer to be carried home. Molitor lived a couple of weeks, being taken to Harper Hospital, in Detroit, before he died.
The enmity towards Molitor had been growing for some time, but the direct cause of the murder was this: Rogers township originally occupied about one-half of Presque Isle county. Molitor was instrumental in bonding the township to secure sufficient money to build roads to the farms of these same conspirators, as well as other farmers in the surrounding country. Subsequently the county was redistricted, Rogers township being divided up so that the portion then bearing the name of Rogers township was small, even in comparison to the other new townships. Thus this little section was loaded with the bonds on which money was raised to build roads over half of Presque Isle county. Molitor went to the legislature and received a proper apportionment of this debt. It was this that caused feeling against him.
Twelve of the men, including Repke, are in jail at Rogers City. Two of the band are dead; the other three men are in the state and will be arrested and brought to Rogers City for trial. Henry Clother, a brother-in-law of Molitor, and Judge Shields, of Alpena, are conducting the prosecution, while Frank Emerick and Geo. H. Slator, also of Alpena, have charge of the defense.