Nineteen-year-old Charles Garner married 17-year-old Virginia "Jean" Collingham on June 12, 1939, at York, Nebraska. Shortly afterward, the young couple came to Missouri to spend part of their honeymoon with Garner's grandmother, who lived west of Liberal in Barton County, where Charles had been reared. On July 2, he and Jean went to a water-filled strip mine near the Kansas state line, where the young woman waded into the water. According to her husband's story at the time, she slipped on a rock when she reached deep water and fell in over her head. Neither Jean nor Charles were able to swim, and all the young man could do was watch futilely and scream for help.
When help finally arrived, Jean had already drowned, and her body was retrieved from the water-filled pit. Authorities believed the young man's story, and Jean's death was ruled accidental. The body was shipped back to York for burial. Jean's death was the second tragedy to befall the Collingham family within a month. In early June, Jean's brother, Alvin, had shot and killed himself because he was reportedly despondent over poor health.
Garner also returned to Nebraska, and on September 17, he walked into a jail in Gering on the pretext of wanting to sleep in the jail. As he made the request, he handed the night marshal a note confessing to killing his wife two and half months earlier. In the note, Garner related that he and Jean had gone to the mining pit to wade in the water. After walking out onto a ledge near the deep water, Jean mentioned another young man whom she had dated before she and Garner got married. Garner told her not to mention the other suitor's name again because he despised him, but Jean kept right on talking about Garner's romantic rival. Growing irate, Garner pushed his new wife into the water and held her head under. She tried to fight her way to the surface, but Garner kept pushing her under until she went down a final time. Then he went to the top of a nearby hill, yelled for help, and told his phony story of an accidental drowning.
Garner was lodged in jail and, later in September, brought back to Missouri to stand trial for murder. He confessed again after he reached the Barton County Jail at Lamar, but at his arraignment on October 16, he pleaded not guilty. Repudiating his previous confessions, he said he'd only confessed "on a bet" because he was out of work and hungry and that he'd repeated the confession in Missouri because he liked the publicity.
At his trial in mid-November, Garner reverted to his original defense that his wife had drowned accidentally and he'd been unable to rescue her because he couldn't swim. However, one of the prosecution witnesses testified that he knew the defendant to be a good swimmer. One of the first people to answer Garner's calls for help testified that he shouted "It's no use, she's gone!" as rescuers started into the pit. Other witnesses said Garner kneeled down after his wife's body was brought out of the water, and, showing no emotion, turned a ring on her finger. Two or three defense witnesses testified that Garner showed great affection for his wife, and the defendant took the stand himself to repudiate his confession and repeat the story of an accidental drowning. Late in the afternoon of November 21, the jury came back after two or three hours of deliberation with a verdict convicting Garner of first degree murder. A defense motion for a new trial was denied, and Garner was transferred to the state prison at Jefferson City the next day.
On or about December 20, Garner gave a written statement to the prison warden confessing to three other murders. He said he'd killed Alvin Collingham during an argument over Collingham's objections to Jean's relationship with Garner. A few days later, he killed another young man who said there was something fishy about Alvin's supposed suicide and suggested that Garner might know something about it. Two years earlier, Garner said he'd also shoved a boy from a freight train near Kansas City and that the lad had fallen under the wheels of the train and been crushed to death. Garner now claimed he'd killed his wife because she was the only person who knew about the three previous murders.
Authorities, however, were skeptical of Garner's latest confession, and subsequent investigation did little to change their mind. In January 1940, Garner repudiated his latest confession, saying he'd only admitted the three prior killings in hopes of getting the death penalty. He said he'd rather die than spend the rest of his life in prison. Authorities considered the case officially closed.
When help finally arrived, Jean had already drowned, and her body was retrieved from the water-filled pit. Authorities believed the young man's story, and Jean's death was ruled accidental. The body was shipped back to York for burial. Jean's death was the second tragedy to befall the Collingham family within a month. In early June, Jean's brother, Alvin, had shot and killed himself because he was reportedly despondent over poor health.
Garner also returned to Nebraska, and on September 17, he walked into a jail in Gering on the pretext of wanting to sleep in the jail. As he made the request, he handed the night marshal a note confessing to killing his wife two and half months earlier. In the note, Garner related that he and Jean had gone to the mining pit to wade in the water. After walking out onto a ledge near the deep water, Jean mentioned another young man whom she had dated before she and Garner got married. Garner told her not to mention the other suitor's name again because he despised him, but Jean kept right on talking about Garner's romantic rival. Growing irate, Garner pushed his new wife into the water and held her head under. She tried to fight her way to the surface, but Garner kept pushing her under until she went down a final time. Then he went to the top of a nearby hill, yelled for help, and told his phony story of an accidental drowning.
Garner was lodged in jail and, later in September, brought back to Missouri to stand trial for murder. He confessed again after he reached the Barton County Jail at Lamar, but at his arraignment on October 16, he pleaded not guilty. Repudiating his previous confessions, he said he'd only confessed "on a bet" because he was out of work and hungry and that he'd repeated the confession in Missouri because he liked the publicity.
At his trial in mid-November, Garner reverted to his original defense that his wife had drowned accidentally and he'd been unable to rescue her because he couldn't swim. However, one of the prosecution witnesses testified that he knew the defendant to be a good swimmer. One of the first people to answer Garner's calls for help testified that he shouted "It's no use, she's gone!" as rescuers started into the pit. Other witnesses said Garner kneeled down after his wife's body was brought out of the water, and, showing no emotion, turned a ring on her finger. Two or three defense witnesses testified that Garner showed great affection for his wife, and the defendant took the stand himself to repudiate his confession and repeat the story of an accidental drowning. Late in the afternoon of November 21, the jury came back after two or three hours of deliberation with a verdict convicting Garner of first degree murder. A defense motion for a new trial was denied, and Garner was transferred to the state prison at Jefferson City the next day.
On or about December 20, Garner gave a written statement to the prison warden confessing to three other murders. He said he'd killed Alvin Collingham during an argument over Collingham's objections to Jean's relationship with Garner. A few days later, he killed another young man who said there was something fishy about Alvin's supposed suicide and suggested that Garner might know something about it. Two years earlier, Garner said he'd also shoved a boy from a freight train near Kansas City and that the lad had fallen under the wheels of the train and been crushed to death. Garner now claimed he'd killed his wife because she was the only person who knew about the three previous murders.
Authorities, however, were skeptical of Garner's latest confession, and subsequent investigation did little to change their mind. In January 1940, Garner repudiated his latest confession, saying he'd only admitted the three prior killings in hopes of getting the death penalty. He said he'd rather die than spend the rest of his life in prison. Authorities considered the case officially closed.
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