The Killing of Deputy William Hibler

   Sometimes initial reports about certain incidents, especially those in which crimes are alleged, differ markedly from later reports. In many cases, the later reports are more accurate, having the benefit of additional testimony and evidence. That might be what happened in the killing of Deputy William Hibler of Crawford County, Missouri, in 1934, although it's hard to say for sure, since the later reports came from the alleged killer's hometown newspaper.
   In late February of that year, nineteen-year-old Edith Johnson of Cuba, Missouri, left her husband, thirty-one-year-old Walter, after the couple got into a serious argument. On Saturday the 24th, she returned to the Johnson home, accompanied by her brother and Deputy Hibler, to retrieve some of her belongings, and a confrontation ensued between her husband and the deputy. According to a report filed soon after the incident happened, Hibler was attempting to serve a subpoena on Johnson when the man pulled a rifle and shot the deputy as soon as the lawman announced his mission. Hibler died on the way to a hospital at St. James, and the sheriff came to Cuba, arrested Johnson, and took him back to the county seat at Steelville.
   A report from later that night gave additional details. Shortly after being lodged in jail, Johnson tried to kill himself by slashing his wrists with a tin can, but the physician who treated him said the wounds were not life threatening, despite a considerable loss of blood. Then, that evening, a coroner's jury rendered a verdict that Hibler came to his death from a gunshot wound inflicted by Walter Johnson and recommended that the accused be held for a preliminary hearing on a charge of murder. Soon after the jury rendered its verdict, the sheriff took the prisoner away from Steelville to a more secure jail in a neighboring county in response to "quiet rumors" of mob action. This second report on the night of the 24th, citing both Mrs. Johnson and her brother, agreed with the first report that Johnson was angered by the deputy's visit, but it made no mention of Hibler attempting to serve a subpoena. It implied instead that he was just accompanying Edith for her safety.
   However, the Cuba Review, a weekly newspaper at Cuba, where Johnson's father was a prominent businessman, gave a markedly different account of the fatal incident a few days later. The Review declared that the shooting was accidental, even though a preliminary hearing had not yet been held. According to this account, when Edith arrived at her residence with her brother and the deputy, her husband wanted to talk with her in private, and when the request was denied, he grabbed a rifle and threatened to "end it all." Edith immediately grabbed hold of her estranged husband from behind to try to prevent him from shooting himself, and Deputy Hibler, standing in front of Johnson, grabbed hold of the barrel of the weapon. During the ensuing struggle, the rifle accidentally discharged, with the bullet striking Hibler in the abdomen. When Mrs. Johnson and her two companions first arrived, according to this report, Johnson even thanked Hibler for accompanying his wife home. This despite the fact that he supposedly did not know that Hibler was a deputy.
   Two weeks later the Cuba Review reported that, after his preliminary hearing, Johnson was released on $7,500 bond. Apparently, the judge was lenient because he was inclined to believe the defendant's claim that the shooting was accidental, and the newspaper predicted that Johnson would be found not guilty at trial. The charges might even have been dropped prior to trial, since I have been unable to find any later reports on this incident. Either way, Walter and Edith, who was Johnson's second wife, apparently reconciled, because six years later, at the time of the 1940 census, they were back living together in Crawford County. So, it seems the later reports might have been closer to the truth than the initial ones, even though they originated from the accused assailant's hometown.