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I killed Mrs.

I killed Mrs. Mary J. Short.

I killed her because I wanted her money.

I expected that everything she had, which amounted to considerable, would come to me at her death.

This was the substance of a confession made by Fred Fanning yesterday afternoon in the presence of county attorney John

J. Schink and a number of other law enforcement officials. The confession was wrung from

Fanning after he had been sweated for several hours by the local authorities and after sufficient

proof had been obtained of the murder almost to ensure conviction,

even though the man continued to protest his innocence as he did when first questioned.

Mrs. Mary J. Short, wife of Sandy Short, who was killed in a pistol duel with police officer Doc Ward nearly 20 years ago,

has been an object of charity in Topeka for many years.

Going about the streets with a heavy black veil over her face to hide a terrible cancer

that had almost eaten one side of her face away. She was a familiar figure on the streets.

On the morning of October 25th she was taken sick very suddenly and died in a few minutes.

Dr. E. M. Brockett was called to attend her, but the woman was dying when the doctor arrived,

and he made a cursory examination and departed, reporting that she had died of heart failure.

The body was embalmed and held by the undertaker until the arrival of Mrs. Fanny M. Mather,

sister of Mrs. Short, from Seattle, Washington.

Mrs. Mather reached here October 30th, a week ago last Saturday,

and on the following day, Mrs. Short was buried.

The story of events from then on for the week just ended was one of almost

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