Norman V. Kelly
Handsome Charles Otis Botts was only seventeen that May 1, 1900
when he guided his horse and buggy over to pick up his
girlfriend,
pretty Miss Birdie Hoffman. The couple rode around the
small village of Peoria Heights before parking in a wooded area just off
Prospect Road.
Romance was pretty much the way it is today between
two young lovers and things quickly got out of hand. On the way home Miss
Birdie began to cry, remorseful over what had taken place. According to Botts,
Birdie grabbed his pistol, leaped from the carriage and ran off. Botts raced
after her, but before he reached her a shot rang out in the silence of that
starry May night.
Poor Birdie Hoffman died in young Botts’ arms.
Botts rode up to the Peoria Heights Police Department
and summoned help. He was held,
questioned and testified at the Coroner’s inquest. The jury ruled the death a
suicide and Charles Botts was released. Many folks believed that Botts had not
told the jury the entire story and that he was more than likely a killer.
Over the next few years Botts used his good looks
going from woman to woman, taking employment only as a last resort. In 1904 he
married Artie Slagel, much to her mother’s chagrin. The couple moved in with
Artie’s mother, but that arrangement lasted all of three weeks. They ended up
in a shabby apartment on Monson Street in Peoria, Illinois.
It was around ten in the morning that January 5, 1905
when the cleaning lady knocked on the Botts’ apartment door. Moments later, on
that quiet, snowy January morning her screams were loud enough to wake the
dead.
Peoria detectives, along with the coroner stared down
at the body of Mrs. Charles Otis Botts.
Blood seeped from her nose and soaked the handkerchief that had been
jammed in her mouth. A bright blue
ribbon had been tied tightly around her throat. The coroner found finger marks
on her bruised throat indicating strangulation. He told the police that she had
been dead just over one hour.
Otis Botts was missing, and police used every
available officer to mount a citywide search for the suspected wife killer.
After an all night drunk, Botts ended up in a bawdy house in the south end of
Peoria. Around noon the police had
gotten enough tips to take Botts into custody. His only comment to them was: “If I had killed my wife why would I still be
in Peoria?”
THE
TRIAL
The terrible murder was the talk of the town and almost
daily the local newspapers ran follow-up stories. By the time the trial began here in Peoria,
most folks had the wife killer guilty and on the way to the gallows. The
Evening Star set the stage with editorials that certainly made its attitude
clear for its readers.
“This uxorcidest is not only a degenerate, malignant
fiend he is a monster in human form.”
For Botts it went downhill from there.
On March 24, 1905 folks jammed the courthouse for the
big show. Once the trial got underway, dramatic testimony from the medical
examiner brought the courtroom to a stunned silence. Throughout it all, Botts
seemed disinterested, yawning, and fidgeting in his seat. The state’s attorney
caught the defendant’s attention when he put Birdie’s clothing, ribbon and bloody
handkerchief on the table in front of him.
The young man turned his head away, refusing to look at the evidence as
the attorney accused Botts of the horrible murder of his young wife. Many times
the judge banged his gavel warning the spectators to remain quiet. His threats
of clearing the courtroom finally subdued them and the drama continued. After
the prosecution rested its case, the defense attorney rose and walked slowly
toward the jury box. He stood quietly
for a moment and then turned, dramatically he said, “Your honor, the defense
calls Charles Otis Botts to the stand.”
Botts sauntered to the witness chair, knowing that all
eyes were upon him. He stared up at the judge, then, grinned at the jury. Even
though he was penniless, the court had supplied him with two fine lawyers. They
put love letters to his wife in evidence and then concluded by asking Botts if
he was a killer. “I did not kill that girl…I loved her.” Once the prosecutor cross- examined confident,
cocky Botts, the young man was reduced to a stammering, broken witness.
Everyone in the courtroom knew he had killed his wife. The jury wasted little
time reaching a guilty verdict.
THE
HANGING
All roads led to downtown Peoria, Illinois that beautiful
morning of June 16, 1905. A massive
crowd jammed the courthouse square and the streets that led to the square.
Police officers surrounded the courthouse stopping folks from storming the
building. Only the designated witnesses were allowed inside to view the
execution. Charles Otis Botts was led from his cell to the hangman’s
noose. The witnesses surrounded the
gallows built within the county jail, jostling for position. Little time was
wasted before the trap door was sprung.
Gagging sounds came from the hooded figure! The rope had not snapped the
killer’s neck and for twenty-one minutes Bott’s heart kept beating. Finally, the three doctors declared the man
dead. By then, most of the witnesses had fled the ghastly scene. Botts was
buried in Saint Mary’s Cemetery.
Editor’s Note: Norm
Kelly is a lifelong resident of Peoria and a local historian. His eight books
can be found in the Peoria Library.
Norm welcomes your questions: norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net
No comments:
Post a Comment