“…I spoke to him [Wally],” Stirling said, “but he did not reply other than to fly into a fit of rage and shake the body again….” Stirling claimed he heard poor Wally “growl…like an animal,” then speak softly to his stepmother saying, “Wake up sweetheart, wake up, sweetheart…”
Within minutes, Stirling said he “…ran out for help and with friends we got Wallace out of the room. He quieted down and let us search him…”
Among the men who arrived before the police was Dr. Thompson, who lived around the corner. He helped Wally change from his white night shirt into street clothes. In Wally’s room, Thompson and Stirling claimed they found a butcher knife–but there were no visible knife wounds on Sarah Coburn’s body.
Andy Stirling said “Wallace refused to answer any questions…he simply folded his hands behind his back and walked up and down in the circle we made around him…”
Not until then did Stirling decide to report the murder and he telephoned the county district attorney and the sheriff.
…more…