Lee - Al;bert - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

The grand jury which adjourned yesterday spent several days in investigating a strange murder case and examined a whole army of witnesses in regard to it. But the whole matter is so shrouded in mystery that no indictment could be found. Nevertheless the affair is one of intense interest and a plain recital of the facts alone will read like a tale by Old Sleuth. Albert Lee some years ago took up his residence with an old lady named Van Cleave and her two daughters who live on a farm in Scott Township in what is known as the Lapland neighborhood. He became the man of the house and gained the respect and confidence of the ladies under his protection. One of the daughters was the wife of another man named Lee and a distant relative of Albert. But the latter used his influence to have the two separated and a divorce was eventually secured. This was the beginning of a family quarrel on one side of which were arrayed Mrs. Van Cleave, her two daughters and Albert Lee and on the other side Aaron and James Van Cleave, sons of Mrs. Van Cleave, who took the part of the divorced husband. The next move was made by Albert Lee. He wanted his benefactor, Mrs. Van Cleave, to sell her farm and settle in the West and she would probably have done this but the two brothers, Aaron and Jim, then came into court to have their mother declared of unsound mind and a guardian appointed. This caused an untold amount of bad blood. But the case was finally dismissed, the farm was not sold, and the waters of Lapland society appeared placid. But it was only in appearance. The bad feeling was intense and deep set. Just about two years ago the disappearance and the exciting events which led up to it occurred. One afternoon Aaron Van Cleave, gun in hand, went over to the house of Jim Gough where Albert Lee had gone. He called him out, leveled the gun at him and was about to shoot, but friends interfered. Albert Lee returned to Mrs. Van Cleave’s and in the evening Aaron called bringing with him his son, Frank and another person. They carried letters purporting to prove that he was an ex-convict having been a prisoner of the penitentiary at Stillwater, Minn. They were trying to induce Mrs. Van Cleave to give Mr. Lee his walking papers. Lee himself was in the house and saw the visitors but was in a back room and was not seen by them. For some reason he left the house and very shortly after his departure two shots were plainly heard. Albert Lee has never been seen or heard of since that hour. Two years have passed and his trunk and private possessions still remain at the widow Van Cleave’s without an owner. Is he alive or is he dead? If alive he would certainly have communicated with his friends. If dead, where is his body? If dead, how did he die? A few days after the disappearance, Frank Van Cleave, son of Aaron, William Hester and Louis Hultz were hunting in the woods of Samuel Hester not far from Mrs. Van Cleave’s house when they came across a newly made grave. Here is a mystery almost as great as the first. They dug clear to the bottom of this grave which was eight feet deep without finding a single evidence of a human body. The testimony before the grand jury right here was conflicting. One witness swore that when the grave was discovered, Frank Van Cleave suggested that Lee had been shot there and buried where he fell. But Frank, himself, says that his companions first brought up the subject. Another witness swore that the two shots were from the gun of Jim Van Cleave that he could tell by the sound of it. If this can be relied on, one brother was trying to prove Lee an ex-convict while another lay in ambush for his life. Reliable witnesses also swore that both brothers had said that Lee ought to be killed and that Aaron said he was sure no jury in Montgomery County would convict him if he should kill Lee. Why the friends of Lee never brought the matter to attention of grand jury before is not known. It has been the talk of Scott Township all along but never before have the complete facts been laid before the public. The one overwhelming reason why no indictment was returned was because the body could not be found. The corpus delicto, the prime evidence in a murder case could not be proved.