The Murder of Fred Tolsted

The Fred/Frederic Tolsted referenced in these articles was the son of Frederick and Gesine Toelstede/Tolsted

Amboy Journal

December 30, 1897

Fred Talstead living near the Ogle co., line in Alto township was shot to death last Friday afternoon by a young man named E.J. Wenker, who had been in Tolstead’s employ on the farm, and with whom he had difficulty. After shooting Mr. Talstead, Wenker walked to Rochelle and gave himself up. Coronor Andruss was called to hold an inquest and the verdict was in accordance with the confession of Wenker.

Lee County Times

January 7, 1898

The next term of court in Lee County will likely see the trail of a murder case will all the accompanying details of horror. The murdered man is Frederic Tolsted, a farmer of Alto Township, who lived just this side of the county line separating Ogle and Lee Counties. The deed was committed by Edward J. Wenker, on Friday, December 24. Wenker was formerly employed by Tolsted as a farm hand, but had been away, working in Dixon for some time. Wenker went to Tolsted’s home on the date named above, and asked Tolsted why he had circulated reports about him. Tolsted was cleaning a hog yard and made threatening motions towards Wenker, so he says. Wenker shot him four times with a 38 caliber revolver and leaving him dead, went through he corn fields and gave himself up to the authorities at Rochelle. He was placed in the Ogle Co., jail, and seems unable to comprehend the seriousness of his crime. He laughs and jokes about the affair in a depraved way. He claims he shot in self defense, but his varied stories about the crime are contradictory. States Attorney E.H. Brewster and Deputy Sheriff M.M. McGowan have visited the scene of the murder and are collecting evidence and locating witnesses. There were not witnesses to the murder and Wenker is the only one who can furnish direct evidence. If he persists in his claim of self defense it will be doubtful if he can be convicted of murder in the first degree. The killing caused a great deal of excitement in Steward and the surrounding country. Wenker is now in the Lee Co jail and it is thought he will be tried during this term of court. We understand he has secured the services of Morrison & Bethea to defend him.

The Telegraph

Monday, December 27, 1897

WAS IT MURDER?

A Citizen of Alto Township Shot to Death by a Former Employe – E.J. Winker Surrenders Himself at Rochelle.

For a dozen years or more the criminal dockets of the circuit court of Lee county have been unstain ed by the annals of a murder trial – the Mosse case being the last sensation of that sort upon which the abnormal appetite of society was regaled.

But right on the eve of Christmas (the season of “peace on earth and good will toward men”) comes, from the north-east corner of the county news of the killing of a bachelor farmer by a former employe, with the self-surrender of the culprit. The facts, as nearly as we have been able to sift them, divested of all unnecessary sensational accompaniments, are as follows.

Fred Tolsted has for a number of years owned and lived on a far, the north-west quarter of section one in Alto township; his house situated but a few rods from the highway which is the division line between Lee and Ogle counties.

Some time ago a man giving his name as E.J. Brown, (but whose right name is E.J. Wenker) engaged himself to work by the month for Mr. Tolsted, who is a bachelor, well respected in his neighborhood and has a reputation for honesty and a peaceable disposition. At the end of the month Wenker was discharged, Tolsted not being satisfied with his work and refusing to pay him his full wages. Wenker then came to Dixon and for three weeks was engaged by Messrs. Wright & Barker, who are preparing a new city directory; and Mr. Wright states that he did good work for the firm. Thursday he went to Creston, in Ogle county, three miles north of Tolsted’s place. Here he put up for the night with directions not to be called until five o’clock the following afternoon. When called at that hour his room was found to be vacant.

It seems that some time during the forenoon Wenker had, unperceived, left the house where he was stopping and walked down to Tolsted’s where about 1 or 2 o’clock p/m/ the murder was committed. Wenker then started back to Creston, where he doubtless intended to if possible reach his room unnoticed and where he expected to be found when called at 5 o’clock. But, meeting on the road someone who knew him, had the effect of changing his purpose; so turning west he walked about eight miles to Rochelle, where he gave himself up to the authorities, surrendering his revolver and stating that he had killed Mr. Tolsted in self-defence. To substantiate this he said that Tolsted had defamed his character in connection with some woman whose name we withhold; that he found him cleaning out his hogpen with a shovel; that he told him that if he did not retract he would make him suffer for it; and that Tolsted thereupon flew toward him with the shovel uplifted, and to save himself from being brained he drew his revolver and fired several shots.

Mr. Tolsted’s body was found in the pigpen about 5 o’clock Friday afternoon, pierced by four bullets. One had struck him in the left eye, one about half an inch above the eye, one in the right and one in the left side near the breast. It would seem that some one of these shots must have proved instantly fatal.

The please of self-defense is very materially weakened by the fact that with the revolver, Wenker gave up a quantity of poison, which he said he intended to have taken in case of danger from arrest. Deputy Sheriff McGowan and ex-Sheriff Stainbrook was driven to Oregon yesterday and had an interview with the prisoner, who will be brought to Dixon for trial. McGowan and Brewster have gone to Alto today to look over the scene of the tragedy and gather material for the trial.

Wenker is a young man of respectable appearance, and J.A. Wright, for whom he has been recently working, says he is a young man of good habits. He is son of F.J. Wenker, a well-to-do resident of Watertown, Wis., and at Clyman, Wis., where he has a brother, a dentist, he was for a year in the employ of W.M. Brown, now of this city, to whom he gave good satisfaction; and all who have known the young man are greatly surprised at this connection with such a tragedy.

There are some points in the case which would indicate an unbalanced mental condition.

At the coroner’s inquest last Saturday, aside from Wenkers confession, there was only circumstantial evidence as to the killing. There could be but one verdict, however, that Mr. Tolsted came to his death by shots from a revolver in the hands of E.J.Wenker. The funeral services of the murdered man were held and body was interred this afternoon.