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Martin C. Golden |
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M. C. Golden of Dennison the Victim |
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Muskegon Paper
Ottawa Murder Case Recalled in Death Here
William Shimmel Was Saved by Judge Who Set Aside Golden Decision. |
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William Shimmel, 77 years old, 157 Ottawa street, whose funeral is to be conducted here tomorrow at 2 p.m. from the Sytsema funeral home with burial at Ravenna, once figured prominently in the headlines for the part he played in the celebrated Martin Golden murder case in Ottawa County.
Mr. Shimmel was arrested as a suspect in the fall of 1906 following the shooting of Mr. Golden, postmaster and general store keeper at East Dennison as he was closing the store at night. Shimmel was charged with the crime and was defended by the late Willard Turner, Sr.
As recalled by Judge Charles B. Cross and by former Sheriff William Matthews, who was a Muskegon county deputy at the time, Judge Philip Padghan rejected the motion of the defense attorney for a direct verdict of not guilty, placing the decision entirely in the hands of a jury as he was convinced the lack of evidence was so clear that there would be no conviction. However, when the jury actually returned a verdict of “guilty”, the judge set it aside, and Shimmel was acquitted.
Mr. Shimmel is survived by his widow, Mrs. Ida Shimmel, an adopted daughter, Miss Eleanor Johnson of Muskegon, and a brother and sister, Beackman Shimmel and Mrs. Laney Burt, both of Oregon. |
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William Shimmel is buried in Ravenna, Michigan.
This is a photo of his gravesite.
As you can see, there is no headstone. |