Sources and Footnotes
On the Trail of a Killer: Sources
• The Feb. 1, 1925, Beacon mentions that Detective Wirz and Chief Michels actually found themselves on opposite sides of the case, a point that did not sit will with Michels. In testimony, Michels admitted that he called Wirz's wife and told her that Wirz was a "louse." Michels told her Wirz should be in court when the chief testifies so he could "hear the truth be told."
• The quote "rank coward" comes from the Jan. 24, 1925, Beacon.
• The quote "cunning, crafty weaver of lies" is from the Feb. 9, 1925, Beacon, as are the details about the trial fans.
• The quotes "stamped out" and "How are you going to face..." are from the Feb. 10, 1925, Beacon.
• The quote "We, the jury" is from the Feb. 10, 1925, Beacon. A note in the same edition said it cost Kane County $12,500 to try Lincoln. The payroll for the jury amounted to $793.50, the Beacon said.
• Again from the same edition, it took the jury five ballots to sentence Lincoln to life in prison. Jurors immediately agreed on a guilty verdict.
• Both the Tribune and Beacon give nearly identical accounts of the exchange between Abbott and Michels. The quotes used here are taken from the Feb. 1, 1925, Beacon.
• The quote "Lincoln has been assigned" is from the Feb. 20, 1925, Beacon.
• Lincoln's jail number comes from his intake record at the Joliet Penitentiary. That same record also supplied Lincoln's height, weight and the fact that he smoked, but didn't swear, drink or chew. His religion was listed as Methodist.
• Lincoln's death was recorded in the Aug. 12, 1941, Beacon. That same story notes that Lincoln worked for years teaching convicts how to garden and had memorized the numbers of more than 1,600 prisoners. Michel's granddaughter, Marcia Mount, recalls that Michels visited Lincoln in prison several times.
• The same story also mentions that shortly after being imprisoned, Lincoln asked the Chicago Herald and Examiner to insert a personal ad reading: "A.K.H. -- Please help me. This means the end of me if I stay here. Go tell chief all. You will be safe. Where is B? H-3. W.J.L."
• Michels' retirement was announced in the Feb. 16, 1928, Beacon.
• The information about Michels' retirement ceremony are from the June 30, 1927, Beacon. The quote starting with "I do not know..." is from that same paper, as is the 100,000 cases statistic. The Tribune quotes the amount of gold awarded to Michels as $2,000.
• Information about Michel's death comes from the Nov. 12, 1929, Beacon. The same edition supplied the editorial quote, which begins "His word was good...."
