Abilene Weekly Reflector

TOM HORN FOUND GUILTY.

The Famous Scout Convicted of the Murder of Willie Nickell—Horn's So-Called Confession

Cheyenne, Wyo., Oct. 25.—Tom Horn, the famous scout and stock detective, was yesterday evening found guilty of murder in the first degree. The trial of Horn for the murder of Willie Nickell, 14 years old, son of Kels Nickell, on July 18, 1901, at his father's ranch in the Iron Mountain country, was begun October 10. The arguments were finished and the case given to the jury at 11:25 o'clock yesterday. The verdict was reached before five o'clock in the evening. The claim of the prosecution was that Horn, in the pay of certain large cattle owners, killed the Nickell boy in an effort to frighten his father and cause him to leave the country. The strongest evidence against Horn was his own confession, made to Deputy Sheriff Joseph H. La Fors, in which he gave minute details of the crime. Horn at the trial admitted making the confession, but claimed it was false and only made in a bragging way while he and La Fors were exchanging yarns.

Horn has long been known on the frontier as a fearless scout and served with the American army in Cuba in charge of a pack train.