To the Clerk of The Probate Court

Frankfort, Kentucky

Dear Sir:

Please, do me the service of causing the public records of the city to be checked.

I wish to know if the Last Will and Testament of Michael Francis Finnegan has been filed , on what date it has been filed and by whom. This will aid me in determining whether a witness I have questioned as to the  death of Mr.David Cooper is credible and if her memory is to be relied upon.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.  Time is of the essence.  I await your reply.

Your Humble Servant,

Thomas Hobart esq.

Attorney for the Commonwealth

Franklin County, Kentucky

> I was also thinking of asking the sheriff to see

> if he could get statements about the reputation

> and character of D. ,M., the Coopers and Mrs. F.

Mr. Hobart,

Mrs. Finnegan does have some family in the area.  There is Mrs. James Clancey, of Frankfort avi_w1603@yahoo.com .  Mrs. Clancey's niece cocofam@juno.com, I'm sorry I don't have her name.  They can probably verify some of the story of Mrs. F.  Both Mrs. Clancey and her neice work for Mr. Sullivan at his inn.

As far as Mr. D and Mr. M. I need more time to find out about them and will contact you as soon as I have further information.

The Coopers?   I have little information on them because they're not from this area.  Mrs. Cooper said that they were from Pittsburg and he was an agent for McCormick Mowers and Reapers and had been staying at the Frankfort House Hotel.  However, two days before the murder we had a complaint of a robbery at knife-point in a room at the Frankfort House Hotel.  I sent a deputy to the hotel to speak to the clerk and see if he recognized the robber from the victim's description.  At the time the clerk did not. However the clerk came to my office two days after the murder and said that Mr and Mrs Cooper had left two trunks in their room, but had not paid for their room, or checked out and had not been seen at the hotel for two days, and apparently had fled without their trunks and the clerk said that they resembled the description of the robbers.

At the time that Mrs. Cooper reported the death of her husband I was not aware of these facts and so of course did not question her about the robbery or detain her. 

Do you want a copy of the complaint about the robbery?  I consider Mrs. Cooper a suspect in the robbery now.

YOS,

Frank Sawyer

Sheriff.