Submitted by
Loyd Bishop

PREMEDITATED MURDER
Martin Julian Killed by an Unknown Party, Near Ponca City

Martin Julian, a bar tender at the Pabst Palace saloon in Ponca City, was shot and killed about 10 o’clock Sunday night while out driving with Delia Lewis of Arkansas City.
Miss Lewis and a friend, Nellie Edwards, also of Arkansas City, have been staying at the St. Nicholas hotel in Ponca City for several days. Sunday evening Julian and Al Harpster, a bar tender on First street, invited the girls to go driving, and they started in single rigs about dark. After driving about the town until nearly ten o’clock Julian and the Lewis girl drove out east of town about a mile. When they were near the twig bridges a man stepped out from the side of the road and commanded them to halt and with an oath said that Julian was with his girl and threatened to kill him. Without waiting for a comply he placed his pistol almost against Julian’s right shoulder and left of the right shoulder and fired. The ball entered just to the left of the right shoulder and came out under the left shoulder in the back.
The girl drove to the home of T. E. Abel, two miles east of town, and Julian was taken into the house, where he died half an hour later. Mrs. Abel asked Julian repeatedly who had shot him and, although he talked on other subjects, he refused to answer the question. The Lewis girl says that the person who did the shooting was a large man and dressed in dark clothes and wore a slouch hat.
Harpster and the Edwards girl did not return until after Julian’s body had been taken to town. They were immediately placed under arrest, but claim that they were not within a mile of where Julian was killed.