Looking Back: ‘Most sensational murder trial’ in southern Idaho held; and baby found alive after spending night under sagebrush

IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 in east Idaho history.

1900-1925

TWIN FALLS — The “most sensational murder trial that has ever come up for trial in Southern Idaho” was set to get underway, The Burley Herald reported on Oct. 1, 1921.

The news outlet said the trial was now going to be tried in Twin Falls. The trial involved a Mrs. Southard who was charged with poisoning her fourth husband.

“The case is attracting attention all over the nation,” the paper wrote.

The state had 150 witnesses to put on the stand, so it was believed it would be a “long drawn out” trial and the expense on both sides would be “enormous.”

Southard had been confined in jail ever since her arrival from Honolulu in early June 1921.

“She has borne imprisonment very well, showing very slight traces of her incarceration,” the article reads. “She does not appear to be worried over the situation. Her thoughts appear to be far removed from the fact that her life or life imprisonment is hanging in the balance, on the charge of poisoning her fourth husband.”

1926-1950

OAKLEY — Two men were in jail after robbing a co-op store, The Burley Herald reported on Sept. 29, 1927.

Earl Bowcut and Ivan Reidhead, of Oakley, had been living southwest of Oakley on Trapper Creek and were said to be engaged in trapping. One night, they went into Oakley and broke into the co-op through the basement.

The men took a “plentiful supply” of groceries and clothing totaling at least $200. They took the items to the cabin they were staying in.

The sheriff was notified and went to the co-op. He then followed a trail that led him to Trapper Creek.

The two men were arrested and brought to Burley. They were being held in the county jail awaiting their hearing.

1951-1975

ST. ANTHONY — Six youth from the Idaho Youth Services Center were in custody after escaping the facility, the Idaho Falls Post Register reported on Sept. 30, 1975.

The youth involved in the escape were between 15 and 18 years old. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said the teenagers hit a guard over the head with a pipe Sunday around 8 p.m. then stole his car.

The stolen vehicle was reported as being in a car accident early Monday morning in Kemmerer, Wyoming. The occupants of the car reportedly left the scene on foot.

All six escapees were eventually found — five were in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and one in Montpelier, Idaho. They were taken back into custody Monday night.

1976-2000

POCATELLO — A six-month-old boy was found alive under sagebrush after spending the night outdoors in near freezing temperatures, the Idaho State Journal reported on Sept. 30, 1976.

Rubin J. Hill was the infant who was found near Trail Creek Road in Pocatello.

Martha Beebe, 29, told officers she left the baby in a crib while she walked from her home towards Mountain Drive to pick up her children, who were reportedly getting off a school bus. She told investigators that when she returned to the house, she found the Hill baby was missing.

Beebe was caring for the baby while his mother, Connie Hill, was hospitalized with back injuries in a Spokane hospital. Police contacted Hill’s ex-husband, who was living in Montana, but he claimed he knew nothing of the baby’s disappearance.

Paul Todd of Idaho State University’s vo-tech law enforcement class was contacted to help with the search, and he took 30 of his students and other instructors to scour the area where the baby was suspected to have been. The baby was found by Becky Norton and Early Brown about 11:40 a.m. Wednesday in Pocatello’s west bench area. He was lying face down underneath a bush.

Hill was found in “summer-weight, baby type” apparel. The weather bureau said temperatures dipped to 36 degrees that night.

“He was cold and hungry, and his body temperature was considerably down,” the investigator said. “His extremities felt like cold meat taken from a freezer.”

“I’d say we weren’t too many hours from having a dead baby,” detective James Benham told the Journal, noting the infant had cried all he could cry and was just whimpering when found.

Beebe was taken into protective custody about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday. She was currently being detained in the Bannock County Jail.

“It was felt by family members and investigating officers that it was in the best interest of the community and Mrs. Beebe to put her in protective custody,” Benham said.

The only known ill-effects suffered by the baby were a runny nose, the detective said.

Lt. Walt Jensen, chief of Pocatello Police detectives, said he had nothing but the highest praise for the ISU cadets who conducted the intensive foot-search and found the baby.

“Without these people out there beating the bushes, the search would have been an absolute failure,” he emphasized.

The child was turned over to the state’s child protection department within the health and welfare division.