He swore he was innocent of murder. A note in his pocket admitted his guilt

a historical newspaper article — The headline in the Jamestown Weekly Alert from March 29, 1900, about the August Stark murder.

By Jeremy Fugleberg

July 14, 2025 at 10:55 AM

WILTON, N.D. 鈥� It was cold that day at the Casino Coal Mine.

had been told a dead body had been found 200 feet down the mine angled into lignite coal beds of central North Dakota in late March 1899.

Sure enough, there it was. Frozen solid. The coroner went through the corpse鈥檚 pockets and found a bunch of keys and about $3 in cash.

But there was troublingly clear evidence this was a murder. There was a gash across the man鈥檚 face, and as an examination would prove later,

The man appeared to have been There was little blood around the corpse. His clothes were pulled over his body, and there were marks on his ankle where a strap had been tied, the better to pull him down the mine shaft.

The man鈥檚 name was August 鈥淕ust鈥� Stark. He had been a worker at the mine, and was known to have some money.

A historical newspaper headline — The coroner's discovery and initial investigation of the murded August Stark was discussed in the March 22, 1900, edition of The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican

The Casino mine was owned by a father and son, James Jenkins and Ira Jenkins, who had reported Stark missing. White and State鈥檚 Attorney Ed Allen decided to investigate further, and their first questions were for the Jenkinses.

What would follow would be one of the more extraordinary murder cases in North Dakota鈥檚 early history, resulting in one of its few executions and a surprise exoneration, all due to a piece of paper discovered in a dead man鈥檚 pocket.

The investigation

The two Jenkins, father and son, initially claimed to have no knowledge of Stark鈥檚 murder. But, after telling confused and sometimes contradictory stories, they quickly turned on one another and accused each other of the crime.

The two were put in separate cells, and

James, the father, his son Ira had wanted to buy a piece of land from Stark, who refused to sell. James returned home the evening of March 16, 1900, only to be met by Ira, who told his father he had killed Stark in the house, then dragged his body outside.

Later, White visited the house and found evidence 鈥� bloody carpet and a door 鈥� that seemed to bear out this part of the confession.

Before going to the authorities, James said he and his son concocted a made-up story about finding a missing Stark. But now, under pressure, James had decided he needed to tell the truth.

鈥淚ra Jenkins was in court and faced his father, while the latter gave testimony that was to fasten the crime of murder on his son,鈥� the Bismarck Tribune reported.

Ira, the son, In his version, he had been absent from the house and returned to find his father choking Stark, then laying him across a chair and shooting him in the head.

The authorities weren鈥檛 convinced by this claim. Not only was there no sign that Stark had been strangled, but he was also much bigger and stronger than the elder Jenkins.

The jury also wasn鈥檛 convinced when Ira Jenkins alone was brought to trial, even though his father was still technically charged with the same crime.

After seven hours of deliberation, the jury found Ira Jenkins guilty of Stark鈥檚 murder, primarily on the strength of his father鈥檚 testimony against him. Judge Walter Winchester on Sept. 14, 1900.

The execution

The pending execution merited newspaper coverage across the state and elsewhere in the country.

All of Ira Jenkins鈥� legal appeals failed. In June, his wife, all of 16 years old but who went unnamed in press reports, in Bismarck asking Gov. Frederick Fancher to commute Jenkins鈥� death sentence, on the grounds that his conviction was largely due to testimony by his father, who was also charged with the crime.

a historical image of a mustachioed man wearing a suit and tie — North Dakota Gov. Frederick B. Fancher, as shown in 1899's "Appletons' Annual Cyclop忙dia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1898."

In September, Fancher He said the evidence didn鈥檛 justify him interfering in the matter. Jenkins was set to be executed two weeks later. On the eve of the execution, a 90-day reprieve request was turned down by Lt. Gov. Joseph Devine.

Jenkins was now out of options. A scaffold was erected in the Burleigh County courthouse yard in Bismarck, with a foot-operated trap that would drop him to his death.

The with a drizzly rain and a thunderstorm dampening and delaying the affair. Just after 8 a.m., Ira Jenkins was marched to the scaffold, a cigar clutched between his lips.

Reportedly, he had been cussing and swearing since he was fed ham and eggs for breakfast at 4 a.m., and didn鈥檛 quit even as he stepped onto the scaffold platform. This 鈥渟tamped him as a remarkable example of depravity and villainy,鈥� the Bismarck Tribune wrote.

His father, James, was there. Ira shook his hands and bade him goodbye. He then whispered a word of advice to the county sheriff before addressing the crowd.

He blamed liquor for 鈥渢his鈥� and launched into a tirade at his lawyer, before finishing with, 鈥淚 am an innocent man.鈥�

He was hanged until dead.

The sheriff, on Ira鈥檚 advice, checked the deceased man鈥檚 pockets. that read, 鈥淧lease clear the old man for I take all the guilt on myself.鈥�

Jenkins left behind a young wife and an infant child, as well as an exonerated father.

The murder charge against James Jenkins was dismissed.

Note: This article is based on contemporaneous coverage from North Dakota鈥檚 newspapers including The Bismarck Tribune, The Hope Pioneer, The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican, The Jamestown Weekly Alert and The Washburn Leader.