Jury Finds Mrs. Fensch Guilty Of Embezzling Company's Funds

Jury Finds Mrs. Fensch Guilty Of Embezzling Company’s Funds

A record-setting circuit court criminal trial highlighted by poetry-writing juror, the introduction of over 500 pieces of evidence and testimony by more than a score of witnesses ended last night when Mrs. Irene L. Fensch was found guilty of embezzlement.

The jury of nine women and three men deliberated exactly three hours before returning at 10:10 p.m. to announce their verdict, Mrs. Fensch, 39, of 6375 Stony Creek Rd., Ypsilanti township, was charged with five counts of embezzlement and five counts of grand larceny in connection with more than $8,000 missing from the Washtenaw Farmers Oil Co., located in Ypsilanti at the time of the offense.

The jury last night found Mrs. Fensch guilty of count two in the criminal charges with the exact amount of monev stolen listed as $8,370.21. Charles Cullip of Milan, a retired federal employe, named foreman of the jury, announced the verdict to the court.

Lawyers Tired

The lengthy trial which lasted more than a month, left both defense counsel George Weins and Chief Assistant Prosecutor William D. Barense tired and drawn when the verdict was finally announced last night.

Mrs. Fensch, calm and composed throughout the 20 days of court activity even when she testified in her own defense, showed no emotion when the guilty verdict was returned. She sat quietly beside her defense counsel as Judge Richard D. Smith of Bay City, who presided at the marathon trial, set June 6 for the sentencing date. The judge ordered her present release bond to be continued.

Weins said this morning he did not know if the verdict would be appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. He said he planned to confer later with Mrs. Fensch on the possibility of appealing for a new trial.

Records Set

The trial set a number of local records in regard to length, evidence and witnesses and in addition produced an incident with a woman juror which almost disrupted the entire proceedings.

Mrs. Fensch, a former bookkeeper for the oil company was arrested on the embezzlement and larceny charges on April 10, 1958. The prosecution charged that she altered records while working for the oil

firm and stole more than $8,000 from the company between Aug. 13, 1956 and Oct. 31, 1957.

After a 62-day municipal court examination stretched over year's time, Judge Edward D. Deake of Ypsilanti bound Mrs. Fensch to circuit court on April 30, 1959.

Judge Smith was appointed to hear the higher court trial after Circuit Judge James R. Breakey, jr., disqualified himself. During the month-long trial Prosecutor Barenes intro-

duced 536 separate pieces of evidence, most of which consisted of records and receipts from the oil company for which Mrs. Fensch had worked. The prosecutor also showed savings account deposits made by the defendant which matched the amounts reported missing from the oil firm.

Sticks To Story

Mrs. Fensch on the stand in her own defense denied she embezzled company funds, and steady cross examination failed to shake her from that position.

On the day final arguments in the case were to be heard, astonishment swept through the court when it was found a woman juror, Mrs. Donna Hewitt of Augusta township, had written two light poems and an essay about aspects of the trial

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and had passed copies of the pieces to fellow jurors. A copy of one of the poems came into the hands of the court bailiff who turned it over to Judge Smith.

The trial was adjourned while the prosecution and defense conferred with Judge Smith about a possible mistrial motion. The judge finally denied a motion for a mistrial and also refused to dismiss Mrs. Hewitt from the panel.

Trial Cost $70,000

If the judge had declared a mistrial, the entire trial would have had to be started over with a new jury. It is estimated the trial cost close to $70,000.

When the jury was ready for deliberation shortly after 7 p.m. yesterday, the 13th juror, Mrs. Mildred Fletcher of 17 Heatherway Dr., was eliminated from the panel by lot. Normally 14 jurors hear a case, with two of that number being dropped off by lot when deliberations begin.