Alexandria gazette & advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1822-1824, 1824-06-15
TRIAL. EOR MURDER.

L FUN VIZ
SHAwAhsEro"N. (lllIno's) May 8-on
Thursday, the 25th oil April, before Tie
Cucuu Court oil the county, came on the
trial ol .slartI. p Frazer, Tor the murder
OF IRimas b Drsdsn Two days were
spent VI Iii. pauueilIng the jury, almost e,
very person having formed and expresse1
ali opinion, uniavorable to tue accused,
anu were therefore challenged tor cause.
Seventeen were challenged pereDpiorily.
Tn wSuie number summoned GU The De-
nire Vas upwards Uf t"o nuDdred Jury
brIus al ieugtb ected, De triai comneu
ce0. Ii appeared ia evidence, tast The
deceased, On the day teiore toe murder
was supposed 10 have happened, VS. al
the mouse OF Mr. Chs is srlton aud
stated his Ihlen,iOn vi gong TO The Saline
AMI enat d ed u lie could not gel pas
sac OF, BOARD hrei boat, anu Mas told
t.,tl he i,ruHsbiy could I'D ay or tw
wien he Ost outi DC going ny q The Sa>
line creek. TIE 2olh OF January, the next
d;v sites the ,iece tsed mad this converse
tigu with Mr.. Tar!,on, mare, we, up o
ne sides, NIn the ondie between ner
legs, came TO the house OF Mr. Joseph
Wathen, VINO lives mile or two on this
side OF the Island Ripple, where the Sa-
line road crosses. lwO days after, the
prisoner came aud claimed the male as the
property of the deceased. and stated that
be haI started, before Day on the incoming
OF the 26ih OF January, to 90 10 the Saline
and had not since been heard OF and that
his wife was alarmed tor bis safety This
gave rise 10 a superstition that Dryden
was drowned, m attempting to cross a
small creek which enters into the Saline
lust above the Island Ripple. aud search
was accordingly made, when the saddle
aud blanket were found, and the hat OF
the deceased, near where the mare had
catered the fOrd-but no body. Repeated
sesscbes were made tor the body whe0
tR water bad subsidized, which were alike
unsuccss ,iul-and from The Circumstance
that lhe water was without cu'Ieut where
the mare bad gone 10, beIng backed up
by the Ohio. the neigbbors began 10 be-
lIeve that he had not been drowLed, but
that be disappeared 10 some other way
A conside rable time elapsed before any
lhing else lraUspred-tIiI on The Alta ul
IL was determined by party OF neighbors
10 make search ior the deceased about
where he lived, which was 10 the prison>
er's house, the Deceased having worked
to- han last summer; a search wsrraD: was
Accordingly srorh out, anc the party
headed by an othcsr, proceeded 10 Fra
zer'S place, sBd was met by him al the
door Gu being told OF toe object OF their
visit, OF which he had nU zee the day Oe
fore, he said they were welcome 10 search
aud invited them mo tbe hUuse they
pointed 70 the kitchen, 4 T. yards distant
iroIn The house, aud proposed searching
there first. The PRISONER manifested some
reluctance 10 unlock the door. but pre-
ssntly did so, aud throwing Il open, turn
ed himself tu go IL the barn, saying he
would 70 and Iced bis hOlses. Sumo Ut
the party kept tneT eyes upon HIM While
Others were searChI the kitchen. i lie
prisoner slept along pretty hIiskiy until he
got behind the b,ru, aud had turned cor
Der In the fence, when he began 10 run -
He was Immediately pursued. and ov.r'
taken alter a race OF about a miIe and
half during whici, be had thrown of his
shues aud stockings Ia The mtaH tune
the party in the krcben touUa tue body OF
d. buried under the floor, wIth'his head
shocklngly cot anu bruised. apparently
with an axe. On being brought back 10
the house, he was asked why ne had kill
Ell OT1 utu, suu " oc ""h'eN "'S 49,
.Sby be had not taken her and let him live!
His reply was that be did no, know--the
like NIGH! have hsppeued to any one oil
you
The wife of the deceased, who was IN
.dicted as accessory TO the murder after the
fact but as to whom a nosle prosequi was
entered by the state, attorney, IN order
10 make her q witness against Frazer, tes'
tiled that being sick herself at ,be time,
her husband went out in the dusk oil The
evening to milk the cow that Frazer, who
was about tue house at the same time, we0t
out aIsu-lndt she never saw her husband
from that time thai Frazer came 10
shortly after and told her that his lie was
10 her hands. OF words 10 that effect, and
hat be would betriend her as long as she
lived If sue would never tell upon him
be body found under the floor was ciear-
ly identlied 10 be the body OF the deceasc.
ed. In addition to these facts and circum-
stances, Mr.. Jeter Baker, who lived 10
Ihe neigb60rhOOd, swore mat be went 10
see Dryden the same aorn.ng, that be
should have started to the Saline. about
day l,ght--that neither Frazer nor Dry den
mas at home.
These were the principal facts in the
case. IRON which the presumption was
strong that the murder was committed IN
tbe evening, while the deceased vas MIX
fng the cow--apd the body burie under