New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-02-14

DEATH or with her parsmour asssssinatins him With
that express object; and that the met that Burde,
on tie Day preceding the night Of bis murder, hsd
made lease Of his house. BY the eigaing Of which,
at the time appointed on the next day. he would.
on the LET Of May next, have disPossessed her and
her family, and thrown them on the world, hasten
ed the catastrophe, and caused il to occur on the
nil ht in question That the murder was perpetrst-
ed by them the instant Burdell entered his rooms;
that they had not anticipated any outcry, and
that the single aud half sted utterance of the word
murder alone revealed the deed at the time, the vic.
tim berg nearly instantly dispatched with fifteen
wounds, almost any one Of which was BY the ply
scians deemed fatal That the bloody clothes Of the
murderers were then burned which accounts for the
smell Of burning weOlen perceived by so many
witnesses in Bond street, on the night, between IL
snd o'clock and that the instrument or instru-
mepts with which the deed was committed, were
during the night taken away from the house and Sc
creted by one Of the murderers after all evidences
of the bloody deed had been removed from his per-
son.
From the second stOry-room door where the muir
der was committed down to the street door, slight
marks of fresh blood had been discovered, as well
as upon the inside knob of the street door and upon
the edge of the street door, at q hight Of about
four or four ard half feet from the sill; but no
blood appearing on the outside knob Of the street
door, brings confirmation that the murderer did
not while his hands were bloody leave the house and
close the door behind him-while the appearance OF
the blood upon the inside knob and the edge OF the
door is conclusvely accounted fer by the testimony
of Farrell, by whom Eckel is pointed out as the
probable assassin For Fsrrells testimony is, that
Fckel came TO the door few seconds after he Far
RELY beard the cry of murder and fall like barrel
on the floor, and holding the door apparently with
his right hand on the inner knob and his Jeff on the
edge of the door, put his head out, perceived Far
re sitting on the steps, and ordered him away
fercely and frightfully. Farrell pretty clearly
Identifies Eckel. The marks of blood are just
where Farrell describes Eckels hand to have been,
and Farrel's testimony is the only circumstantia
evidence adduced thus far going to fix the guilt on
him. 1t is of the gravest moment then to ascer-
tain its truth, which, however, has not been as.
sailed directly by any evidence, but by its apparent
contradiction by several other witnesses.
On this head the evidence given by Messrs.
Brooks. StIangman and Ross to us to be
worthy of serious consideration, and to be pretty
conclusive. But contemporary contains a report
of On informal conversation between its reporter
and Mr. Ross, wherein ne latter states that Far.
rells testimony is not true, because when Dr. Bur-
dell entered the door of his house, he (Ross) was
twenty. five feet from him toward Broadway; and
when be (Ross) passed the door Farrell, he says,
was not on the steps; and when he (Ross) had
gone distance of about house and half (or, in
other words thirtyseven feet he heard the cry of
murder, turned and looked toward Broadway
and did not see Farrell sitting. Now, although
Mr. Ross is an architect by profession, and coDse-
quently his evidence to distances ought to be taken
as precise yet he thus states that while he was
walking sixiy.three feet during that little time
Burdell must have gone from the street-door up
stairs reached bis rooms and there uttered the cry
Of murder But all the evidence goes to show that
Burdell went up stairs to the back room on the
second story, took of his osershOes, laid aside his
shawl and bat and sat down at his desk, and was
first stabbed while sitting. How, then could all
these circumstances have occurred while Mr. Ross
was walking sxty-thre feet And il Ross was
mistaken as to distance why may he not have
chsnced to fail TO perceive Farrell when passing
him, and to have been too far to distinguish Farrell
when he Ross) turned to look back on hearing the
cry of murder
Mr.. Strangman's informal statement, taken down
BY the reporter above mentioned, is that He was
several houses past No. 81 when he heard the
"cry, and was proceeding toward the Bowery.
"He Immediately looked back in the direction of
"Broadway, but could gee nobody approaching.
"Iie did not look at any house 10 particular, and
he would not be likely to notice any one sitting
"on stoop on the opposite side OF the street. He
thinks il highly probable that Farrell may have
been sitting there, although he did not notice
chin" BY the evidence, as we'll as BY these sup
Elementary statements, of Messrs. Sirangman and
Rose as well as by the evidence alone of Mr. Brooks,
who has not made any additional or informal state
ment, il is clear that Mr.. Ross did not see Mr..
StrsDgman 10 the street. that Mr. S.rangman saw
neither Mr.. Ross nor Mr.. Farrell, and that Mr.
Bro, ks, from the window of his house, saw neither
one Of the three The inference, therefore, Is rather
that Mr. Ross may be mistaken, though ne so posi-
lively afiirms that Farrell was not sitting on Bur-
dells steps, rather than that Farrelps singuary
corroborated evidence, while he yet remains an un-
impesched witness, far as regards his character
for tr1th and veracity, should be thrown aside as
unworthy Of credence.
We present these views as to the present posi-
ton of the most remarkable and exciting murder
contained in the criminal annals of this country