Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-05-21
Remarkable Murder Trial.



cision of the General Term Of the Supreme
Court of the Sixth District to>be pronounced
in few days, whether he shall be sentenced to
execution. whose case is one of the most re-
remarkable on the records of criminal jurispru
dence He has already been in the States
Prison for ten years on account of the same
transaction, in respect to which he has now
been convicted of murder His name is Ed
ward Fl. Rulloff 1t is said that his true name
is Ruluffoon, that he is of German descent, but
was born in Nova Scotia /; that having some
difficulty with his father and uncle, he left
home when some Is or II years of age He
is now about "a years of age. He is a man of
education, speaking seven different languages
There is much of mystery attending him and
his history He appears to be supplied with
money, and the sum of 500 was left at the
Tompkins county Jail for him, since his release
from the Auburn Prison, by an unknown man.
who left Immediately without any one knowing
whence he came or whittier he went
RulIoff appeared in Tompkins county in
May, 1912 He was then engaged on the
canal He spent part of the summer there
and the next winter taught school in the town
Of Dryden in that county. Miss Harriet
Schutt of that town, young lady 20 years of
age, was one of his pupils. The following
summer he studied medicine. In December,
1S43, he married this young woman. After
his marriage in the winter of 1874 he went
to Ithaca and served as clerk for few months,
living with bis wife at boarding house.
His wife soon returned to her fathers. In the
fall of 1874, again taught school and about
that time commenced keeping house with his
wife in the town of Lansing in Tompkins coun-
ty.
Within q month or two after his marriage
he seems to have become very jealous of his
wife, accusing her without any cause so far as
appears, of improper intimacy with DR.. Bull,
and becoming so much excited on one or two
occasions as to exercise violence upon her. He
continued to live in Lansing with his wife
(having daughter born early in April) until
the Gath day of June, lS45. Ills 1rgc and
Giikd hare nsrsr been seen or heard Of since the
crenlng Of that day.
During the next forenoon he went to his
nearest neighbor, on the opposite side of the
highway, and procured horse and wagon for
the purpose, as he alleged, of conveying a
chest to Mottville, some or | miles distant
which he stated an uncle Of his had left at his
house the evening before. to make room for
his (Rullof's wife to ride with his uncle to
a Mr.. Snyders some miles off, where he
said, she had gone His neighbor helped him
load the chest into the wagon. 1t was heavy
The theory of the prosecution against Rullof
is that he had murdered bis wife and child dur
ing the previous night, and that he carried off
their bodies in this chest and made way with
them, while he was gone, by sinking in the
lake near by, or in some other manner He
returned with the horse and wagon about noon
the next day, bringing back the chest, which
the witness, who saw him take it from the
wagon, thinks was then light. lie left Lansing
the same afternoon aud in the house, when af-
terwarls searched, were found more or less of
the clothing Of his wife apparently just as she
dropped it upon the floor from her person in
undressing On the evening of the 25th of
June he hired horse and lumber wagon at
Ithaca, which he returned at o'clock the
next morning. On the morning of the 26th,
under the assumed name of John Doe, he took
passage in the stage for Geneva.
In some five or six weeks he returned among
his acquaintance in Tompkins county. BY
this time his wfeS friends had become anxious
about her absence. lie gave contrary ac-
counts of the matter told one she had been
up between the lakes visiting, another that she
was in Pennsylvania, and others that she was
at Madison, in Ohio. Being pressed in the
matter he wrote letter to her directed to the
latter place, which he showed, requesting her
to write to her friends and another which he
had directed to Mr.. De Puy requesting him
TO send letter to his wife. But during the
evening he eluded observation and suddenly
left. His wifc's brother pursued him and over
took him at Rochester, when Rullof proposed
to 90 with him to Madison Ohio, and see his
wife, but when they got to Buffalo and had
purchased tickets for the steamboat be escap-
ell from his companion. The latter went on
to Madison, but could hear nothing of his sis
ter He then hastened to Cleveland, suspect
ing that Rulloff would go West by the next
boat, and there found and arrested him, and
took him back to TompkinS county.
There he was indicted for the abduction of
his wife. As there was no positive evidence Of
her DEATH and as the presumption to that ef-
feet was not then as strong as it has since be-
come by the lapse of time it does not seem to
have been deemed discreet to attempt prose
cution against him for murder. He was
tried on this indictment in February, 1916, at
the Tompkins County Oyer and Terminer,
Hon. S. Gushing, the present Attorney Gen
eral ofthe State, acting as his counsel, and
was convicted and sentenced to the States
prison for ten years. He served out his time
at Auburn In the meantime no trace of the
missing wife and child had been obtained, cx-
eept some additional circumstances tending to
fasten gult more clearly on him, and upon his
exit from the prison at Auburn he was again
arrested upon an indictment for the murder of
his child
There was an attempt to try this new and
terrible charge at the Tompkins County Oyer
Terminer in June last, but so great bad been
excitement in that county, and so decided the
sentiment against Rulloff, that it was found
impossible to procure an impartial jury, and
the place of trial was afterwards changed to
TiOga county