The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1857-05-13
A Remarkable Murder Trial.
THE CASE OF EDWARD II. RuLLorF.

cenVlcten Dy the verdict OF jury OF
murder, awaiting the decision of the Gen
eral Term of the Supreme Court Of tho
Sixth District to be pronounced in a
fow days, whether he shall be sentenced
to execution. whose case is one Of the
most remarkable on tho records of Grim.
inal jurisprudence. lie has already been
in the States Prision for ten years on
account Of the same transaction, in re
spect 10 which he has now been convict.
Cd of murder.-lIis name is Edward II.
Rulloff. 1t 10 said that his true name
is Ruluffson, that ho is Of German de.
scent, but was born in n ova Scotia !;
that having some difficulty with his faith.
er and uncle, he left homo when some
10 or IA years Of age, He is now about
8 years of age. He is man of edu
c,tio1, speaking seven different lsngua-
Cos. Thorc is much Of mystery attend.
log him and his history. He appears to
be- supplied with money, and the sum Of
500 was left at tho Tomkins county
jill for him. since his release from the
Auburn Prision, BY an unknown person.
who Immediately departed without any
one knowing whence he came or whittier
he went.
Rullof appeared in Tompkins county
in May, 1912; lie was then engaged on
the canal. He spent part of the summer
there aud the next winter taught school
in the town OF Dryden in that county.
Mi,, Harriet Schutt of that town, a
young lady 90 years Of ago, was one of
his pupils. Tho following summer he
studied medicine In December, 1913,
lie married thi, young woman. After
his marriage in the water Of 1914 he
won't to Ithaca and served as q clerk for
a faw moutbs, living with his wife at a
boarding house. His wifo soon returned
60 her fathers In tho fall Of 1874. be
again taught school and about that time
commenced keeping house with his wife
in tho town 70 Lansing in Tompkins
county
Within month or two after his mar.
rihgo he seems to have become very zeal
Gus of his wife, accusing her without
any cau'o SO far as appears, of improper
intimacy with Doct. Bull, and becom-
ing 80 much excited on one or two oc.
cisioDs az to exercise violence upon her.
He continued to livs in Lansing with
his wife (havirg daughter born early in
Apr.,) until tho 9Th of Juno. 1915.
his teife and chill hare ncrey been
seen or hcard Of Since the ercnins Of
that day.
During ths rex. forenoon Us went to
his nearest nsghbor. on the opposite side
Of the highway, and procured horse
and wagon for the purpose as be alleged,
OF conveying chest to Mottvillc, some
8 or 10 miles distant, an uncle Of hi, had
loft at his house the evening before, to
mako room for bis (Rnlloffs,) wife to
ride with his uncle to a Mr.. Snyder's
some 3 miles of, where, he said she had
gone. His neighbor helped him load the
chest into the wagon. Ii was heavy.
Ias thaory of the prosecution against
Ra!loti is that he had mu dered his wife
sna child during tho previous night, aud
that Ea carried off their bodies in this
chest and made way with them, while be
vas gone, b. sinking in the lake nsar by,
or III some other manner. He returned
with tho horse and wagon abou. noon the
next day, bringing Sack the chest, which
the witness who saw him take it from the
wagon thinks was then light. lie left
Lansing tho sama aftern Don and in the
house, when afterwards 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 uudres-
slng Ga the evening of tho 25th Of
j ine he hired horse and lumb Dor wagon
a! lthica, which he returned at 8 o'clock
the Dex, morning On tho morning Of
the goth undor the assumed name of
John Doe, lie took passage in tho stage
for Geneva
10 some five or SIX weeks he returned
among his acqsaiutances in Tom kins
County. BY this time bis wifos friends
had become anxious about her absence.
lie gave contradictory accounts OF the
nsltor, told one she had been up between
the lakes visiting, another that she was
IL Pennsylvania, and others that sha
WAS at Madison, il Ohio Being press.
cd in 'he matter he wrote a letter to her.
directed to the latter place, which ho
showed, requesting her to write to her
friends, and another which lie had d.
rscted to Mr.. De Puy requesting him
TO send the letter 10 his wife. But dur.
ing the evening, he eluded observation
and suddenly left. His wifss brother
pursued him, and overlook him at Roch.
ester, when Rullof proposed to 90 with
him to Madison, Ohio and soc his wife,
but when they got to Buffalo and had
purchased tickets for tho steam boat, BIO
escaped from his companion. The latter
wen, on to Madison, hut could hear
nothing of his sister. lie then FASTENED
to Cleveland, suspecting Rullof would
go West by the next boat and thore
found and arrested him, and took him
b.ss to Tompkins County
There he was indicated for the abiuc.
ton of his wits. As there was no posi-
tive evidence Of her death aud as the
presumption to that effect was not then
IA strong as it has since become by the
lapse Of time, it docs not seem 10 have
been deemed discreet to attempt a pros.
ecutiou against him for murder. He
was fried on this Indictment 10 Febru.
nry ls4G, at tho Tompkins County Oyer
aud Terminer. IIor. =. L Cushinp. the