Litchfield enquirer., 1857-02-19
The Burdell Murder.

the coroner has brought the evidence of this case to close, and we must confess we are about as much in the dark regarding the req! murderer as when he commenced. The New York Tribune receives all the testimony giver never doubting the entire truth of Farrclrs statement. The Evening Post, however, and $, verdi other journals throw the same overboard, as utterly worthless. Below we give con densed statement of the facts, taken from paper which accuses Mrs. Cunningham as being accessory to the murder
 The generally received theory of the murder is that Mrs. Cunningham had established her Self at Dr. Burdelrs house, hoping to cntra,. him into marriage. Finding herself defeated in this object, she induced her paiamour, Eckcl, to ptrSenate Burdcll ill sham marriage, either with the view of claiming her dover, a sum of between $3O,000 and $l0,0OO, as Bud I s widow, in case of his natural death. or With her par"mour assassnating ham with that rx- press object and the fact that Burde Oil the day preceding the night of has murder, had made lease of his house, by the. signing of which, at the time appoint on the next day, he would oh the l>t of May mxt, have dis possess, d her and her family. and thrown tho m on the world, lasteucd the catastrophe, and caused 1t to occur Oil the night in question: That the murder Was wrpetratrd by tn .m tn" instant Butdcll entered his rooms that they had not anticipated any outcay, and that the sngle and hal:- ,tifleG uttrralice of the word murder alone revealed the deed at the tim,
 tine victim being nearly instantly dispatched With fifteen wounds, almost any oue of winch was by the physicians deemed fatal. That tn bloody clothes of the murlerers We're then Lurucd, which accounts for the smell of bur l.. ing woolen perceived by so many witn,s sses in Bond street, on the night, between II and ? o'clock, and that the ilI>trumei or instrument, with which the deed was committed, were d,,- ring the night taken away from the house aud secreted by one of the murlercrS, after all cvi- tlrhces of the bloody deed had been removed from has person.
 From the secohd story-room door where the murder Was committed down to the street door slight marks of fresh blood had been discover. cd, as well as upon the inside knob of tit. street door and upon the edge of the street door, at eight of about four or four and half feet from the sill but~ho blood upprarinr 1 o'i tiiS oo1HuS N'loD oi tJt tcG uOOt, Dfli0S confirmation that the murderer did not while his hands We're bloody leave the house and close the door b'lnd hin-whe the appear. ancc of the bIood npon the inside knob and the edge ot the door Is concusiveIy accounted for hy the testimony of Farrell, by whom Erk,l i> pointed out as the probable assassin. For Fdrrcl's testimony is, that Erkrl came to the door a fe, Seconts after he (FarclD heard the cry of murder and fall Ike d barrel on the floor, and holding the Go'r apparently With his rigl, hand on the iutr k .ob and his left on the edge of the door, put his head out, per ce,ved Farrell sitting on he steps, and or,l, Fed him away f"rc'ly and fri-htfi,'ly. Err lprt ty clearly identifies E kcl Tn marks of blood are just wh 'rc Farrell descrh Eckep> Ina d tu have been, aud F,rre!rs testimony is the only crcnmStantial evidence adduced thus far going to fix the guilt on him. It is of the gravest moment then to ascertain the truth, which, how ever has not been assailc,l directly by any cv- drncr. but hy it's apparent contradiction lv several other witnesses
 Within few hours after the murder wa discovered cn $ .tur,ay morning. Mrs Cunning liaun gave inform .ton that she had, oa the ~ : riny of the 2Sth of October last, been secretly | III '1ltNu lo AIi OulutH 'tJ luV Ivy ht. MhfFllt, her eldest daughter le ny one witness, a..d tln clcrgyal,n's servant woman auoth.r witness t. the ceremony which :ook place at the houss o; the clrrgym,n. Mir Cunningham produced at the Curoncrs inquest her marr.age cert ficatt. which corr sponded with the register of th, Rev MT. Marvin. The r,.v gentleman, when before the inquest, identified Mrs. Cunul,g- ham the woman whom he had then married. hpt ,l,I1 f, i,st.utttv tI,., .,f
 Burdell as that o. the man, anl this too uI- though his attention, either at the time of tn, marriage. or on the following day, when the man came to him for the marriage cert .ticatr, had been drected to the pee lar appearance oi his whlskers. which then led him to think they were fals'. Tie clcrsymn's womln servant. likewise, was unable to nrlentfy the man who was married as the sam: who's, dead Do ly was before them. The two servant women, of Ms. Cunningham testified, among other poimts, that Dr. Burdell, until last Summer. some time pr certiing the alleged m iagr, took hs meals ill the hm wl cI, she 0, cl.d n IF as we have stated but since that time, and from the date of the marriage, had pt yer talk eu meal ill t.c house. had refuse to eat #r- t.cts of food and b,.veragrs wlich she had sent to him fl on her table, had not occupied the same sleeping al'artmt nts, and had not apprar- cd to treat or regard her as his wife. O.le of these servants further testified that at q period ant, cedrnt to this all abortion had been rotlu- ced upol Mrs. Cunningham. and that since the time of the alleged marriage, Mrs. Cunningham and Mr. ErkeI not Dr. BurleIl, Lad occupi- cd chambers coEnn icaitg by door, a.d that from her observation as chant. .ernlaid, her opinion was that the relations between Mrs C. and Mir. Eckel were of an intimate or crm- inal charac er.
 Mir. EckeI is said to have been formerly q butcher and at tlle time of the murder, as it appears in tile evidence, he was engaged in buying from the butchers hides and taow, and selling the same uro!lal,ly in an extensive NAY