The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-03
A TRAGEDY IN HIGH LIFE

A TRAGEDY IN HIGH LIFE.
The Trial of Old Deacon Andrews for the
Murder Of Cornelius Holmes, In Kingston,
lIa.s.-An Interesting Chapter In the HIS
terry Of American Crime.
PLYMOUTH, Mass. Dec. q ls6s.
The public win remember with Curious interest the
stranQe story OF the murder OF Cornelius Holmes o
promtDent and eccentric citizen OF Kingston, some
time IN May last. The murder itself was bold and
knocking piece Of vilainy, and the subsequent de-
yelopments such TO give the whole affair an
interest and mystery second to no other crime ever
committed in America. Mr.. Holmes the unfortunate
victim, was wealthy man, but OF weak intellect and
Ae had for some reason or other formed friendly
selling with Samuel NJ. Andrews. also prominent
citizen and a deacon In the Orthodox Church The
two were very intimate and together much OF the
Anne, and the attachment became 80 fraternal that
when Mr. Holmes drew up his VIII, some time pre-
vious to his death, ne bequeathed to Mr.. An
arews about onehaf of his property. 1t was on the
morning Of the 9th OF May that the body Of Mr..
holmes was found, shockngly mangled, near the
cemetery In Kingston, and about forty rods from the
main street Of the village That the murderer had
accomplished the deed by the nse OF stones, and per
Aaps Ratchet was fact not To be denied, for the
akul was beaten to atoms and the brains protruded
IN manner at once revolving to behold The
discovery Of the body and the story that
there had been a murder occasiOned the
widest excitement among the citizens OF the quiet
country town, and the problem OF who the perpe-
traitor Of the foul deed might be was quickly but
unsatisfactory considered by all. The arrest within
. few days Of Deacon Andrews and the strange con-
1esslOn which he made, alleging that Mr.. Holmes
tn m m ind
anc that he killed him in sef-defence also sim
fresh in the public MIND The general excellence OF
the reputation Of the accused, his high standing In
The social and religious community and the peculiar
friendly relations existing between the accused and
the murdered man, all combined TO render the case
enc Of unusual interest and give to it q mystery
which the public win anxously await TO see ex-
There was large crowd OF visitors present when
the case was called up this morning, and every one
was an1ioasIy seeking Tor a, view Of the religious
and associate Justices Foster Colt and Wells took
their seats upon the bench and the preliminaes OF
the jurors were challenged by the prisoner, but
nnally the requisite number were obtained, and then
the clerk Of the court read the Indictment to which
she prisoner promptly and loudly responded ''NOt
Guity.D
Mr.. Edward l. Pierce, the District Attorney, then
9TH Of Nay May, he said, Cornelius Holmes, "a
one rods from tie village Of kingston
lying PROSTATE, with his skull fractured his brain
protrnding, and weltering In his blood, Of which
pool was lying near. There did not appear to have
been struggle between him and an assailant Of
equal strength. He appeared to have been beaten
ance he dd not appear 70 have been Kled BY any
one acting In sedefence; for in that case his head
would not nave been 50 manged by repeated blows
that case have been left disabled but il il not likely
that he would have been left Tor dead. It seemed TO
IN Af nf tltuv thtrla
the murderer meant to make 1t sure that
his victim should never live to tell the tale.
Of age, OF secluded habits, living in kingston The
prisoner was his main companion, and Holmes was
accustomed to make presents 70 bin. On the even
ing OF the Goth Holmes received o note from the
prisoner asking him TO 60 down to see hun, as he
should be at work in his garden that night Holmes
Nett his house about kalfpast seven. He 70
enter the cemetery. lie was not seen alive again
After. About eight O'Clock man named Deiano
saw the prisoner in his garden. Half an hour after
- OF gr0ans. The next morning Holmes was missed.
Inquiry was made for him, and a neighbor named
Holmes was missing Aterward Andrews went
into his own house, saying ne was faint and lie ayy
generally known his body was discovered IN the
lane by Mr. Andrew Bates. He gave the alarm and
large NUMBER OF persons garherea on ,he SPOT;
Andrews for $50 and some other tribes were found
In them. The contents OF the pockets were given
4mned the body. Suspicion was directed against
Andrews and he was arrested. Il was believed by
many that he was innocent OF the charge. His
previous life had been apparently innocent. He
had been an OverHecf OF factory and an ofYcer
and counsellor and assistant OF the church he was
Holmes. Soon after his arrest evidence accumulated
against him. He did not appear to have heard the
grOans though he alleged he was working In his gar
den near the spot Blood was found on Some cloth
ing u his, which was discovered In stream The
learned counsel then detailed other circumstances,
with which the publicare already familiar. II turned
out that eleven months before the deceased was killed
Ne had made will bequesthing one nall Of ms pro-
Bates discovered the body Andrews deposited tins
win with the solicitor. The prisoner took I'm active
part in the making Of the win. All these matters
Indicated an unseeInly haste on the part Of the pr
to put the Will in course OF judicial procedure
He did not wait until the dead was buried, About
Mr.. Wormal, the teacher Of tine High school. Mr..
W0rmall discovered that he had been taking ether
and advised him to 20 home. The next morning NJ
the mil Mr.. Eproue talked to the accused about
Holmes being missing He went home and Mr.. Bates
Mr. Pierce then reviewed the leading facts Of tne es
timony. The next morning the accused took whiskey
and be believed ethertoo the next day he bought now
ing he was arrested and the following morning was
lodged In jail. His conversation involved some con
himself He suggested that Holmes had fallen down
IN o ft-that he had been robbed-and showed dis
position 70 establish an a., Alb IN regard 70 himself
distinguished murder from granddaughter and ad-
dressed ntmself to the legal points therein
prisoner refused to 60 up voluntarily TO see
the body, although requested TO do 80.
The counsel then commented on the Necessity
Of society protecting Itself against the crime
u murder. It's punishment was not dictated by re-
vCnge passion or mere desire for punishment but
by the necessities Of human for the protection
Of the innocent against evdoers. He concluded by
enIarging the Importance OF the question TO be de
eermned by the Jury and asserted that " they were
satisfied that the prisoner did not Kill the deceased
in self defence then they must ind hun guilty ol the
CRIME OF murder.
When the District Attorney had concluded Mr.
Davis the junior counsel for the prisoner suggested
that the witnesses he separated ana confined IN
rooms outside OF the court room during the trIal
and the suggestion was favoraby considered by the
Court and the witnesses separated accordingly
This having been done Mr.. Bradford, a surveyor ex-
hbited plan OF the scene Of the murder, which win
be used for reference al the trial proceeds.