The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1869-03-11
From the Chicago Times, Feb. 10.

Dramatic Chain of CircumstantiaI Evil
dence. m sfIs. se
From the Chicago Times, Feb. 10.
JACKSONVILLE, ILL.,, FEB. IL.
It is seldom that such mass of cir
eumstantial evidence is brought to
light as that which is woven around
the unfortunate man, William A. Rob-
inson, now confined in Jail npon the.
charge of assassinating the Hon. MUIR
ray Mcconnell; and new threads are
being gathered up which tend to con-
firm his guilt, and render the evidence
of his crime more conclusive. 1t is
perfectly clear that he did not go into
the house with the intention of COM
mitting murder, but that it was an af-
terthought, and probably the result of
some quarrel or disagreement which
occurred between him and the ,mur-
dered man. He probably supposed
that no one saw him enter; but a
milkman, driving out ofan alley op-
posite McConnefl's residence, saw him
go in, and, although he did not know
him, was still able, to describe him
with reasonable degree of certainty,
and, when confronted with the accused
identified him. Still, not having been
personally acquainted with him. and
having been some distance from him,
he might have been mistaken.
On the table of the murdered man
was an interest-calculator, opened alta
particular page, with marks showing
it to have been in use at the very in
slant of the murder! A note due
from Robinson to the murdered man
was missing. The interest-calculato
was opened at just the proper place
for calculating the interest on the note.
A further search developed a little
piece of paper, less than two inches
square, which contained a calculation,
in the murdered mans own hand, of
interest on note of S400, drawn on
the very day Robinson's note was
drawn, and up to the very day of the
murder. Leaving the house by the
front, a lady who formerly resided in
the same house with Robinson was
passing on the opposite side lof the
street, and sac saw him coming out
of the gate, and recognized him.
Then the accused was arrested, and
claimed to have, paid this note, on the
10th of December last, and that his
books, would show it. The officer
who was sent for the books discover
ed that there were two ledgers, one
an old one, and one new one. The
new one was stated to be a copy of the
old one, and not in nse and such was
found to be the case. Turning to the
10th of December, the accused show
ed an entry of $4O0 paid to Mcconnell
and on the opposite side were entries
during the four or five preceding
days, of money received, showing
that he had a sufficient amount sloi
money on hand at the time to have
paid the 500 entry. But, when tho
old ledger, from which the new one
was copied, was examined, it was
found to embrace the same dates, but
of the entry of 500 paid Mcdonnell
or the same receipts of money during
the preceding days. did not appear
A single glance 'suficed to show .fha
the cash receipts during these few
days, as shown by the new book, wer,
precisely S400 more than the old bool
precisely balancing the S4OO enteret
as paid Mcconnell. A further scruti
ny developed the fact that, in all thes
entries on the new books, the units
place of dollars, and the decimal part
of dollars, were the same as in the oil,
book, and that the changes consiste,
in prefixing figures in1the tens plac
of dollars, sufficient to make $4O(
Then it was again observed that thes
additional figures were in a differen
kind Of ink from the remaining figure
and then that this ink was the same q
the ink with which the entries WEI
Il = E f.
made on the day of the murder. An
this morning a card was found ON h
desk, on whichhe had calculated VIII.
changes were necessary to make tn
difference of $400 in his, entries,
moneys received during that week,
order to balance the entry of 81
paid Mcconnell. iAnda further scare
has brought to light another boo
containing memorandum account
all his. money DISBURSEMENT iduiii
several months past, and dno such ent
as S4O0 to- Mcconnell appears. Al
then IL was shown that, on the d
preceding the murder, he endeayer
to borrow money of several persol
saying he had to pay a noteto McCo
nell. Itwas evident that his boo
had been changed ;,but'he had forge
ten about the old ledger and the p
vate memorandum accomt-book,
that his skillfui arrangement of
books, to, afford him a defense in G.
it should be discovered that the M
was uiEsing, proved to be really II
set fap hineslf. SusRisiousspe W.
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