Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1870-04-13
From the Jackson Citiscn.l
A Story Of Circumstanfial Evidence.


The conviction of George Vanderpool re-
calls to our recollection circumstance
which illustrates the unreliability of cir
cumstantial evidence. During the last
century, in England, man was hanged
for numbering his ward, a niece. The evil
dence was conclusive that he had chastised
her frequently, and only the day before her
disappearance, he was heard correcting her
in an outbuilding, and her voice was also
heard piteously exclaiming, Don't kill
me, uncle, don't kill mel"
The motive for the murder was proven in
the fact that, accordingto her fathers will,
on her death, her property would go TO the
guardian, her uncle. Three or four years
after the assumed murder, the niece re-
turned to claim her property. 1t appeared
that she had run away and married, and
came back to demand her property on
reaching her majority. Parliament then
interfered with statute requiring the pro-
duction of the body TO authorize the sem
tence of death. This is now the general
rule in our criminal proceedings but has
not always been adhered to; and it was not
in the case we are about to narrate.
In 1910, when the State House at Spring.
field, Illinois, was being built, one of the
stonecutters engaged was man named
Martin, from the city of New York. Mar
tin was not a man of sound mind; at least
he was monomaniac on one subject, that
tntTt Wsb HOBODu money except UIaL o. the
old Metropolitan Bank OF New York. Ev-
cry Saturday night, when the men were
paid off, he was wont to go around among
them and buy up this money, often giving
as high as ten per cent. for 1t. He was
known to have a considerable sum of this
money hid away or about him.
During May of the year above. he and
one Smith hired q horse and wag IN to go
to the SangamOn river, four miles distant
At night Smith returned, but not with
Martin. When asked where Martin was
he said he did not know. Martin was soon
missed. The ground where they went was
searched, and the plainest evidence was
presented that they had quarreled. The
ground was trampled on the river bank,
1t was also discovered that some drops of
blood were dried on the sand and that the
buggy had been drawn into the water.
The supposition was that Martin had been
murdered and his body carried into the
river. Search was made but no body could
be found. Meantime, Smith, the assumed
murderer, was arrested ans put into the
old log Jail.
In q few weeks the prisoner was REGULAR
ly arraigned in the Circuit Court on the
charge of murder. Abraham Lincoln, then
rising into fame az lawyer was engaged
for the defense. The production of the
body was not insisted upon; the evidence
dozen persons had seen the act of murder.
The witnesses were few, yet the evidence
that there was both the motive and the
means, was overwhelming. The marks of
the struggle on the river shore-the drops
of dried blood upon the sand-the driving
of the wagon into the river, as If to throw
the body into the wifb|current-were cir
cumstances that could only be accounted
for in connection with the deep damnation
of the taking off of poor Martin. The de-
tense could hardly make show of evil
dence, and verdict of guilty seemed a
fOregone conclusion.
Meantime, the sheriff of Tazewell county
had read in the Sangamon Journal a de-
scription of Martini person, and heard that
an insane man had appeared in a distant
part of the county without coat or hat, and
who could give no intelligent account of
himself. An inspiration prompted the
sheriff to go and see him, and he became
| satisfied that he was the missing man.
| Having in his possession still considera-
BILE amount of Metropolitan Bank money
made the sheriff morally sure on the point,
so he took the man in charge and started
with him for Springfield. Arriving there
on the last day of the trial, he lodged the
man in Jail and went into the court room
and saw Mr.. Lincoln. Mr.. l.. asked a sus-
| pension of proceedings, as he had an i'm
portant witness to introduce. With the
sheriff he went to the old jail, saw the
prisoner, and was satisfied that the dead
was alive. Returning to court, Mr.. Lin
coin said that he could not look for any
thing but a verdict against his client, as the
case stood, but he asked permission to put
a new and very material witness in the
stand.
The man alleged to have been murdered
was placed upon the stand, and the case
fell TO the ground in a moment.