New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1870-07-07
TUF .f1FRJDAN WIFEMURDER



l.st when jury was lui 49, -,
THURSDAY asst ,-enents Judge Barnard sUourheu
duence oil OI' ,arl,y The facts OF the murder were
inc .'S' TIr Tribune OF Friday 'aS, "r" Dit,t
Pii"'," ,o,au IN the evidence PRIMO" 'o'0" -
found IN az a., ,reared for the people ana MI james
At'otn'' III Judge Garvn, IN opening tue ,'s' 'O'
for the the attention Of the jury TO tue liu
the peop' io,oritv OF the duty imposed upon tlcH'
portance au 90 rroye to the jury that day or two
nc - 20 the commission OF the mur"ot 'uo ~, ,o,
P~e 70 the house where his VIC ",''' "'' n"1
had soH' q. shoot her The day the murder was COM
threaten 49,, cone ia see Ter, and discussion arising
Titted nc re irts he had made on the pleV!sus
deilou he nau drawn pistoi hhU sHo' "'' "''''
+" ~ TUE ILStiuoNl, Nh was Miss lane
Tie first WIN al lat sGe resided ON the day the muir
Webb Wuo 'ir.Nd M Ne. 1872 West Forty -irsist sue
WIS there On the evening r S ~ S dSrk his daughter and
~ r,4s Powell were presents ms vie MaS N,"F i,,V,,.
he'd OF d tod Mrs sheridan that he was there,
AMI Size came cut and passed inc C W t rry ONT his
sac then asked him if he had c4lc 10 yi.S fiat on
,sTt ne sed her what threat, aio sac lciI r lie
apJevous occasion he nad Ihc@ tr r. her little girl
h. denied ill., and Mrs. slcrdl turning M iittIe Girl
me- her IL bC I'D not take out the pStci the HluD ~
sai vCs ~ and be then drew pisOi hls VIZ az 7
e. to e bedroom AID he fred nj her. sIT 10,
Am sho-tke Lord have mercy on my S"u' ", riIan
- ONT ~ tie door with the baby ana MIS- lt
IN. low. witness heard and saw second saot'
no rorrd woman fell ana dltd IN HiOut ~ I'M. ~
Vt me-, ,,t r,Ian as long as she could remember she
H." L09rled with Mrs Sheridan since inc S'U W -,
him about two years she lad III s,S Iar IN Fry
h. took rooms In FoTty-sccondSt where she was
i,irs and when she moved 10 FotH H., 49, -; t,rH
NH IIr. he had lived with her all the time IN Forty
NJ and also i'm Forty-sixthst sherdan had been
absent n the couutr, she nay SEE, ~
bcore tIc murder, at his wifes house IN f1I'l 80,
Ma, about o'clock in the Afternoon; ne ga, g&'9 imC
49, az me time. on that visit he requested ms VIC
fn come and live with him; she refused say mat lie
Wonl do as he had before the baby was present.
IA. q-k td
was for her to know ana Tor INN 10 ma ou', no ,}
her To put the child out to board ah3 COM I p ~ G0
a.. The bibv was ohriscned Wm O. brlcl me l"t,GI
Isi,r Mrs ~l,rdau's maiden name; the witness ana
powers were living with Mrs sheridan q e i4G tG
child rorn Dr. gcnberS aitenHel Ms tcr
the in which the murder lCok Il"oU " SitcIS
small room: there hut one bedroom anu tLttlN,
the room in which she shot being called the hl1chehi
Powers was sitting two or tee icCD iUii M sbcr
door engaged in reading newspaper; NH' M SHCi
p IA fGuch MIN: She then sat down within foot
OF Powers but got up before me shot Vas hltt!ii
lie baby; Sheridan sitting about ave leet rom
Powers sheridan got up before ne hTed oWtrs renilu
sn onsh the shoes Powers hidden in the hedroom
witness Powers going into the D, utOoi@;
hidden tlcr, about tlTce-quartcrS or an Houi! lCW'S
wa laorer aud witness had seen him pay Mr.. sheT
FiIn money ON saturday nights h. called her ." Mag
aud she called nina Thomas Powers frequently nurSed
tc l,bv ana called Willie witness had never heard
Powers say that when he saw Sheridan he would handle
him or kick his head OFF," she had seen Powers strike
the little r Mary, II, I'm the presc'e 81 ITS mother
o. OCCASION; the mother lheLitt'u' oiI tViu nm
never 70 strike the child og,in ai ne er seen nm
sheridan abuse her. TN r. were lltt hoSS
aged respectively Is, r. and ana htie gll dged IL
on the redirect examination the witness stated tha5
Mrs Sheridan said that the former visit Sheridan had
drawn the pistol and threatened heT but t' 1ne WI!
did not IT, Powers slept on the Kitchen hoor win
the boys Edward and Thomas the two youngest; Hty
not present on the occasion OF the st Visit OF inc
day til, murder took place. -, ,...,.
The second witness was Mary ShtrlOan, INC ,IlJIe
daughter OF the prisoner, 20 was pelmttd 10y Juase
Barnard, after he had examined her o. testify shG {es-
tilted that she was II years old She remembered her
shot. he came in and she said Have you come to re-
'What threats 2" she said You Showeda si
him to ask the witness if il not So her father then
said ibid Q" to which ne witness ryp,iCdd' nc
then said something which the witness ma ot Ie1i
Der; her mother then said lie did not have her IN Wct
chester County do what he liked Win hei ana th nc
eod moi kin her and make believe that he was crazy
he said he would put the fright out Of her win ms Sio
p3ufr lane Webb was standing in the door holding tEe
baby her mother did not fall at the time the hsI sHoV
Ras fired. nut did at the second snut
On the REORGANIZATION she sd that enc was IL, put
~ ,+rv and when her mother left the country ne
accoupauicd her the visit previous 10 the the ne enot
hT mother was the one at which he made the threats
and ESQ gave the witness the money 10 get the SHOES
sucr fine shooting. witness had been living WIN hcf
grandmother in tie country; she did not remember
dams visit previous 20 the shooting mt she uld IiN
Der his hiding on the rGtuIh OF shtluah iiVi ne 49,
ness mother had told her 10 say that Powers We ot
fberc when c was the bedroom she had seen Powers
often in the bedroom her mother had told hcf To say
mat nc was there more than once; ne would sl"p III
the bedroom uhl the NluiS & IA bo,ii. nor
never said in her hearing that hc W"uu hdilule het
sheridan had been there and hrr mother would answer
ycs Of no as Tie might be- thought her ithCr visited
her mother four times after his return IRON te MeSt 1
prior To the shooting; she had heard her father ASK
hjr mother 10 60 and live with nun several ut4Ss %n
as man and wife; Powers lad on one occasion struck WI"
several times f,r calling MN 9alhe7 ,+ ro or
rested ne prisoner the nght Of the murder; he was
., t,'l;, Lis beat when Miss webb came rushing up to
him erwin. Murder watch" 10 the house and
found sheridan and Powers struggling WIN eaCh olh,;
sIrr.deu sal To Powers "NOu can't have the pistol"
but on witnesses entrance nc said You can have ~
Hltncss the murdered woman ny ing on she HooI; sie
appcir, To be dead; witness asked sheridan what nc
had the deed tOr ana lie SAID mat child mat sue
- :, an.naton witness rccollected that the
prisoner said that ie could not lepl; that The chld
S eT5,It Jahn H. McCuiioch testified that he IN
charge of the sjatorHouse at the time the prisoner WIZ
brought IL; he aSkeu nm II III 4dI o. ii " ~, ~;
Yes and lie was very sorry Tor IL tha' he do hot III
IT. Wm shine testified that he made post norton
examination Of Mrs. Sheridan found two pistol shoS on
H. body: one had shattered the jaw and lodged al the
s1terfi tie Wall Of the chest between the second and
thru Ihs passed through the lett lung anu hcdrt ana
lodged under the skin of the back witness should Judge
that tic SHOT which struck the jaw was fired very close 10
her the in which the shooting TOOK place wac very
small feet Icy u; witness had taken The statement VI
oL I a. v5 lruo,cd 70 read this statement in evil
deucc The DistIci-Attoncy objected but Judge Bar
nad G-caeI competent and MI James read IT.
Tie prosecution then rested, and recess Of ~ minutes
AFTER EEcEss-sTATEMEST or sHEEDAN.
Nj. Fletcher in opening for the defense, advanced
plea Of insanity. Ii was claimed that at the time
tie deed committed the prisoner had any setteo IN
SANITY but that be was provoked TO frenzy by the
intense prov OcutOn The moment This wac the sim
PIE Of defense The proof OF the marriage OF THOMAS
and Margaret sheridan In 1853 then put III. Mary
Carroll called the first witness she testified th't
had known Sheridan since she was a chId, ana
boarded with MTs. Sheridan May, 1863 ia FOrtysiHth-
St; while she boarding there Powers came; his was
about Tie 1T Of June; Powers then working III
saw-Hiij suc had seen Powers in the society OF mrs
Sheridan eyeral times, at wedding The question
concerning thc familiarity OF Powers aAd the deceased
etted "a and excluded on the ground That 1t
formed defense that he had right 10 show AT this
thr that auy criminal intimacy existed between them;