The New York herald., 1872-12-11
THE BENDER-BURKE HOMICIDE.

tory OF the Case-A Scene I'm COurt-The
Evidence for the Dcfcncc-Vcrdict and
sentence-Thrcc Years and . Half In
tho State Prison.
The Court OF Oyer and Terminer, Judge In
graham presiding, was occupied during the greater
portion Of yesterdays sitting In the trial OF Jacob
Bender, German, who was arragned for the man.
slaughter OF Matthew Burke at 635 West Forty
second street. on the 22d Of last July, by stabbing
him with knife. The circumstances OF the case,
which were reported In the HERALD at the time,
were briefly these BENDER in consequence OF
some rudeness on the part Of the son of deceased,
struck him with strap, and upon Burke's re.
m0nstrating with him for having taken the law
into his own hands quarrel ensued, In which the
prisoner stabbed the deceased three times from
which injuries he died.
The widow OF deceased was In Court, dressed in
deep mourning, and IN tears and during the pro-
gress Of the trial had to be removed twice from the
room, once in Mysteries and another time in
fainting condition.
District Attorney Garvin, in stating the crcum-
stances Of the case before the jury, said the pris-
oner was, indeed, q fortunate man that the Grand
Jury had ignored the bill for murder in the first
degree and brought in simply an Indictment for
mansaughter. He dwelt at some length upon the
cruel mode adopted by the prisoner to murder his
victim and the absence Of real motive for SO
base o crime.
TESTIMONY FOR THE PROSECUTION.
The first witness called was Mary Burke, the
widow OF deceased, who, in trembling voice and
that on the morning of the 22d Of July last she
standing at the front door of her residence No. 635
West Forty y-second street, when she saw Bender
she said nothing to him at the time, but when
her her husband !, came home In the evening the
struck him; shortly afterwards Bender came to-
wards the house, when the deceased asked him
mother could have punished him If he had done
wrong; Bender, without any provocation, then
stomach, once In the arm, and cut was also upon
his neck; this was on the Monday evening, and he
died on the Thursday following at ten O'Clock;
prisoner attacked deceased at first upon the door,
step and afterwards pushed him into the hail.
In cross-examination the witness denied that
her husband ran at the prisoner or laid hold of
him; there was no quarrel, and all that was said
were the few words she had repeated.
Daniel Greedenburgher, the keeper OF lager
Cured. deposed that when he went to light the
lamp outside his saloon he heard two men fighting
out into the street If they wanted to fight; he
afterwards saw Burke, who was bleeding, and COM
planned that he was stabbed.
Frank McGann, a police onicer. deposed that he
was proceeding along West FOrty-second street at
ten minutes past eight ocock @ On the evs
sinY him, stopped down. showed nov , HIM his
with him, as he was stabbed he asked the deceased
who had stabbed him. and he prOMiseS to tell him
ne feaed hn tine drug Sd when s z de-
sequence of which he afterwards arrested Bender,
and the DECEASED identified him as the man who
s sn ao @ Ne sds y %Ee Ssrs
blood and the prisoner acknowledged that he was
the owner Of the knife; it had blade about i've
and q half inches In length
In cr0ss-exannation by defendants counsel the
witness said he found the knife upon shelf In the
other knives; there were other things on the Shelf
but no knives, and the blood upon the knife was
quite plain enough to be observed.
DR.. John Hirchfeld depOsed that on the I'D Of
last July he was called at about nine O'Clock IN the
evening to drug store in Forty.second street to
served q stab wound in the arm ana afterwards a
wound in the abdomen, from which portion OF
the smaller intestines were protruding, which he
to the time of his death; the cause Of death was
perit0nlts and hemorrhage caused by the wounds
examination, depOsed that he examined the body
of Mr. Burke and found an incised wound in the
one and half inches in length, which penetrated
the abdominal cavity; there was quantity of
IN the sne Deaths aha an nv sur M
Hirchfeld, was caused by peritonitis ami hem-
Mary Egan was called and corroborated the evi.
dence OF Mrs. Burke in every particular, ind said
she heard Mrs. Burke call out, ''ohl the kriie the
THE PRISONERS ACCOUNT OF THE AFFHAY.
The prisoner, who Is German and vas ex-
amned through s an II, e depose as fol-
A
store for some bread, when she was metby q son
| of the deceased who punched her and en(eavOred
| to prevent her entering the shop; witnss went
down and gave him cut with strap, aid after
| wards returned to his room and commenced con-
versatiOn with some woman; the deceacd then
came up to him and seized him by the ttroat and
called him ''son OF whore,'' punched him and
threatened to kill him. with one had he en-
deavOred to throttle him, and with tn, other he
kept punching him in the head and face he was
pushed on to the floor, but observing that the de-
ceased had knife IN mis- hand witness enleavored
to secure II, and In the scuffie II fell to thground;
he admitted, however, that he stable, the de-
ceased, and said he stabbed HIM first, AM finding
he was punched again by the deceased, h,stabbed
him again; he could not tell where he stabbed
him. but the knife went into the body somwhere
THE CHARGE, VERDICT AND SENTENE.
His Honor briefly summed up the case tthe iury
and said the evidence went to show that he killing
! In this was not justifable. There VS. no evi.
dence to support higher charge than tha OF man.
slaughter in the third degree, and he adised the
! jury TO return such a verdict.
The jury, without leaving the box, rturned a
| verdict In accordance with the Judges sugestion
| and His Honor, in sentencing the pris0ne, SAID he
| should commit him for three years and sy months
to the State Prison, the prisoner having AIKEN the
liie OF the deceased without any cause wateyer.
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