The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-06-04

Heavy Life Insurance.
DOVER, DEL, June 3 1879.
the residents OF this quiet little place arc the
1vut zoe OF excitement growing out Of t01opening
OF the trial Of DR.. J. c. West, Of thie place. who
the readers OF the HERALD will remember, COM [
misIed a shocking murder last December upon |
.sCoochr Turner, negro, evidently with the In |
teation OF giving the pubic the impression mat
he twesD had died a horrible death while ex-
Y,erimenting with nitro4oxygen gas" as he terms Y
AN Invention OF hts The trial VIII beginrhis mornng
before special session of the Court of Oyer ana.
rermner for Kent county, holden for<this purpose.
and already Sseven A. M the streets are dotted
with strangers from the surrounding couDtry who
have centred here to watch criminal
trial that promises to be one OF the h
NEST interesting that has ever excited the people 4
of the State-the more nom the social standing
of the accused Professor and the diabolca manner
In which he set about taking OF the poor coored
friend and brother evidently with view Of palms.
ing his body on asthat OF the perpetrator, 30 that
HIS WIFE MIGHT OBTAIN $4,000 7
insurance upon his life and JOIN him IN distant
parts reap the dement's other i'll gottenweath
The case called up for trial ut the regular Fall
session OF this Court but was then postponed till
Z now at the request Of Vests counsel. From thes
time OF Vests incarceration he has enjoyed mod.
eratey good health, haE received the kind over
sight Of Snerin Williamson and the never-ceasmg
attentions OF . most devoted wife. he appears
hopeful OF acquita and yet itts hard TO see what
defence sane man could possibly make. This Is
one OF the peculiar features of the case-he 10 i'm
pressed with the idea that he never committed any
real crime and does not see wny he Shouldsbe pun
ished, =
The friends OF West, whoSare numerous, are in
full sympathy with him, andsare hopeful OF favor
aDle iesuesof the TheS;tate has already sum-
moned about thirty witnesses, while the defence
has about sixty.
HISTORY OF THE CRIME.
Dr. West, who IS aged about twenty -four years,
Delawarian by birth, and man Of education and
refinement, has resided In this town for some years.
and was well esteemedhy all with whom he became
acquainted. He is a man, however given to ex-
periments an d scientific research ana for over q
year previous to his arrest had been experiment
ing with a new kind OF gas, the properties and
objects OF which he carefully guarded from his
nelghbors. HIS osteilsble business. however, was
me cure Of pulmonary complaints. About the time
he began operations In his laboratory In this place
and the Better to prepare for the work he had laid
ont, he reported that the new gas was OF such a
human body and destroy all chances OF identiica-
ton, even to determine the complexion or color
OF tie body. on several occasions he invited per-
SONS into his laboratory and expatiated upon the
wonders Of his invention, and even in some cases
invited hisvssitors to partaKe 1t. No one's sus-
Ilclon, however, was aroused until Thursday morn
ing, December 6, 1872, when the people OF the
neighborheod We're startled by
TERRIFIC EXPLOSION
IN the laboratory OF DR.. West The citizens hur-
RED to the place and upon the aoor ater the fire
man, supposed TO be the Professor, and subse-
quently Identified by his wife as that OF the expert
mentor The head, ieet and hands missing
and the skin had been peeled rom the hesh shreds
OF clothing found near the remains were IDENTIFIED
the pepple believed thar the ingenious West had
fallen victim to his own invention. A
discovered large quantity OF powder
under the Moor near mo. me body and and
been cut ana not blown from the trunk quickly
excited suspicion Then y was remembered that
Geavement and the fact that Vests life was heavily
lnsnred started The authorities on new theory
VIZ, that West had TO use a police term,
''PUT UP A JOBu
10 defraud the insurance companies and to do
which more successfully had added murder to his
CRIME. The examination Also showed that the SKIN
had been carefully peeled rom the body. The next
was missing and whose body could have been ope-
rated upon by the Professor role 1t was quicay
explosion West had taken into his employ colored
man named Henry Turner. but more Familiarity
styled Coochn Turner, and a search for HIM failed
TO elicit any intelligence OF his Whereabouts. some
believed that "Cooch' mad murdered his master,
lnutlated the body, caused the explosion and then
decamped; while the great mass OF the people
pected That the negro was the victim and the Pro-
lessor the criminal. The Latter theory was followed
by the officials here, who soon ascertained that a
man, with his face closely muiiled, few
minutes aiter the explosion boarded u lTelgnL
tram bound south, winch had stopped at
this place. Conductor Evans informed them
that the man, who had bundle lett
the train at Delmas, entered carriage
and was driven away. from there lie proceeded
loot Ia salisbury, where he stopped Thursday
night, purchased bag. into which ne packed the
contents OF his bundle, and on the following day he
appeared at Farmlngton, ninety miles distant, by
cOnversing about the case and, making himself
known, called tor a constable, To whom he
rendered, and ne was at once conveyed TO this
place and put In the custody OF Shefn Margarine,
to whom he made confession OF the MURDER but
claimed that he committed At IN selfdelence
ISAAC c. VESTS CONFESSION.
On the Sth December, before the C0rOners Jury,
West made full confession, in subs ance as lol-
lOws:-He said that on Monday, the 2d December
while taking bucket of water TO his room N the
second story OF KIruin's Building Turner offered
TO carry II. He then told Turner he had some
work Tor him. About three In the afternoon Tur-
ner wheeled a box to his laboratory, and when
: he PAID him twenty-five cents Cooch said,
.Boss, yop seem 10 be pretty lush" They went
- down TO bar together and got drink, and
Turner promised to call later and do some WORK.
Later I'D the evening Turner entered his room.
where West was fixing his gasomet ter, whIcn ne
had taken TO pieces intending To lastcn a sedge-
hammer to the weights. One Of the weights was a
bolt or pleceaf an axle. West says he had got
{ where the holt when "Coochn picked up the
3. hammer and said, "Giye me your pocketbooA or /
will Kill y0u.n West detailed how he resisted the
attack and killed 'Cooch," hut dld not intend TO do
.s.so. lie pr0ce ads:-
IL left the body living there and came up TO Will
lam. and got my supper Did not return IN
I'll next morning about eleven O'Clock. then
thought would cut up The body and bury 1t. |
cut OF his head ana feet with peDknne and
skinned .be body. 1 had broken several OF the
.bones WITH the bolt previously Went to dinner
zhat day. hut did not return to my room that after
noon but went to Hazletvie with a horse and
wagon Intending W come back and take the body
away after dark. Returned about SIX y. NJ,
brought down turner's SKIN IN the bucket; had a