Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-01-14
THE CONNECTICUT POISONER.
An Unnatural Wife and Mother.


MRS. SHERMAN'S SENTENCE AND
CONFESSION.
she Acknowledge the killing Of her
Three Husbands and Five Chill.
0ren-etghf persons I'm all.
Mrs. Lydia Sherman, a brief account of whose
trial and conyiction-for the murder of her third
husband, HOratio n. Sherman, by poison, has
been heretofore published in the kilograms OF
THE STAR, was on Saturday last brought into
the superior court at New Haven, Connecticut
to receive the sentence of the court. She is de-
scribed as having been the most indi fferent per-
sen Of all the assemblage that crowded the court
room to witness the scene. The iailer conducted
her to q chair in the middle of the court room,
when Judge Sanford proceeded as follows to
pronounce
THE SENTENCE.
"Mrs. Sherman, as one OF the court before
whom you were recently tried and convicted OF
one of the highest crimes known to the law
laws sentence. Before doing so, however, il
YOU desire to say ANYTHING, the court will give
you an opportunity"
Samuel NJ. Gardner, of Derby one of her coun-
sci, responded in her behalf that she had moth
ing to say, and was ready for sentence.
Judge Sanford, resuming-"The indictment
upon which you We're tried charges you with
having, on the sth of Nav, 1871, feleRiously,
wilfully, and with malice aforethOught, taken
the life OF your husband. HOratiO n. Sherman
by means of deadly poison by you administered
committed the crime of murder in the first de-
gree. Upon that Indictment You were tried by
jury largely of your own selection. You were
ably defended by most able counsel, and after a
tun, fair and impartial hearing were pronounced
by your triers guilty, not OF the crime as charged
against yon, but of murder In the second degree.
In the opinion of the court, as constituted at
the time OF your trial, the jury wOnld have been
fully justified, upon the evidence, I'M finding
you guilty of murder i'm the first degree the
Runishmenqof which would have been death.
s0undness Of that opinion; but the jury, while
beiieving and finding you guilty OF murder,
were probably not satisfied that the crime was
established by that amount of evidence neces-
tai Offense, and, therefore, as within their pro-
vince, convicted of the crime of murder ian the
second degree, and so you escape the gallOws
only 70 snffer lifelong confinement within
the term of your imprisonment. We can only
pronounce the sentence provided by the statute,
which is that you, Lydia Sherman, having been
duly and legally convicted of the crime Of muir
der in the second degree, be imprisoned in the
your natural life"
REASONS FOR CONFESSION.
Previous to the final act in the trial Mrs.
Sherman made a full and complete confession
OF a life OF crime never before equalled in the
criminal annals of the country by a woman, in
which, within twelve years she cOnfesses to have
murdered three husbands, four of her own chill
dren and step-daughter by poison. After the
sentence, when she had been taken back to the
jail, she was asked whether she desired to give
any reasons to the world for making the confess
sion. She answered she did and proceeded to
sav:-It is about six weeks since began to feel
oppressed inwaTdly; to have an inward struggle;
sometimes it was pressure on my heart. 1 felt
bad, and felt as though wanted to tell, but L
could not make up my mind TO do it. l kept
Zee ling so bad, and thought could give all up
right, and 1 would not let the world
know anything about it. That is what /
thought. i lay awake nights. thinking
The Jailers wife will tell You did not eat any
thing. Finally, one night made up my mind
that would give myself up to Christ and con-
TESS everything and i did. i knelt down and
said was sorry, and asked Him to forgive me-
felt better then; l felt that the burden was
gone, and that Twas forgiven. When felt that
must confess 1T to the world felt it was nv
duty to do that, that others might be warned. L
felt that could not be forgiven unless that was
done. After l had made up my mind I felt
better, and after j told all the oppression was
gone from my heart, and ever since 1 have been
perfectly contented and my mind is at ease. 1
feel that know that God has forgiven me, and
that after / am done here shall have a home
there with Him. i made up my mind that
think nor carel for anything here" She also
stated that her maiden name was Lydia Dan
bury.
THE CONFESSION.
Her confession was as follows: was born near
the town OF Burlington, n. j., December o.
1924. My mother died when / was nine wears
DID, and was sent to live with my uncle, Mr..
being able to go only about three months i'm the
year. At 16 years OF age L went to New Bruins
wick with my two brothers, and afterward to
live with the Rev. Mr.. Van Amburg, in jackson
vile, % miles from New Brunswick. / lived
there for three years, then returned to New
Brunswick and learned to be a tailOress /
worked three months without pay and was
then employed by Mr.. Owen. He was a class
leader in the Methodist church, Of which l
became a member. 1t was there that met Mr..
Edward Struck, who was devoted Christian
up to few months before his death. / was
MS wife eighteen years; he has been dead about
eight years. Our first child was called LYDIA
and after her birth We went to New York
and resided near Elizabeth and Houston
streets. In New York we had two boys. After
ward we moved to Carmansvile, where we had
four children born. At the end of that time Mr..
struck obtained an appointment on the Metro
pOlitan police force. Six months later we lost
laughter, aged twenty-five months, by the
measles. About this time my husband was
transferred to Manhattanville, and we moved
o i25th street: Then occurred our first trouble,
which came about in this way:
The FIRST TROUBLES.
A man came mp to STATIONS Hotel, on the
BlOomingdale road, and made a disturbance in
he barroOm. He attacked the bartender with
knife, and Immediately the cry OF murder was
tage came along, and on it was a detective who
ieard the cry. He rushed into the hotel. but
1ndlng ne was p0werless to accomplish ANYTHING
ne asked for the assistance of q policeman
1 here was none near and he endeavored to quiet
he man by talking to him, hui ne coulo ,r;. sue
= -. TIC man appeared deranged The de-
ective struck him with a cane, but the man
would not desist. He struck the officer with
k nife, when the latter drew pistol and shot
he man dead. The stage drove on, soon met Mr.
Struck, and as he was policeman, the driver
odd him the circumstances about the killing of
the man at the hotel. Mr.. Struck started i'm
for the hotel, and when he reached
here he found that
THE MAN WAS DEAD.
Word was sent to the Manhattanville police
station, and the doctors gave it as their opinion
that the man was deranged. My husband re-
ported at headquarters, and soon after a rumor
prevailed that he would not arrest the man be-
cause he had a pistol. This was incorrect, but
the employees of the hotel testified that Mr.
Struck was at the place and was afraid to go in.
The result was that he was discharged from the
police force. Then my husband became DOWN
hearted and discouraged. Capt. Hart tried to
get him back on the force, but failed, and then
Struck, who had always been good workman,
did nothing but fret all the time. Sometimes
he would lie in bed for seven or eight weeks
without allowing me to send for doctor. One
day he said he wanted to see his daughter Ger
trude, who was married to a Mr.. William ThOmp-
son. so / went to New York and took her up to
see him, but he said very little to her. Gertrude
sent doctor to see her father, but the latter
said he was not sick. Once he put pistol in his
mouth and threatened to blow his head of. On