Wilmington daily commercial. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1866-1877, 1873-06-06
FIRST EDITION.
the WEST MURDER TRIAL.
Wednesdays TestImony-NIrs. Vests Stat
ments abOut her son.

l
sentative at Dover, came to hand too late
lowing to the trains detention,) for insertion
in yesterdays COMMERCIAL. We now present
such parts of it as are new to the public and OF
real interest.
THE FINDING OF THE DEAD BODY.
Unruh Leatherbury, witness for the State, was
in DR.. Vests room on the night of the fire.
but not until after it was out. He saw
| no smoke but FEW body which looked as il it
had been skinned. The hands, head and feet
| were cut of. lie saw the old clothing. rags and
paper they had coal oil on them. He saw the
paper which was said to have contained the pow
| der saw it taken out Of the hole in the floor
The hole was about FIVE feet from the dead
body. There appeared to be about half pound
| Of powder. There was a newspaper In the hole
| when witness first saw it. but the fire had not
reached the hole or burned down to the powder.
| VESTS TRIP TO SALISBURY.
Chandler Evanston December 4th last was
| conductor on the mixed train, going South, from
| Wilmington to Delmar, leaving Dover at 4, A.
| M. On that morning man got on the train at
Dover Station. He h ad dark clothes on, and had
/ the collar of his coat turned up, and the rim of
/ hia hat tnrned down. Witness went to him to
| collect fare man said he wanted to go to Nor
| folk told him that the train only W. mt to Del
i mar. He then made the change for the fare, but
| did not see whether the man had money in his
| pocket book or not At the end of the route
| witness notified the man that the train went no
| farther, when the man asked the distance to
Salisbury, and started in that direction down the
| track.
James Sharp sworn Saw West at depot in
| Harrington. He had collar turned up aud hat
| turned down. Some one eaid it was West. He
| (West) asked il there was constable in town
| He said his name Isaac O. West said he
stabbed and killed a Niger, and that he wanted
| to be arrested.
Cross examined. West was asked why he
killed the negro ? He Said that he did it in self
Fuu, Il aNN
nze the prisoner at the bar as the same man.
George II. Baird sworn. Is and was station
agent at Harrington, man apparently quite
old. came in. The conversation turned upon the
murder. This man was pointed out to witness
by boy named Reese Merritt former pupil of
Vests. as West. The first thing witness heard
him say was that he had stabbed niger and
killed him Witness asked him what for he
said he had employed colored man to do some
work for him, and ne was in the act OF paying
him when the coored man took up hammer
and threatened to kill him He then took up an
iron bar and struck him and killed him. Some
one standing by asked him if he was West He
said he was. Witness gave him an account OF
the fire and asked him il he knew anything about
it He said that ie had arranged that it should
burn before he left. There was message sent
to the sheriff, and the man left in charge OF the
conductor.
Thomas f. Hawkins sworn. Was conductor
| on the Del H. r., on the day West came up. He
| came up to Dover, on witness train Talked
with him on the cars. Went to him to ask for
his fare He said he was going to give himself
up and ought not to be charged. Told him he
had burned his face pretty badly, He said 1t
was mud. After witness got him to wash his
face asked him how he came to do it, said that
he got the negro to bring him up box, when
tho nepro demanded his money and struck him
| Witness asked why he did not Immediately give
himself up. He aaid "you never had dead
niger on your hands
samuel Hargadine, Sworn. He is ex-Sherif
| of Kent County, and met West at the train up
| at Dover Depot. He took him to the County
| jail, and searched his person. He found IN
Vests possession pocket book pocket knife.
about three or four inches long, pair OF seis-
| ors, and silver watch. West told him (witness)
| that with that knife he had done the cutting
| West told him that was the knife with which he
/ had skinned the man found dead in his room
The pocket book contain between $20 and 80
George B. Dickson, agent for Life lhsnr-
: ance Company. testified that West paid about
| 5000, per annum of life insurance premiums,
| which would give him policies amounting to
| a25 900.
THE MAN HE WANTED BEFORE HE GOT TURNER
Frederick Windolph recalled. West came to
/ witness place several times. First about the
| time he rented the room from MIR. Kirbin, about
four or five weeks before the killing. He had all
| 90 inquired for him several times when he was
| not al home. The first time he was looking Tor
| a room to rent. Second time was about week
before the killing of Cooch Turner. West
| and the witness were pretty good friends
| and West came in near dark and
| was talking about having been home and having
| been weighed in company with his brothers,
| who, he said, averaged about 200 pounds each
| He asked witness what lie weighed and witness
| answered, about 175 or $50 pounds. West also
| asked his height, and they were each measured
| against door jamb by Mr.. Camac. West then
| felt witness chest, and said that both he and
| witness were about of one size. Witness was
not more than one and half inches taller than
West, but at that time West was lsrger round
Itu1NEN han
talked ABOUT the lodge, and West invited the
witness to go therJ with him he WesD asked
witness at two different times to visit hun at his
office.
three o'clock at witnesses's bouse, lie Drought
a box for West who lived next door. West and
Turner came in. Turner was pretty nearly iull,
of drink. West treated him to brandy, asked
now much he could drink, Turner took glass
full. Both went out
| MR. sAUIsBURYs OPENING FOR THE DEFENCE
| Mr. Saulsbury said that while he felt that he
would scarce be afraid to risk the without
| the production of a single witness yet he should
| introduce some testimony. he SAID mat there
| were two theories by which the acts OF the pri-
| soner could be explained. One was on the the
orv of seif-defence the other that of insanity.
The first witness who was examined for the
| defense was
Mrs Nancy II. West She is the mother of l.
O. West Jr. the prisoner HIS tather 8 name Is
l.. IL.
child He was born in 1S43 and lived at home
| till about lS years old About year before he
left home he was not sensible for some time
after the fall cannot say what year this was but
West was about 16 or II years old at the time
Sometime before Isaac was born his father
had been quite sad, and detected. he was IN a
! condition Tor a time in which he did not recog-
pize D 9ople with whom he had previously been
familiar This was in 1886 and continued in
} that condition about months There was a
marked and decided change in the condition OF
mis- (her husband's) mind. He seemed to be in
great trouble. Had always been previously oi
a particularly cheerful deposition. AT that time
3 took but little notice of his children although
! before that he had been particularly affection
ate. And was so again after he came to him
self again Did not think that at that time he
was in his right mind. in fact she knew that h'
| was not.
3 Thought that in 1869, there was marked ant
Q sudden change Of mind in the prisoner. He lef
Q Dover in August of that year and walked clea
+ home to his fathers in Baltimore Hundred, Sus
sex comnty. He came home, he said, because
. he thought the witness (his mother) was sick
0 They questioned him how such an idea got int
his head, and he said that he did not know, un
less he dreamed it. and the lady with whom h'
boarded dreamed it also. Said he walked all o
the way said that he had been out all of two
nights; spent one night in the woods, and ON
L in a tent on the Zoar Camp-meeting grounds
!, There was no camp there at the time, but hat
q been Said that he had not been in hous'