Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-10-30
The UdderzoalE Trial.
THE CASE CALLED, YEsTEBDAY-A JURY OBTAINED
THE TESTIMONY BEGUN.

THE CASE CALLED, YEsrERDAY-A JURY OBTAINED
THE TESTIMONY BEGUN.
The trial of W. L. Undertook, for the murder
Of W. s. Goss, near Penningtonviile, Chester Co,
| iu July last, commenced at West Chester, yester-
day. The Commonwealth is represented by Dis
trict Attorney Abram Wanger, and VIM. M
Hayes, Associate Counsel. The defendants at
torneys are Joseph Perdue, of West Chester,
Milton Whitney, of Baltimore, and Wayne Nc
Veagh, of Harrisburg.
A full jury was obtained yesterday, and the
calling of witnesses commenced.
In his opening speech. the District Attorney
said William L. Udderzook has been indicted
fer the murder of Winfield s. Goss and you,
| gentlemen OF the jury, are sworn to try him.
| On the llth day OF last July, the mutiated body
| OF mau was found in lonely spot in the
woods near Penningtonville, who had been evil
IDENTIFY murdered with surroundings Of peculiar
| horror. Winneld ~ Goss had lived in Baltimore
until February, 1872, when he disappeared, and
next turned up at the Central Hotel, in Phila-
| delpbia. in June. 1872, after which he went to
board at Mr.. Mullen's, near Coopertown, at
| Bryn Mawr, and at Trenton, New Jersey. He
| is next found at the William Penn Hotel, West
Philadelphia. Gose had his life insured at the
| time of his disappearance to the large amount
| OF $25 900 in various companies. When dosa
was in Philadelphia it is known that Undertook
was absent On the evening of June 80, they
went in company to Jeffries' Hotel.
| to Jennerville, having walked from
West Grove station. on the Baltimore
Central railroad. The next morning the prisoner
hired horse and went to Penningtonvile, but
stopped on the way near there and saw his sister,
with whom he walked to where his brother-in
| law was at work in field and made the propo-
sition to put some one out of the way that he
had the man at Jennerville, and they could make
| $40 900 by it. He went on to Peunngtonville.
hired horse and buggy with which lie returned
| 10 Jennervlle and took in the stranger and
I Al. -
ningtonville, where he arrived about twelve
o'clock at night with the buggy broken aud
bloody, aud the blankets gone. Udderzook is
seen next morning at Oochranville, tired and
dishevelled, where he got a light breakfast. He
then returned to JsnDerville and went to Bati.
more. The evidence will now be submitted, and
the jury called upon to pass upon the guilt orin-
nocence of this man, the prisoner at the bar ac-
cotdng to the impression OF his guilt which thu
evidence shonld give
Abram Trimble q civil engineer, was the
first witness. He had made survey and meas
urements of the woods where the body was
found, and described the locality with map.
There were two graves, one where the body was
found the other sixty-six feet distant where the
limbs were found. 1t is 2s< miles from the
graves In the woods to Pennlngtonville, "a to
Coolranville and so to Jennerville The near
est house to the grave is Mrs Weavers. There
was place near the graves, where there was
the appearance of ire having been kindled
John e, Hartford testified that he passed the
woods on the 9th Of July, saw large number of
b, yards there, and perceived very offensive
stencil The birds were fighting over something
which he thought to be a dead snake
Gamer p, Moore passed the roads on July
11th perceived the buzzards and the smell
afterward wentinto the woods, and discovered
a small part of a body, uncovered Went away
and in three or four hours returned with Samuel
Rhodes, Brought shovel. Rhodes stuck the
shovel in on the left side Of the body and dug
up the bloody shirt he then sunk the shovel in
where he thought the head might be- and raised
up the head aud face at the same time almost
heard buggy coming down the road l went TO
the road, and found a gentleman did not know.
l asked him to come on and be awitness OF what
we had found. He said he would rather not ss
he was q stranger. insisted but he went
on. Mr.. Rhodes and got in q wagon and
went to Penniugtonville to the deputy coro
ner got out at home; told Mr. Rhoads to &, t
the coroner, which he did. He, with some git
or ten gentlemen, came down; lwent with them
to the woods A jury was empauelled. The
body was i'll the sime p, stion we had left 1t but
| more uncovered by some people from Cochran
Vile tho body laid with the head away
| from the pike when We raised up the head OBJ
| served very good side-whskers on the face, a
good crop of hair. and beard OF some days
growth on the chin and lower part OF the cheek
| the hair quite dark from an inch to an inch
| and half long the whiskers quite dark and
sprinkled with ay; the face looked quite nat
ural when MIR. khoads and hrst rais-
ed it from the ground, but white as
| if had kr own tue man in life the body was
placed in I'll cure OF the coroners jury the body
WIS not tt 10 l'ande and Ley put sticks under
it and rolled tho body to the north side of the
grave, and then lel it roll back on a board it
was then taken out Into the summer road the
body had no clothing, and was perfect, except
that no arms legs were attached the body,
when taken FROM the grave, caused such
| stencil that two or three m sn ran out OF the way
and came on another grave covered with earth
| and cedar bOughs over it almost fifteen PAGES
| from the first grave | saw it uncovered ! the
coroner sunk a shovel and uncovered the two
| legs aud arms ; the feet had on white cotton
hose and congress CATERS ; the limbs were laid
with the body.
A box was produced in Court, containing the
the sods which were taken from the green where
| the body was found. They were put in the box
in the same position and the same depth they
were in the ground. Witness continued the
| box is a little longer than the grave; the two
| eud roots represent the length Of the grave;
| the deepest part Of the grave is eleven inches
from the surface, and the width sixt cen inches,
| tue end roots are four feet three and half
| inches between them, this being the length OF
| the grave; one OF the end roots is barked and
chippel of as il done with a dull spade; the
| other is cut down in the middle; the grave where
the limbs were was eleven aud a half inches
deep.
AT this point the court announced that it
would sit at night.
Mr.. MacVeagh asked the court to reconsider
this decision, as it would not only imperil the
case for the defence. but that, at least himself
| and MIR. Whitney would be unable to keep up
from exhaustion.
The court declined to reconsider, and said that
| every moment OF time must be occupied, al
| though there must be no haste. The court
w0ul1 sit unless counsel claimed that they were
physically unable.
Mr.. Maeyeagh said he felt unable to sit to-
| night and do justice to the case tomorrow.
The court decided that it would not sit to-
night, but would hereafter. The jury and pris-
i oner were than secured. and the court ad iOurn-
ed till $50, Thursday morning.