Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1874-03-09
CIKCUMSTANTlAL EVIDENCE.
CELEBRATED CASES.

luSiS lheu Ill IaTl5, more tnaQ q century
ago, an old dame who kept shop in a house
not lar distant from the place st. Michel
She was reputed rich,a and was supposed to keep
her money in the house. Her only servant was
q boy who lived with her several years; he slept
in the house, but high up in the fourth story,
or rather loft, which could only be reached by
a staircase, such as was common 10 those days
outside the house wall, the old lady sleeping in
room on the ground floor at the back Of the
shop.
1t was the boys duty to lock the shop door at
night and retain possession of the key One
morning the neighbors found the shop door op-
en- much earlier than usual, and as there was
no one TO be seeen in the shop, some of them
suspecting that all was not right, went ill.,
There we've ne marks betokening violent en-
try or the premises, but the old lady was dis
covered dead in her bed, having received MANY
wounds; such wounds 10 all appearance, hay-
lug been inflicted with a knife; aud knife
covered with blood was found lying in the
middle Of ihe shop floor.
One hand OF the Corpse yet grasped thick
lock OF hair, and in the other W as "a neck hand
kerchef
IL was proved beyond doubt that tn, knife
and handkerchief belonged to the boy who had
been so long her servant, and the lock OF hair
alAo matched his exactly. He was arrested,
charged with crime, and [probaoly under tor
tuiel confessed it, and suffered capital punish
inent as murderer.
lie was innocent notwithstanding. Not yery
long after his execution another bow a servant
IN neighboring wine-shop, being taken into
custody for another ohense, and seized with
tue pangS OF Temorse confessed to the murder
of the old dame. lie had long been flmiliarly
acquainted W n the shop boy who suffered in
nocently, anu lad been in the habit of dressing
his hair
He had managed by degrees to says up
| IaIt hal rf,.nm tha Ia
use OF to make into a tolerable stout lock; and
tins he put into the hands OF the dead woman.
lie had stolen one Of the boys neck k-handker-
chiefs, aud also his knife, and by trying an i'm
preston OF wax in the key, had Leen able 10
construct another 10y which TO gain entrance
TO the shop.
At the first glance, the evidence In this case
seems at once clear, NATURAL and spontaneous;
but the very completeness of the evidentiary
facts ought to have aroused suspicion and there
is no doubt that, had rigid investigation been
! set on foot, the innocence ofthe accused would
bave Teen established.
A case OF fabricated evidence of sufficient
| ly remarkable kind occurred near Hull, in the
Year l7i2. gentleman travelling to that
place was stopped late in the evening about sew
! en miles from the town by masked highway
l
twenty guineas. The highwaymau galoped
tfbya side road, and the traveller in no way in
| jured, save i'll purse, continued his Journey
1t was now growing late aud being excited and
alarmed by what had Happened, he naturally
looked out for place of shelter, and instead OF
riding on to Hull, stopped at the first inn he
! tame to, which was the "Bell Inn," kept by
Mr.. James BurnelI.
lie went into the kitchen to give directious
for his supper, and then he related To several
persons the fact of his having been robbed, To
which lie added the further information, thai
when lie travelled he always gave his gold a ps
culiar mark, and that every guinea in the purse
! taken from him was thus marked. He hoped
therefore, that the robber wouldyet be detect
ed.
Supper being ready, he withdrew. The gen
tleman had not long finished his supper, wheI
Mr.. Burnell came into the psrlor where be wa
: and fer the usual inquiries Of landlords as u
the desires Of their guests, observed:
"Sir, understand you have been robbed il
Z this neighborhood this evening""
!, "Yes," said the trsvsllsr, 81 have"
= "And your money was marked?n continue,
. the landlord
at was, was the reply.
Q "a circumstance has alisen," resumed Mr.
. Burnell, (which leads NE to think eau poin
!. out the robber. Pray at what time in the ev
i euing were you stoppedf'
II was JuoA oS''iii5 III " uS udih, IepHet
the traveller.
"The time confirms my suspicious" said th
landlord; and he then Informed the gentleman
that he had a waiter, one John Jennings, wht
had of late been so very full OF money, and s.
very extravagant that he (he landlord) ha,
been surprised at it, and had determined t
part with him,Ls conduct being every way sus
picious, that long before dark that day, he ha,
sent out Jennings to change guinea for him
that the man had oDy come back since the al
rival of the traveller, saying lie could not ge
}, change; and that seeing Jennings TO be in II
quor, he hal sent him off to he'd, determined L
discharge him in the morning. Mr.. Burne
continued to say that wien the guinea wa
brought back 10 him, it struck him that 1t wa
I not the same he had sent out for change, ther
being on the returned one mark which h
! was very sure was not upon the other but
should probably have thought no more of th
matter, Jennings having frequently had gold i
his pocket OF late, bad not the people In th