The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-05-08

portant witness against him. Tnus. 10 the verl
end stnrtevant entertained oltter lsenng,
his conviction, and would not relent IA me east
al 'hougn urged 10 90 80 those having only 1us
most kindly leeags toSard nim
THE TRAGEDY 80
was In every feature one OF those shocking anairs
winch causes numan nature 70 lnvonntarF cry
Tor Justice Al no. for downright revenge. on tne
dare be ore specified the rnree inmates Of arm
er's dweillng In Halifax, Mass, were most afro,
Win heavy cart stake. Two OF the victims were
aged farmers, the propretors OF the mouse and
farm wnere the deed done. Tney were
peculiar IN their habits, aud, although
quite wealthy, nad no transactions with
in their own dwelling. at least 0
very large part of it, the aecumulanons OF many
years. me currency OF different issues received
by them from year TO year rom the sale OF their
lands or from the product o. their farms they
placed FOR safe keeping in trunks or bureau draw
ers This TACT was well known throughout the
neighDorhoOd, and unfortunately was known to
their nepaew. William u. Sturtevant, the con-
demned. He was young man, SIN all of stature.
who hau served during the war ooth In the army
and navy-desertlng from the latter TO JOIN inc
former He bore a bad reputation IN the commu-
nity and circumstances pointed to his con-
nection with certain ro0beries ana ourgarles
in the vicinity. He was an employe In snoe lac.
tory but rom ihrnlessness and DISSIPATION mad
became reduced In circumstances, so tnat ne was
quite without means OF supporting himself ana
lamiiy, am In the prospect OF deficiency OF WORK
he seems 10 have become desperate, ana, In tnat
concitlon OF mind, to have thought OF the POSSE
blnry OF possessing himself OF some OF The treas
ures boarded IN the Sturtevant manson. IN
douDtedy he might have ACCOMPLISHED MS purpose
In this regard without the shedding or oloOd Dy
the exercise or his skin in thevlng, which ne had
before shown himself possessed Of; but
HIS BuFFIANLY NATURE =.
made hts nrst imnulse tnat OF murder but
although he had never received any injury from
either OF his Two uncles or their house.eeper, and
cherished no malice against them, yet he suddenly
formed and executed the wicked purpose OF KILL
ING them all at once. This design was carried out
with GOODNESS considering the atrocity OF the
act, which IS almost beyond belel. anu many OF
the stems when ne look TO conceal his crime and
iEg upon himself also showed remarkable
crattiness. Bat although ne seems 10 nave
he mad nnIsned his sanguinary work, aud "a
have patiently and cunnlngly removed many
traces winch might point TO himself as the perpe-
traitor, there were some points which ne neg
lected and in which MS vigilance was ~ iault.
Among he money which ne obtained (wnlcn was
only lew hundred dollars, altnougn mere
were some thousands in the mouse, which either
through haste or ignorance ne dld not OBTAIN.
there was some fractional currency OF tue issue OF
1868 which was peculiar IN It's character and
totally different rom tnat 10 circulation at the
present time. The bills were new anu crisp ones,
lust as they had left the government printing
press, and had lam unused Or upward OF ten
wears In the house Of the Sturtevants. with
SINGULAR FOLLY AND FATALITY,
he, without renecting tnat these would be certain
TO the Halifax stoTeKeepers the very next day
after committing the crime. Inese were perhapa
the principal means by which attention was ~
tracted TO him as the probable assassin, ana when
he beg an 10 oe watched by the nelgnDorS and de-
tectives afnough III some matters evncing much
he was either TOO much pressed for time or too
deficient In cunning 10 prevent the obtaining ~
AGAINST aas him. which, When taken together, served
TO establish the TACT OF his quit.
THE TRIAL
M the time was regarded one OF the most In
terestlng and carefully conducted murder trials
that mad taken place IN New England Tor long
time. The case was interesting, not ouly RON
the strange story which 1t revealed, the great
number OF witnesses, the eminent counsel EN-
ployed and the thorougnness OF the Investigation,
but especially 80 from the peculiarly tragic nature
oil the deed, the youth Of The prisoner ana the
''As 1'"' WEB or CIRCUMSTANCES
by which IL was discovered tnat ne was the true
ASSASSIN. The subtle, ingenious aud aole defence
watch was made Tor MIN by ms cOunsel, anu the
plausible explanations which were lur0lsned iOr
the circumstano referred to- were not sulncient
the damning proof which the government mad 20
onrr. The one nducement which mad, per-
s aap shG 5nf heard the esmong 0 o. the
guilt was that or three one-hundren-dolaf
bills being taken from his person at TWO
surveillance OF the detectives. While Ne was
being searched he made an inenectua attempt 70
conceal under sofa q roll o. bills IN Wnlcn mere
was one oil the denomination OF 500. On being
asked where he obtained tnis ne, without mucn
which ne mad received from the government; put
he was considerably disconceried wnen u was
as showed on It's face, long subsequent 90 the
close OF the war. In another instance, Hnen ne
apprenended tnat an onicer Was ABOUT 70 take
drop roll OF bills by the side OF the haymoW IN the
barn at the SturIevant larm. Among taese were
two bills OF the denomination OF 500. IL wa
well known IN tine nelVhDurhOod that up 10 the
night OF tne murder ne had been 10 very redueed
circumstances, aud ~ was proved at tue trial thai
he ala not nave money enough 10 pay lot snan
cOdisn which he needed Tor food-nencc the pos.
session OF tnis vast amount OF money was dee 9l&a
q very strong corroooratIye piec. OF
CoSDEMSING EVIDENCE.
HIS hat, coat and some 0tner articles or clothing
were ound TO have blood stains upon then, wnicn
be accoun ted for In certain plausible waYs. bul
tue dried blood was scraped OF aud submitted 70
q chemical and microscopic examination Dy =
professor OF chemistry IN Harvard University,
VINO at once pronounced it TO be human blood.
A FOOTPRINT IN SOFT GROUND
evidently made OF the assassin IN his nlgnf, was
found on comparison 70 correspond with the SHOES
worn DY Sturtevant on the day vi me murder. me
large cart stake when was exnlOlted In court,
ana wnicl there was not the sing ltesf douDt was
tue instrument OF murder, was ldentned a. nav
ing Ueen taken from the premises near where tue
prisoner nved distance Of four miles from the
scene OF me tragedy.
THE PUGLIo FEELING THEN AND NOW.
Notwithstanding the strength OF tue evidence
against nlm there was q large party In the com.
munty who believed MIN innocent previous 70 tae
trial. out upon the presentation ~ tue case oy tae
govern ment the decision embodied IN tue verdict
by the jury was generally arrived at DJ the u0c,
ana to-day there 10 scarce MAJ woman OF
child In Plymouth county but reJoces Ia ms exc
cutlon.