The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1876-05-24
THE BELFRY MURDER.
The Condemned Prisoner, Piper, Telling
Story OF tho Terrible Affair.

Story OF tho Terrible Affair.
The Boston Journal, says: Thomas
W. Piper, who lies in tho Suffolk Sbun-
ty jail, condemned to death for the MUIR
der of Mabel Young in the belfry of the
Warren avenue Baptist church, has
yielded at last so far as to confess that it
was he who first knew of the death Of
the child. Hitherto he has denied posi-
lively that he had any knowledge of the
occurrence until told Of it by Others;
but now, in contradiction Of his oft-re.
peated assertions made under oath at
both his trials, and repeated in the most
solemn manner at the very moment OF
his sentence, he comes forward with
strange story of the little girls acciden-
tai death in which he claims for himself
entire innocence.
Piper's story was told in the presence
of Mrs. Brown, of his counsel, the Rev.
DIR. E. O. Eddy, of the Tabernacle Bap-
tist church; an officer of the jail, and a
young man who was employed to take
notes of what the condemned man might
say. His story Of how he occupied the
time on that fatal Sunday afternoon is
the same as that told by him when testi-
fying in his own behalf up to the time
when he went up stairs to prevent the
boys who were in the vestibule from en-
tering the audience room. From that
point it differs from every other state
ment which he has made hitherto. He
said that some complaint had been
made Of the lack of fresh air in the au-
dience room, and that to remedy the
trouble he went up to the belfry to open
the trap door, and thus secure through
draft, as he had done more than once
before. He took with him the bat
stick, which played 80 important part
of the trials, and, having raised the trap
door, pla sed the stick under it as sup
port.
Returning down stairs, he reached the
gallery floor and there met little Mabel
Young, who was coming out OF the organ
gallery. Noticing the direction whence
he had come, she asked: "What's up
tnere9" He answered that that was the
belfry, and something was said about
the pigeons. In a moment she asked
permission to go up, and he told her
that she might do 30 if she wished. She
started up the stairs and he remained
where he was. Soon, however, he re-
Remembered the way in which he had
left the trap, and fearing that in getting
into the belfry she might injure herself,
he hurried up after her. When he reach
ed the top Of the stairs his worst fears
were confirmed.
The bat stick had been knocked out,
the door had fallen, and there lay the
little girl caught between the heavy door
and the edge of the floor. Piper took
the child out to place her on her feet.
She moaned, but was unconscious. He
Laid her on the floor, and after q mo-
ment's pause to collect his faculties
started down stairs with the intention OF
making full statement Of the occur
renee. On the way he met the Misses
knight, Alice and Jennie, who testified
at the trials, entered into conversation
with them, and while. standing with
them conceived the idea of keeping the
whole occurrence q secret. Acting on
this resolution, he went about his usual
occupations.
In the Post of Dec. 8, 1875, the fol-
lowing appears as Mr.. Avery's presenta-
ton of the case:
The child, he argued, could have
been killed by the falling of the fifty
pound trap upon her. He argued also
to show that perhaps Glover went up
there to get the young pigeons, and that
the child straying up there might have
been pushed aside by him without any
evil intent, as she was detecting him,
and perhaps the door fell upon her then
and he retreated.
Piper has no hope of communication
of his death sentence.