The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1876-04-13
MURDER TRIALS.
The Importance attached to CiT'o""t-
staaftaI EUideHses

conspicuous and powerful motive, IN
the absence of other conclusive evidence,
sometimes puts justice successfully upon
the track of the criminal. Madame
Pauw was a widow with three children,
who had an intimate friend in the Count
de Ia Pommerais. This titled parsonage
was in need of money, and he had head
for scheming. He planned a fraud upon
eight insurance companies, and persuaded
the poor widow to become his instru-
ment in it. Her life was to be insured;
she was then to feign dangerous illness;
and, while lying apparently in a serious
strait, the insurance companies were to
be persuaded to change the lite-policies
into annuities. The count advanced the
premiums; the policies were made out,
transferable by Endorsement. Madame
Pauw was then induced to indorse them
TO him, and also to make a will out in
his favor. The next thing was for the
widow to pretend to fall i'll, which she
did; but, instead of the policies being
transformed into annuities, the pOOrlady
died 1t was a grave blunder of the
count to tell the doctor, when he came
in, that Madame PAW had fallen down
stairs; for not only was this denied by
abundant testimony, but the pOst-mOr-
tenn examination betrayed the presence
of poison as the cause of her death. At
once thereafter the Count de la Pomme-
rails came into possession of the half mil
lion francs which accrued under the poll
cies and the will. Here occurred sin
gular incident in the trial. 1t is clear
that, il the count had intended the fraud
in earnest when he proposed it to Mad
anne PAW, and really designed to obtain
for her an annuity by its means, thus
securing to himself a life income, he |
could have had no serious motive for
killing her. And this was actually his
defense against the charge Of murder.
He declared, and tried to prove, that he
really meant to carry out the fraud, and
that Madame Pauw's death was a catas-
trophe and an accident. Thus in trying
to clear himself of the grave crime, he
cooIly confessed the lesser. But the
proof contradictory of his case was too
clear; he was convicted and duly exc
Cuted.
1t has been said that a very important |
link in the chain of Circumstantial evil
dence is that of opportunity. To show |
want of opportunity, that is, an alibi, is |
an absolute answer to the strongest in
dictments, and produces fatal flaw in
the chain. Opportunity to commit the
crime must be either proved outright or
inferred by the most conclusive presump-
ton. There never was a more striking
case illustrative of this than that Of the
young Scottish girl Madeleine Smith,
whose trial at Glasgow may easily be re-
membered by many readers. 1t may be
said that the trial was one of the most
interesting in British judicial annals.
Madeleine Smith had engaged herself to
a young Frenchman named LAngelier.
II was clearly proved that she had tired
OF him, and was anxious to disentangIe
herself fFom the connection. But
L'Angelier chung TO her, and refused to
.be rebufied. There Is no doubt that on
several occasions, just previous to his
visits, she had purchased poison; or that,
always after these visits, he was seized
with severe illness, On the seventeenth
Of March Madeleine returned to her
house Ii Glasgow, after a brief visit to
some friends. The next day she pur-
chased some arsenic, to kill rats with"
as she said. The arsenic bought, the next
thing she did was to write to L'Angelier,
inviting him to tea ON the evening Of the
nineteenth. He happened to be out Of
town, and did not, therefore, get the note
until II was too late 70 accept the invita-
ton. she wrote again on the twenty
first, urging him to come the next even
ing, and saying: / waited and waited
Tor you, but you came not, / shall wait
again tomorrow night, same time and
arrangement This note L'Angelier re-
ceivcd, So far the proof was clear. 1t
was also II evidence that he started from
his lodginga Ia excellent health on the
Sunday evening, and that he sauntered