The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-04-05

From the Pittsburgh Telegraph.
Clearfield, Pa, March 80 Although
legal holiday, the Criminal Court
continues its session. This Court,
Judge Orvis presiding, has been en-
gagged for nearly two weeks in an eN-
tremely interesting murder trial.
The facts of the case in brief are rs fol-
fows: Mrs. Maria Waple, a resident
of Wallaceton, this county, disap-
pcared on Friday, November 3, 1876.
at eleven o'clock that day she arrived
at her home from Phillipsburg. She
was met at the train by the defendant,
who also conversed with her at her
gate. About noon she passed out of
the house and by neighbor's whom
she told she was going to her brothers
about one mile distant. From that
time she was not seen alive. Not re-
turning, Il general search was institu-
ted, all the neighbors joining, except
defendant, and the search was kept up
till the Wednesday following, when
her body was found in the thick brush
about one hundred yards from the
road, the body lying in the precise
spot where the murder was done.
! There was shot with u bali through
the heart and body, and another with
buckshot entering the top of the head
and passing down the body, the last
shot evidently fired fter the fall of
the body, and showing Il deliberate
murder. Only two persons were sus-
pcctcd, Thomas Waple, divorced
! husband of diseased, and Martin VI
! Turner, the defendant, who had re-
fused to join in the search, and refused
| to see the body when found.
THE SERIOUS CAUSES OF SUSPICION.
The defendant has been for years a
section boss on the railroad, and about
five years since Thomas Waple, the
then husband of the deceased, was one
of his hands. Mrs. Waple was Il hand
some and attractive woman, and de-
fendant established Il guilty intimacy
with her. About four years ago
Thomas Waple was arrested for put
ting distractions on the railway track
and the principal witness against him
was the defendant. He was convicted
and sent to the Penitentiaay for seven
years. After his imprisonment Mrs
Waple procured a divorce. A short
time before the murder Thos. Waplt
was pardoned at the instance of the
him innocent returned to his hom,
and lived a short time with his sup
posed wife, until he found out they
had been divorced, when he left hel
and went TO live ut Woodland, where
he resided mt the time of the murder
THE EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS
From declarations of deccascd-no
cvidence-it seems that she and de
fendant had put the Instructions OF
the railroad, in order to get he
husband out of the way; that defend
ant had promised her $1,000, and $lO'
a year; that the yearly allowance ha(
been paid-but not the 81 900. on ac
count of which n quarrel arose be
tween them. She threatened t
"blab" aud he violence. After tn,
body was found the perpetrator wa
tracked through the woods to tn
other end of the village and beyond
The tracks correspond with defend
ants boots. He was seen on that da,
with a double-barrel gun said he ha,
been hunting squirrels his gun wa
empty. He gate contradictory ac
counts of where he had been and wha
he had been doing.
: The principal defence set up b,
counsel for the accused is the proving
of an diihi for Turner, and they hop
f to show the whereabouts Of tn
prisoner during those two particula
hours, from till o'clock p. NJ, O
the afternoon of the Sd of last Noven
er. The trial is still progressing
Among the witnesses are eighty-tw
, women and like proportion of men,
The bodies of eighteen dead infant
have been found in the past two week
within the city limits of Philadelphi;