The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1877-08-15
A Nice DAUGHTER,
A French Girl OF Seventeen Helps aer
Lover to Take Her Moth
ers Life.
THE MURDERED wnMAN's STILL WARM BED
HER MURDERER's INITIAL
COUCH.

mistress into morsels, or Of Mayaux,
who cast his child into a dry well
and heard it "for three hours below
ing like q bulT' in its agony, will be
shortly avenged at Aix-the murder
Of the widow Boyer by Leon Vitalis
and her daughter Maria. The pris
oners have just been tried, and the
trial, for sheer horror, will long be
in French criminal annals.
Maria Boyer is q tall and hand
some girl of seventeen, slight, sup
pie, with piquant and attractive
face, small and regular features, and
great, liquid eyes Of black, that, be-
ing cast down, lend to her an expires
sion Of melancholy. At her trial she
appeared dressed plainly in deep
black, and spoke in low voice, Of
ten broken by q sob Or shudder.-
Leon Vitalis is young man Of un-
prepossessiug appearance, with a
slight stoop; he is understood, lean
and sickly looking, with struggling
beard, sunkcn checks and bilious
tint. His uneasy and cvasive eyes
we're rarely lifted from the table or
the ground, though at times with q
fearful fascination they were drawn
10 q heap Of blood-stained clothing
and a large cheese knife-ghastly re-
lies of the crime.
I do not know that | can tell the
story better than by summarizin.
the testimony Of the two actors in
the bloody drama as elected in theil
examination b. the Court. Maria
was brought up in d convent, and
was called "cold and insensible
child" She would not go to hel
father on his dying bed. Few things
moved her, though once she had
some thought Of joining . religious
order. In her desk at the convent
we've found some notes to school
mates Of rather indecent character
that was all The special fault found
with her before she left school and
went to live with her mother, who
carried on her dead husbands bust.
ness, that Of o dealer in cheese, but
ter, etc. Vitalis visited the house
and was On very friendly terms with
both women. He sought the young,
er one in marriage, but in October
last there was rupture between
them, she sending Vital5 letter in
which she said that she would moi
say she loved him, but that she haC
for him true friendship which Cir
cumstances might very easily change
to love. "My answer is always tie
same. All depends on.certain things
I-leave you free and wish to be left
free. do not change, as you, who
know me so we'll, know. You vii
think this letter cold, but | have hai
too much experience Of life to wish
lightly to engage myself" Her mo-
Their, the girl said to the Court, haG
been the cause Of the rupture. The
old woman and Vitalis were on Grim
inalIy intimate terms, and she haC
done all that lay in her power to sun
der them. In March last the Cir
said publicly that on several occa
sions she had slept in the bed where
Vitalis and her mother were alread,
lying. did you,' asked the Court
mot wish that your mother were
dead?' The prisoner, coldly: eyes
One day, when she was sick, Vitalis
said: IF the good God would only
take her out of the wayn and an
swered: 'Ah, she makes US suffer sc
muchr When we discussed the at
tack upon her I never thought he
meant to kill her. He said to me
'Your mother detects you and wishe:
to kill You. There must be an enc
to all shis.' l thought he meant tt
stun al gag her, that we might fly
together" At this point the prose
cution read the girls first avowaIs
as follows:
81 thought that Leon maintained
Illicit relations with my mother
Appearances indicated it; and, as
bore consuming love for him,
was jealous Of her. I did not dar
speak to her on that subject, but dix
to him, and be swore that there wa
no ground for my suspicious, an,
that he loved me alone. Had
known then he was On intimat
terms with her, he should neye
have become my lover. He neye
told NE that he proposed killing hel
but when she was sick he and
used to pray that she might b
worSn JJo camp}ainn3 nf thn cnonr