The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1877-03-14
4 Murderer's Wife.

! A short dispatch stating that Jonn v
Kiere, indicted at Hudson, along with
his wife Eleanor, for the killing Of
Charles n. Hermance, had been found
guilty of murder in the second degree,
, while the woman charged with completely
in the crime was acquitted, deserves few
words of explanation. The history of the
murder and the prosecution reveals an
instance of the devotion of degraded
woman for a degraded man such as has
seldom been paralleled in fact or fiction.
To get ut the heart of the story it is neces-
sary to relate the unsavory episode that
led to the commission of the crime.
Kiere and his wife kept a house of i'll
repute in Hudson, and at the time of the
murder they had in their place the run
away wife of young fellow named Giles
Spaulding. She was mere girl of fif-
teen who, after few months of unhap-
py married life with mereboy Of twenty
one, had left him and taken refuge in
this den of infamy. Spaulding, who
seems to be a pretty poor specimen of
manhood, yearned for her companion
ship, and determined to make IN effort
to recover the fugitive. He commu-
nicated his design to female friend, who
consented to 60 with him to Kiere's
house, and on their way they met Charles
H. Hermance, whom they pressed to
accompany them. They paid two visits
to the place, failing to get admittance on
the first occasion. At the second call,
which took place about midnight, Her
nance went to the door and knocked,
while his companions remained in the
background. They saw the door opened
and heard few words exchanged; o shot
was then fred and Hermance reeled down
the steps and fell back on the pavement
stone dead. The bullet had gone through
his heart.
Mr.. and Mrs. Kiere, with Annie
Spaulding, the cause Of the quarrel, and
two girls of bad character who belonged
to the house, were arrested. 1t was at
once discovered that Kiere and his wife
had gone to the door to answer the
knock, and the woman seeing that either
one of them would be made responsible
for the murder resolved to answer for the
terrible deed herself. She made con-
fession next morning, stating that she
had shot Hernance, and she afterward
swore to the statement in giving testi-
mony before the coroner's jury, evident
ly considering the old doctrine that the
husband is answerable for the acts of his
wife done in his presence nullity, and
hoping to save him by sacrificing her
self. It was proved, however, by the
girls who were in the house, that Kiere
went to the door with revolver in his
hand, and returned still holding it, while
his wife only carried that truly feminine
weapon, a stove litter. 1t WIS shown also
that Kiere was q bloodthirsty scoundrel,
who had already killed two men, wound
ed three others, and served term in
State prison. Man and wife were in
dicted and tried together for the murder
of Hermance, he stoutly maintaining his
innocence and she stoutly asserting her
guilt. One would think that a jury
could not hesitate long in deciding the
question, but it took twelve good and
true citizens of Hudson seventeen hours
to determine whether the man who kept
a house Of prostitution, harbored runa-
way wife, went to the door with revol-
yer in his hand to answer the knock of
the fugitive's friend seeking to bring
about her reconciliation with her hus-
band, and shot down that mediator in
cold blood, was guilty Of murder in the
first or second degree.
We shall only say by way of criticism
that it is mercy that q jury which,
after such deliberation, brought in YER
dict of murder in the second degree, had
common sense enough to acquit the
murderers innocent wife. They did 80,
however and for the first time during
the trial she broke down when listening
rs free woman to the Judge condemning
her husband to imprisonment for life.
The curious spectacle of such devotion
SO moved the Judge that he said i'll SEN
fencing Kiere "Your wife, who was
indicted with you, has, by her conduct
and her evidence, exhibited an amount
of affection for you which has been the
wonder, as it has excited the admiration OF
this whole community. That she should
be willing to sacrifice herself'either from
her own volition or at your suggestion
and entreaty, to spare your life, to save
YOU from incarceration in felon's cell,
by taking upon herself the whole respon-
sibility Of the crime and exonerating you
from all participation therein, furnishes
an evidence of womanly heorism and de-
votion seldom if ever witnessed before.
As we contemplate it we can almost for
give her for deliberately swearing to on
untruth in order to carry out this object
and purpose. But truth is mighty and
will prevail. The story was too unrea-
sonable and improbable to be credited
by honest and intelligent men," Such
comment from such source render it
unnecessary for us to add any interpre-
tation to the story which we have told,
and We can only conclude with the
platitude borrowed from MIR. Squeers,
that human nature is rum thing
NeW York World.