The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1878-01-31

MEDIM ON last Thursday morning Mrs John
Hill set kettle of hot water Off the stove on the
hoor TO use for mopping purposes. Her little girl
Lena Pearl Hill, two and half years old, was
playing about the room and backed into the hot
water. She was so terribly scalded that she died
of the burn on Friday morning about 2o'clock.-
Gazette
The Grand Jury indicted Fitzpatrick for the
crime of arson, but he has not been brought into
court to plead, and probably will not be until af-
ter the conclusion ofthe Whipp trial now in pro-
gress 1t is understood that he will plead guilty,
and that no defense will be made. His wife and
her father and mother and his sister are here and
his pastor from Willoughby was here Saturday.
All visitors have had free access to him in the Jail
and he converses freely with all. His own father
from Iowa, was expected to come but has not ar
rived.-Gu7qtte
The trial of Lonsdale p spenceley, Rachel A.
Whipp and Alfred Taylor, for the attempted mur-
der of Robert Whip wealthy farmer living in
Hinckley township near the Summit county line,
came before Judge Hale for trial in the Medina
Common Pleas Court last Monday, and was still
on up to Saturday night John McSweeney, Esq,
of Wooster, appears for the State and Judge s. W.
Mcclure, of Akron and Hon. Henry Mckinney
of Cleveland for the defense The first witness for
the State was Mr.. Whipp himself Mr.. Whips
story went to show that he.was an Englishman by
birth; was 54 years of age that he has lived in this
country "a years married Rachael Kuder aged
"a, in August, 1877 his first wife having died
year and half previous; that his relations with
Rachel previous to marriage were altogether too
intimate; that he only married her under cOmpul-
son and this after failing to buy her off with ST.
900; that she led him terrible life, commencing
directly after marriage; that on the night of the
alleged attempted assassination, September 15,
| 1877 he discovered soon after going to bed the
presence of chlorofOrm in the room that while
partially under the influence of the drug, Spence
ley and Taylor entered and with the Connivance
of Mrs, Whip attempted TO pat a rope around his
neck; finally, that after a long and desperate
struggle he got the better of his antagonists and
ran en- deShdbiNe to neighbors house, where as.
sistanCe was procured. Witness in conclusion
swore that on a certain Sunday two weeks preVi-
GUS to his marriage he visited Rachel and found
her playing croquet with three young men, where
upon the following conversation took place, aG-
cording to the Medina Democrats report
II told her l didn't think it very becoming In
young lady to be playing on Sunday; asked
her who the men were and she told me one was
Charley Baxter and the other two she didn't
know; we talked about getting married, and said
to her, L hear so much you have been EayiRg
about me that don't know about getting married
at all ; told her had heard she didn't care any
thing about me only my money: she said then, If
you don't marry me you will be dead man be-
fore the week is out she said she had never said
the things had heard and took her word for it;
when she said would be dead man If l didn't
marry her she wss crazy mad; said If this is all
false am sorry to accuse you of anything that
isn't true and agreed to marry her in two weeks
from the next day, and did"
Mr.. Whipp was subjected to very severe cross
examination by Mr. Mckinney, which lasted
throughout Monday afternoon and Tuesday FORE
noon. Messrs H. Frizzelle and Jackson Law tes.
titled to having some conversation with Mrs.
Whipp Immediately after the occurrence in
which she said she had no intimaton of what was
going to happen until she was fOrcbly pulled
from the bed but had heard something said about
money. Women who had worked in the house
swore that Mrs Whip had treated him badly and
had told them that she only married him for his
money and that she wanted him to strike her so
as to have advantage over him Other witnesses
testified as to minor points, and the defense be-
gan its testimony at II o'clock Thursday morning.
The jury in the Whip trial came in Saturday
after after five or six hours consultation, with
verdict of guilty. The prisoners, Mrs, Rachel
Whipp and Lonsdale Spencer, were sentenced to
seven years in the Penitentiary.
Fitzpatrick for arson, was sentenced to the PEN
itentiary for four years. He acknowledged his
guilt but several prominent gentlemen testified to
his previous high character