The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-08-05
POLICE OFFICER SMITHS WHOM.
To he Arrnigned To- Dny-Was the Murder an
Act Induced by MomIcIdnl " anIaI

The widow OF the murdered policeman Is
still held at police headquarters In Jersey City,
No one was allowed access to her yesterday hut
the Chief OF Police. and Alderman Smith. her
brotheT-in Flaw. and waiter from m adjoining
restaurant. The Alderman reports that although
repeatedly Intercepted she still adhercs to the
assertion Of her innocence. and substantially to
the story thnt she told at first.
Chief Nathan says that she slept poorly. and
has little appetite. She ia nervous and rest
less. and silent when the subject Of the murder
Is mentioned. She is chatty and lively upon
any other topic. and laughs readily: but" no
says. when the murder is mentioned. she
keeps miles away. She ate light breakfast
yesterday. but at dinner timo refused to cat.
saying she had no appetite and sho
partook Of little supper Shc WINS
permitted to see a Sunday paper that contained
no mention Of the murder" After very search
ing examination. he utterly failed to break her
down or get any confession. and in his opinion.
II guilty she is not tho sort of woman to confess
in n hurry. The intention when she was COM
mitted was to hold her simply in the character
Of n detained witness for two or three days. to
give her time to confess and II she did not.
then to charge her regularly with the murder,
and proceed accordingly Her name was en-
tered on the police returns Of the Fourth Pre-
cnct Yesterday with the entry. Detained rs
Chief Nathan's experience Of her yesterday
and tho night previous evidently satisfied him;
for, after c9nsnlting me District Auorney. he
ing. He cannot say upon what charge until the
arrival Of the District Attorney from the. coun-
try to-day. She will probably be remanded for
examination. As yet no one has applied for an
interview with her save Alderman smith. and
no one w Se ths s 10 see r except with
The Chief denies that the police have aban-
doned tho search for Bennett. hut will neither
affirm nor deuy his belief that Bennett was i'm
Alderman Smith says that the outside detcc-
tive. he has referred to rs working NJ the case
Ia Michael Kilcaulev of the Central Railroad Of
New Jersey. and he has every reason 10 be sat
isfled with the progress made. He would hard
ly like 10 say she was the only one suspected
but would give no names. He desired to say
that he had not made tho charge that Lawyer
DAILY had surreptitously obtained an interview
DAILY was in the room aud had an opportunity to
converge with her. Whether the opportunity
was improved or not. he could not say. But he
had such confidence in him that he had en-
ployed him as private counsel TO assist the
prosecution.
DR. Lainpson. who attended Mrs. Smith during
her attacks OF hysteria. says that he never saw
n more peculiar case. On one occasio n she lay
in a III for twcnty-s hours NJ another time Tor
eighteen hours. The fits were real. without
doubt. He had applied such usunl tests ~
sticking a pin in the iirsh and applying his fin
ger 70 the corona Of her eye, which she endured
unhinchingly. In one Of these fits she tore her
hair, and the combined strength Of her hus-
band and DR.. Iampson could not hold her
hands. showing An amount OF strength FAR be-
yond what would have been supposed she pos
sesSed.
A highly important phase Of her afliction. ma
bearing upon the case. Is the fact that her hys-
terra simulated epilepsy. Dr. Lampson says:
tate. 1t comes from the unhealthy exercise Of
certain emotions, that predominate and become
superior to all others | mean any OF the ruling
emotions such as love, fear. anger revenge. or
any OF the cardinal emotions. She had these
ms more or less thI9uEn3ut ne I'M e ap pHt
months ago 70 attend her. they had become
much worse
1t will he remembered that her husbands jeal-
ousy Of Bennett dated from few months ago.
"A person having such fits. DR.. Lampson
continued. has diseased and unhealthy
| imac In that condition an emotion such
rs those have enumerated would have more
dominating influence than II the person had no
such disease. In the annals OF crime you will
often find cases whore people develop homi-
cidal impulses after having commissions. par
tlcularly ,epileptlc seizures. ! am not aware
terra, because that is a very much milder dis
ease; but epilepsy has tendency 10 destroy
tho perception Of right and wrong and the
1t is certain that in n number Of instances
Mrs smith iell 70 the floor suddenly nneon-
occasion her husband found her unconscious
in the yard, whore she had been for hours
That is a symptom Of epilepsy
Dr. Lampson added that cases where homi-
cidal mania followed an attack OF epilepsy were
quite common. and quoted number cited in
Hammond on Nervous Diseases" He said
that IL Mrs. Smith committed the murder. ii was
in his opinion a case OF emotional insanity.
II is known that on one occasion Mrs. Smith
brandished n knife ihreateningly at her hus-
band. Whom they kept barroom. over which
they lived, on Pscihc avenue. about eighteen
months ago. she went down stairs and asked
for some brandy TO take up stairs with her. He
roughly refused it. She, ran up stairs. returned
with knife in her hand, and. saying that she
would see whether She could get the brandy or
not, went behind the counter and helped herself
10 what she wanted.
The yelled woman who was arrested and con-
fined all night and discharged in the morning
was Della Cau0cld.