The daily gazette., 1878-06-13
A Beautiful Eiend.
THE TERRIBLE CRIME OF A YOUNG MIS-
SOURI, WIDoW--CoNvICTED BY AN
UNEXPECTED WITNESS.

souri, wIDow-ooNvIoTED BY AN
UNEXPECTED WITNESS.
"It is very,very strange case Judge, /"
said Mr.. Anthony Dunbar, prosecuting
attorney of st. Charles, Missouri, to
Judge Ballard, of that judicial district,
on the 18th of May, 1S43. "Everything
seems to indicate that Julia Fairbanks
set fire to the house which her deceased
husband left her. But why should she
have committed so grave crime, by
which she not only destroyed her own
property, but also brought about the
| death II her own two step-sons She
was greatly attached to them"
at is "A very strange case" remarked
| the Judge, "and dread the necessity of
trying il. Still | will do my duty to the
best Of my ability. Maybe during the
trial unexpected disclosures unveiling
the mystery will be made"
NV hat complicates the case, Judge, is
the unquestlonable fact that the prisoner
is perfectly sane"
The case of Mrs. Julia Fairbanks was
a most mysterious one. She was the
young widow of Anson Fairbanks, who
mad TWO SONS by a prior marriage. He
had suddenly died, leaving his wife very
little money and a small farmhouse ON
condition that she should educate her
two step-sons, who We're respectively six
and eight years old. The young widow
who was very handsome woman, had
led very secluded life since her hus-
bands decease, and had eked out a scan
ty livelihood by giving music lessons and
| DONG needle-work. She was believed
| TO be very pious and she was generally
popular among the church members.
SO much the greater, therefore, was
| the amazement of. the people of st.
| Charles when, at an early hour on the
9th of April, 1913, the house of the
widow burned down. Her step sons
perished in the flames, and strong proof
was discovered that she herself had fired
| the house.
| She was arrested, but doggedly refused
to say what motive had caused her to
| commit the terrible crime.
| The grand jury indicted her for arson
and her trial took place on the 18th OF
May
Tho above mentioned facts were clear.
ly established by the evidence for the
prosecution, when suddenly a stranger
entered the court room, and asked to be
| sworn as witness.
When Mrs. Fairbanks caught sight Of
him, she turned very pale, and then, ut
terlng loud scream, she tainted
away.
The witness swore to the following
startling facts:
He said he was the brother of the late
Anson Fairbanks. He had known the
prisoner prior to her marriage to hi.
brother at Louisville, Ky, where her re
putation had been notoriously bad. Sh,
had lover there, one Penny-backer, /;
lawyer disbarred for forgery. Penny
hacker had been re-arrested for forgery
one week before. Among his paper
was found a will, purporting to hav,
been made by Anson Fairbanks in favo
of his widow, bequeathing to her the sun
of $4,000, which he had ON deposit il
the State bank of Kentucky. A numbe
OF letters written by the widow to Penny
backer furnished evidence that the will
had been forged by him, and that sh,
was engaged to be married to him a
soon as She got rid of her step-sons.
The prisoner violently protested he
innocence, but the court ordered an ad
journment until the necessary corrobora
tive evidence from Kentucky had beel
obtained.
At her second trial she was convicte,
and sentenced to the state prison TO
life.