The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-01-28
UNJUSTLY CONVICTED.
All the Result Of Bishops Jeal-
ousy and Malice.
PICTURE OF HER HOME.
Casts Her Burden Upon the Lord
and Wants a New Trial.


in rejecting the evidence of Floyd H. Crane that
Cobb told him he had eaten arsenic; also to the re-
jectng of witnesses to prove Mrs. Bishop and Mrs.
Cobb in the habit of exchanging poetry, as their
client affirmed. 1t urges that Adele W. Cobb Mrs.
Cobbs nine-year-old daughter) was not competent
witness. not knowing the nature OF an oath. The
petition complains Of the insertion Of the word
reasonable before the word hypothesis in a ie-
quest made by the defence by the Court 1t also al
leges that two jurymen violated their obligation while
sitting as jurors fact unknown to the defence
until after the verdict rendered. The motion
will be heard before the full bench Of the Supreme
Court Of Errors, which sits in this city in March
has transpired since the trial that the jurymen
did not in every instance honor the position. The
HERALD commented on the probable effect of public
sentiment on these peers, upon whose candid and
calm judgments the woman's fate depended while
boarding around and hearing threats from excited
and indignant citizens that the man who stood out
should be- In case he known. ridden out of town
a rail. With such talk from q large number Of
men, among whom q certain police official
not silent auditor. there is no
wonder that an agreement was speedily reached
One juryman. Christopher NJ. Gallup, of Ledysrd
who stated. when challenged. II have formed no
opinion to hinder me from rendering q verdict in
accord with tho evidence" is alleged to have
1.-The woman is guilty and ought to be hung!' He
of the ten who voted to convict her of muir
der in the first degree. for which the only penalty is
hanging. and is claimed the last to yield
to the verdict of murder in the second degree.
Stonington juror-and seven Of the jury
from Stonington. by the way-Charles T. Chapman
Notwithstanding Chief Justice Parks admonitions
while sitting as juror entered into q. pub
lie discussion in q store one Saturday even
ing and used his notes taken as a jury
man to establish his opinions. Mr.. John I.
Wait, the senior counsel for the defence, who was
personally acquainted with several of the jurors.
invited to take tea with him. and he did This
act Notwithstanding Judge Watts established in
tegrity led the State authorities to shadow with de-
tectives the juryman who had the temerity to dine
with him for three days. and the result was he
found to be q decided against the prisoner and
the State officers were again ut rest
SYMPATHY FOR KATE COBB.
There never . prisoner at the bar in this
county with SO little public sympathy Mrs. Cobb
This was not owing to the womans baseness but to
substratum Of fear that has been awakened in this
community in the past year. Crime has increased
alarminey here in the past few years. Conjugal in
felicity and murder have been twentyfold greater
than before. For nineteen years previous to
1874 but three murder trials heard in the New
London County Superior Court. Since then twenty
homicides have occurred in this county, and
Bishops trial in March will be the fourteenth
murder in little four years. Besides this
in the past three years 172 divorces have been
granted in this county-more than were granted in
the ten years previous. In all these murders but
four criminals have been sent to wethersfield for
lfe the rest getting from three years in State Prison
to sixty days in jail Yet these crimes instigated by
hate and perpetrated with blugeons did not strike
the people with panic; but in 1873 there four
sudden deaths in Norwich-three wives and hus-
band-all of whom believed to have been MUIR
dered by poison, and 1t is this treach-
erous and effective Of divorce by death that
has startled this people; and it is not strange that
wives the loudest in their anthcmas and the
most bitter in their prcjudiccs when they pass
ing three to to the grave labelled heart disease
and "apoplexy' when they have been murdered.
The Cobb-Bishop coincidence Mrs. Hattie Bishop
dying suddenly the 9th of February 1s7s and Charles
H. Cobb. Jr.. the 9th of June Just four months to
day.. equally suddcn-led to the grave suspicious
that resulted in the investigation and arrest of wes
ley W. Bishop aud Kate M. Cobb partners in crime.
and the chemical analysis and its results and the
titude of the Cobbs against their daughter-in-law
led to bitter public declamatons and the exhibition
of spirited determination that this twain must
be hanged for examples sake without judge jury.
IL they could not be by them. While the Cobbs have
exercised terrible influence against their sons
widow by their attitude they have not said anything
of importance shown the slightest malcvolcnco of
spirit in their evidence against their daughterinlaw
testfyng to their sons implicit confidence in her
until his death; to her faithtulncss q wife. &C.:
Kate NJ Cobb personally as related to Bishops state
mont was neither corroborative or damaging yet had
they not appeared the stand for the State there
doubt she would have been acquitted.
CLERIcALs EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS.
This talk of acquittal is heresy here; but as one
moves north west fifteen twenty miles away
from this atmosphere of alarm. the majority who
have read the evidence express the greatest surprise
at the result. A few residents not 10 the manner
born are also surprised that jury of twelve mon,
with the evidence before them should have rendered
verdict that Charles II. Cobb. Jr. died of arsenical
poisoning the hands of his wife, when five phys
icians as experts testified "that the never absent
symptom of arscncal poisoning. dropsy of tho eye
physician testifying that "thc rigidity of the
remains after death indicated strychninc." corrob
Grated Bishops statement that strychnine was the
last and fatal poison administered. One orthodox
clergyman In town has had the tcmerity to say. II
do not how the jury found the verdict upon tho
evidence" Rev. L. r. Chamberlain one of our most
eminent clcrgymcn. called at the Jail and talked
on spiritual matters and prayed with Mrs. Cobb
during her incarceration. and has since said.
to me-, a. the result of his visit anu inn
pressicns. Rev. Hugh Montgomery the pastor
aud spiritual adviser OF both Bishop and Mrs. Cobb,
makes regular visits at tho JAIL and, although the
Central Methodist Episcopal church is extremely
uyltatcu anu pretty evenly diviucu III its sypan's
the pastor maintains neutrality that IL refreshing,
aware that between these two "rcgcncrated prison.
ers there is still existing the bascst of falschoods
MIS- COBB PASTOR
Since Mrs. Cobb's conviction he has called upon
her and extended spiritual consolation. In answer
to the following intcrrogatorics from her pastor she
has given the following responses
Y. Mrs. Cobb. how do you feel in regard to your
Intimacy with Bishop A. I deeply regret IT, IL
has cost me days and nights OF sorrow. Had Mrs.
Bishop been my own sister I could not have been
more intimate with her, and could have as soon
poisoned my own sister us her. l never did IL.
q. What of the future? DO you think God through
Jesus Christ has accepted you A. feel very differ
ent In regard to religion and religious subjects since
j have been incarceratcd. have spent much OF my
time In prayer and feel rs though tho Lord had
heard and answered me.
Y. Now that you are convicted what do you say re-
garding the case A. God knows am innocent of
the charges against me.
CoDB's ALLEGED .rRIEND.''
In this town Kate nj. Cobb, as a woman and n wife.
to the time OF her husbands DEATH had no superior:
and of the hundred witnesses examined during the re-
cent trial not one threw shadow upon the felicity
of her home. In which she saye srhor1av ,ovor