Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1880-10-27
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Circumstantial Evidence.


Uoited States Senator voorhees, tells the
folio wing interesting story Of rems k bic trial:
Ir.meu Der onoe dsfendiog. at CrswfordsVe,
Ind, q man oaued O4eu. Indicted for the
nu; der Of hi eite By p3isou. 1t was twenty
odd pears ago Owen vas respectable farmer
10 good circun -tsuc s, and cJnsistept church
member, He had been twice married. He
ha1 several children by his first wife; his SEQ
ord was ohilol-ss, circumstance gbch peeus
liary sifectsd her mind aRd temper. She
would not permit his ch.lireo to reside with
her, apd compeIl, him to fed home fer them
elsewhere. She had frequently threatened
| suicide 10 GODS. Quenc5 Of these troubles.
One night Owen was awakened from sleep
to hnd her dying. He called 10 assistance and
| sent for phy:ician. but she WAS dead before
suy one arrived. Her sudden demise excited
suspicion. apd three days after her burial this
WAS commu 1icated to him by friend, who
further inform ID him that arrangements had
been made to d.sin,er tie BODY AID inVesti
gate il.
Osen was greatly agitsted st this Intelligence,
and after a snort pause, repli.d IF this is
done. and poison is fouud 10 K: zia's stomach
(his deceased wife's Christian osme), will be
ancus. d of her murder. convicted and hanged.
But I am 80 Innocent OF il ss that tree, point
lug to one near by.
That pight he transferred all bis properly to
q son, disguised niusslf. and fed the country.
The boey of his wife was exhumed and 40 au
topsy had. Enough stryohpioe was found in
her stomach to kill mule. There was unl
yers. eIpresslon of horror at the discovery, and
a Iarse reEsrd Was offered for The srrest of the
fugitive. After some months be Was found in
| Cauads, where be was living uuder an assumed
name. BE was brought to Crawtordsvis 10
irons, aud it was with difficulty that bis eI.cu
tou by NIB c:uld be prevented.
Joe Mcdonald (ooW my colleague 10 the
Senate), Jim Wilson, ooos representative in
| Congress and 1b;tquently minister to Yeue.
zaIs and myself defended him. There was q
formidable prosecution, Lsw Wallace, Judge
Gregory, and others appearing against him
Il was proven that short time before Mrs.
OYeus's death her husband had purchased
stryohoine at drug store 10 the neighborhood,
! telling the druggist that be wanted it for poi
| souiug rats. But he asked that it should be
| charged to him. fact upon which we lsid great
| stress iu the argument. insisting that had be
entertained criminal design 10 buying the
drug be would not have put the evidence OF the
fact upon record. A daughter who was visiting
| her fathers house when the poison was brought
home testified that be handed 1t to her step
mother in her presence, csuuonlng her to bs
careful With it. A brother Of his wife who was
| greatly embittered against him, and was wit
ness for the Slate admitted upon cro!s-cxami.
nation that Ovens treatment of hls sister was
Invariably considerate and kind.
This was all we had to base defence on.
| The odds were fearful. There was the remark
| of the marked agitation of Oven when first in
| formed of the suspicious existing against him,
| bis sdmissou that II The post mortem examlna-
ton showed that poison was the csuse OF his
| wife's death be would be ACCUSED of administer.
ing it and hanged; bis purchase OF the posop;
bis transfer OF mis- property and bis fight. ali
comboed nearly itresistibly led to the conviction
of bis guilt MIR. Voorhees, be said to me,
"however darkly things msy appear agalns.
me, am not guilty." end believed him. We
fought the case like tigers upon the reasonable
doubt which We deemed the evidence had not
excluded, and w1n it.
Such sn u0roar as followed nevor Wit
messed. Oven was taken to Wilson's private
residence, pur iued by crowd crnzyd with dis
appointment aud thirsting for bis blood. Will
son, Mcdonald aud stood at the front gate
with pistols in our hands. and checked the ap-
croscb of the mob until Oven could escape
from the rear Of the house 10 conveyance that
had beeu provided for him. It the only time
in nv lite ever saw Mcdonald with pistol
He showed an uumistakable purpose to use il
if necessary.
| Oaen went to Texas and died there, pre-
sumo, as | have never seen nor beard OF hin
since, His wife had committed suicide. be
kew it, bat preferred to keep the fact 10 bim'
self 10 avoid scacdal aud exposing her. 81
was a weak. but an honest man. For bis SAFE
de!iyerauce he was indebted to capital jury
men who could be neither bought nor scared
Tho foreman had served the county 10 ths
State Senate, others had held Office, snd al
we're persons of consideration and lbfaeEc'.
a WoMAEs F1aHT WITH sFAKE.-Mrs
Rachel Dedertck, of Cairo, Greene county, n
Y, was c. ossing field of blackberry brust
J when she was stopped by queer sound. Hel
scqusintsnce with snakes soon satisfied her Ina
The noise was q whistle of black snake known
ss the rscar, and she started on run. In.
sneke soon overlook her. and Immediately be
psn coiing itself about her body. With only
| smelI tin pail as q weaDon Of defence, she tough
: desperately, but at disadvantage and the COLL
| were drawn tighter until the snake got on'
| around her neck and throat, and she fain'ed
| Her husband, having heard her tsreams, huerlec
| tn her relief and found her unconscious ON tnt
I.ground He killed the snake and carried hl
gife home, but she carried for days blue mari
| fbrost. Tho snake was larR