The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1881-09-20
A NOVEL MURDER TRIAL.

Wednesday night, charged with the
murder of one George Martin, the day
before, at Mr.. Hester's, In the western
portion Of this county. She had pre-
liminary hearing before Esquire w. N.
Warren, Thursday, at Hendenson's
store, some three and half miles west
of Cotton Town, and the magistrate,
after hearing the proof bound her over
under bond to appear and answer the
charge at the next term of the circuit
court. So far as we can get the facts the
case is singular in its features, and will
attract great deal of attention.
The lady accused of murdei Is the
daughter of d. b. Hunnicutt, justice
of the peace, well-known in the county.
She is said to be about % years old, very
intelligent, and rather handsome
About twelve months since she mar
ried Taylor Hester, the son of very
reputable family in the western portion
of the county, and at the time of the
killing she and her husband were living
at his fathers, and had been for some
months. George Martin was also living
at old man Hester's, and had been for
two or three months. We are also in
formed that the accused, just before her
marriage to her husband, instituted suit
in our circuit court for breach of mar
riage contract against him, and had all
his property attached. He married her
shortly afterward, and the suit was dis
missed
We are also Informed that Tuesday
last, the day before the alleged killing,
the husband of the accused came to Gal
latin, in company with George Martin,
and filed bill for divorce against her,
charging her with intimacy with Mar
tin, 1t is further said that her hus-
band had been threatening to leave
her and get divorce for some weeks,
charging her with intimacy with Mar
tim which she strenuously denied, and
called upon him to believe her and
protect her from the ISLANDERS of Martin
1t scenes however, that he saw proper
to believe the charges of Martin. Her
husband and Martin returned from Gal
latin on Tuesday, when she was inform
ed of the filing of the bill against her,
and the nature of its allegations against
her, and that she must prepare to leave
next morning
Wednesday morning her clothes were
bundled up by her and horse was
caught for her, to enable to go to her
fathers. Just before this her husband
and Martin had started for the woods,
some three hundred yards from the
house, to cut wood. The accused follow
ed them, so we hear, and caught up
with them at pair of bars, some two
hundred yards from the house. Martin
asked her If she wanted to see him, and
she said no, she wanted to talk to her
husband, and that he could go along to
his work. He did so, and she and her
husband talked some twenty minutes at
the bars, and then both, walked on to
where Martin was chopping. Her hus-
band and Martin both went to cutting
off logs on the same tree, about ten feet
apart.
While they were thus cutting Mrs.
Hester, the accused, was standing on the
log between them. Her husband SAYS
he heard the noise like pistol fire and
looked around and saw his wife bring
her right hand up and something was
in it like pistol. Martin jumped from
the log, ran about forty yards, fell and
died in few minutes, the shot it seems,
having hit him in the side about on
range with his heart Mrs. Hester left
at the same time and walked to her
fathers some three miles, where she
was arrested on Wednesday night on
warrant issued charging her with the
murder of Martin.
Her friends say that her husband and
Martin, the latter acting under the in.
stigation of the former, had formed
conspiracy to destroy her character, in
order to enable him to secure q divorce;
that he and Martin had dogged her steps,
and that they had concocted these SLAM
ders against her, and that when her
husband refused to protect her from the
falsehoods of Martin, and Joined with
him to support them, and turned her
out of doors, she become desperate and
resolved to avenge herself, if the tale of
her husband be true, which is denied.--
With respect to this her friends claim
that the shooting was done by her hus-
band, and that the killing was accident
al in this that while her husband did
the shooting he did not intend to kill or
hit Martin, but simply to shoot at him