The Indianapolis leader. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1879-1890, 1882-01-21
AsOUr"A CELEBRATED CASE"

markable of Murder Trials.
Madam Elise Denise Marguerite Merner
Altroy, a widow. died at Melun, in France,
two or three weeks ago at the advanced age
of ninety-six. She was of humble circum-
stances, and it might in one sense be said of
her. as of the cottager in the poem, that she
was "never heard of half mile from home"
vet many thousands of the readers of the
World are familiar with her. She was the
daughter of the Merciers who kept tavern
at Lieurs amt in 1896, and the last surviving
witness in the famous case of Lesurques and
1.-THE Lyons MAIL" which was dramatized
in 1850 under the title of the "Courier de
Lyons" and adapted" for the benefit Of
Anglo Saxon play-goers as "a Celebrated
Case"
Early on the morning of April %, 1896,
the peasants OF Melun found abandoned the
mail-coach running from Paris to Lyons,
the package and mails having been cut open
and rifed, the waybill, which lay near by,
showing that they had contained some hum
dreds of letters, 1000 frances in cash and
assignates of the nominal value of several
millions. Near it was found the corpse of
Etienne Audsbert, the position, one hand
hewn OIL, the skull split open, three deep
wounds in his chest, and the whole body
we'll neigh hacked to pieces. Further on
lay that of the courier, Excoffon, with the
throat cut and pierced by several CHASTITY
wounds. On the bloody ground were also
found a gray overcoat, with a deep blue
border, a broken sword and its scabbard,
with one side of the blade, "Honor guide
me-" and ON the other, 'For my country 8
veal" and a silver spur, the link of which
had been mendcd with piece of string.
The Merciers remembered that four men
| had dined at their tavern the day before;
| the woman described their dress and looks,
dwelling especially on those of a tall and
| handsome blonde gentleman, whom she par
| ticularly remembered because he had
mended his spur with a piece of string.
| The woman who has just died, then girl
| Of eleven, was in the tavern and gave him
the cord, and her unwavering Identification
prov ed of the first Importance at the trial
| There had been but one passenger in the
COACH who had paid for his seat in assignats
2,7S7 livers, and had no baggage, but car.
| ried a saber He had dined with Excoffon
from whom he had learned that, besides the
money, the coach carried valuable stock OF
| iewelry and other wares. This traveller had
disappeared, as had one of the horses of the
coach, and some people along the road had
seen four horsemen riding toward Melun in
the evening, while others had met them re-
turning in the morning, accompanied by
a fifth. Subsequently the riderless coach
horse was found straying in the streets OF
Paris, while four other animals, covered
with foam, were left at stable at p. m. by
one Etienne Courriol, and taken away at
by Courriol and one David Bernard, the
latter of whom was thought to be the trav-
eler by the Lyons mail.
There was then living in Paris, 10 which
he had removed in 1889, we'll. TODD native
of Douai by name Joseph Lesurques, who
was married and had two children. He
was especially hospitable to folks from
Douai, and when one Guesno went up to
Paris to pay him debt of 1000 francs
Lesurques invited him to dinner. Guesno
accepted the invitation and went, accom-
panied by one Richard. 1t was with Rich
ard that the police found Courriol lodging
in company with woman named MADE.
leine Breban, and having in mis- possession one
fifth of the booty OF the Lyons mails
Guesno was arrested but discharged, though
the police kept him under surveillance, and
was on his way to the prefecture of police
to obtain his papers when he met Lesurque:
who he insisted should accompany him
They entered the room just as the magis-
trate, Daubenton, was examining the wit
nesses in the case of the Lyons mail. I'm
mediately two OF the peasant women
hurried to the Judge and whispered
that Guesno and Lesurques were two of the
party that had dined at the tavern, persist
ing in their Identification, especially OF
Lesurques, Notwithstanding strenuous de.
mails by the men accused. Lesurques
proved an slibi by three witnesses, one Of
| nd hatv ;axu alarx h..
he had left an order for jewellery, which
Legrand had noted in his book, but when
the volume was produced the date was
found changed from the 9th of Floreal-
April 20 in the Gregorian calender-!o the
| 8tn. For this Legrand accounted by say
| ing that when he was summoned as a wit
ness he found that he had made an error in
the entry, and changed the book to make it
correspond with the truth. As he was a
friend to Lesurques. this. naturally, told
against the accused, as did Lesurques'
slight acquaintance through Guesno with
Richard, at whose house the robbers had
lodged. At the trial, when the Jury had re.
tired, Madeleine Breban declared, "Of the
five persons accused only one-my lover,
Courriol-is guilty, and for his crime tour
innocent men are placed in peril. Guesno
has been mistaken for one of the real MUIR
derers, Vidal whom he resembles, and
| Lesurques for another, one Dubosc, whom
he is strikingly like, especially as Dubosc
at the time of the murder wore a faxen
wig" The Court, however, refused to re-
| ceive her statement at that stage of the case
Guesno was acquitted, having proven an
abb beyond all question; Richard was
sentenced to twenty-ft ur years at hard
| labor for receiving stolen goods, and Ber-
nard, Courriol and Lesurques were sent to the
| guillotine on the 30th of October, the con-
| siderable fortune of the last-nspled being
confscated. He died calmly, protesting
his innocence, which he declared time would
reveal. His mother went mad and died a
maniac; his friend Legrand died in mad
house, and his widows reason was only re-
stored after seven years, when she and her
children lived in abject poverty. Before
Courriol's execution. he confessed that the
real assassins were Dubosc, Vidal, Roussy
and Duroehst, the last having taken pass
age in the coach under the name of Laborde.
The others followed on horses he had hired
from Bernarn, who was innocent of any
connection with the plot. The spur and
one saber, he declared, belonged to Dubosc,
and he swore solemnly that he had never
seen Lesurques until he was placed on
trial.
The case, 1t need not be said, made q
great sensation. and it was even murmured
that the Government had let Lesurques be
convicted to lay hands on his fortune. Only
four months later Joseph Durochat ola
borde'' was arrested for petty thsft and was
identified as the passenger of the Lyons mail
by girl from whom he had snatched kiss