The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-08-24
MYSTERIOUS MURDERS.
The workings of Circumstantial
Evidence.

conviction of innocent parties by cir
eumstantial evidence. As late as the
wear 1927 no fewer than six persons
were convicted of capital crimes IN the
Old Bailey, upon circumstantial evil
dence, who were afterward proved to be
innocent, and were saved from the gal
lows by the energy of the Sheriff, who
was satisfied of their innocence, and
succeeded in proving 1t. Such conYic-
tions in cases of capital crimes are not
now so likely to occur.
Under the German system convictions
of innocent persons could not easily be
accomplished.
There is a strange fascination in cases
of ciTcumstantial evidence, the singu-
Iarity of events weaving themselves to-
gether, to form links of evidence against
the suspected person until his cOnY1c-
tiOn is arrived at, is usually more subtle
and original than anything the brain Of
the rOmancer can devise.
Whether greater care is exercised now
in the conduct of trial of person
charged with murder, circumstantial
evidence being regarded with more sus-
picion and doubt than formerly, or
whether there is really less cireumstan-
tial evidence adduced, certain 1t Is that
very few cases of the kind occur nova
days in which a man is condemned on
evidence which points to, but does not
ONE OF THE STRONGEST CASES.
Many cases of circumstantial evil
dence occurred in the seventeenth CEN
tury. One Thomas Harris kept an inn
in 1641 about eighteen miles from YORK,
England, on the road to Newcastle be
had a man and maid servant. The
man, whose name was Morgan, he kept
in the three-fOld capacity OF waiter,
hOstler, and gardener.
One night blacksmith named James
Gray, travelling on foot to Edinburgh,
stopped at Harris's, "surped and lay
there" The next morning, very early,
Morgan set off, and went secretly to a
neighbOring Magistrate, and gave lnfOr-
nation that his master (HaTTis) had just
then murdered James Gray, the traveller.
A warrant was issued, and Harris was
appTehended. He positively denied the
charge, and Morgan as positively af-
firmed it, depOsing that he saw Harris
on the strangers bed strangling him;
that Harris's excuse was that deceased
was in a fit, and he was only assisting
him. Morgan further swOre that he in
stantly retired, and made feint as if
going down stairs, but, creeping up
stealthily to an adjoining room, he there,
through a keyhOle, saw Harris rihing
the pockets of the dead man.
Harris denied every part Of the story,
from beginning to end, and the body be-
ing examined, and no marks of violence
appearing upon it, Harris was about TO
be discharged, when the
MAID SERVANT DESIRED TO BE SWORN.
She deposed that almost directly after
her master came down in the morning
from the travellers room, as she sup
posed, she saw him go into the garden,
she being, unknown to him, in wash
house in the rear overlooking 1t. He
took some gold out of his pocket, wrap
ped it in something, and buried it in
corner of the garden. Harris turned
pale at this accusation, and would give
no direct answer as to the alleged bury
ing of the money. An officer was sent
with the girl, and cash to the amount
of thirty pounds was found In the spot
pointed out by her. Harris then, with
much hesitation, acknowledged the
hiding of the money, but answered ques-
tions concerning it with such unwlll-
ingness and want of candOr that all
doubts of his guilt were removed, and
the Magistrate committed him for trial.
He was brought to the bar at the YORK
summer assiZes in 1912. Morgan teSt1-
fed the same as when before the JUS
tice. The officer and maid servant de-
posed to the circumstance of the un-
earthing of the money, and the MagiS-
trate gave testimony to the confusion
and hesitation of Harris on the discovery
of and the questioning about the hiding
of the gold.
Harris, in his defense, asserted that
the whole of MOrgan's evidence was
false. He persisted in the declaration
that the money which he buried was
his own property, honestly come by, and
buried for security; that his confusion
before the Magistrate arose from the
shame of acknowledging his natural
cOVetOusness, and not from the conscious
ness of guilt. The Judge summed up
the evidence, commenting strongly on
the circumstance of the hiding of the
money and the weakness of the prison
er's reason for so hiding it. The jury,
after consulting exactly two minutes,
brought in their VeTdict-guilty.
Harris was executed pursuant to his
sentence, peTseveTing in his declarations
of innocence, but warning all persons
to guard against an ayarlclOus DISPOSE
tiOn, for it was that sOTdidness OF tenn
per which, he said, had led him into
general distrustfulness, and so into the
expedient of burying his money, which
circumstance alone had furnished the
means to his enemies-why they were
so he said he knew not, but fOTgaVe
them-Of bringing him to an ignOmin-
iOus death.
AFTER HIS EXECUTION
Morgan and the servant maid, who had
been sweethearts at the inn, went to
live together, but in the beginning of
the year 1643 they got to quarreling,
and between their mutual charges the
truth about Harris came out. He was
entirely innocent. 1t seems that the
girl had by chance seen him burying
something in the garden, and privately
acquainted Morgan with the fact. He,
being gardener, had an opportunity of
digging for it without being suspected
by Harris. The something" proved to
be five guineas. Morgan left them un-
disturbed, telling the girl about it. Be-
tween them they concluded not then to
touch the money, because they thought
Harris would be sure to add to it. When
it had amounted to a good sum they
agreed to plunder the hiding place to-
gether, marry, and with the spOils set
up in some sort of business.
All happened as they expected. They
watched Harris, and saw him add con-
tinually to his little store, but they left
it until it should amount to large sum.
Matters were at this pass when one day
Morgan and Harris got into quarrel,
and the latter struck the former several
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