Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-01
A Murderess Pleads Guilty.
From the Philadelphia Times.

A Murderess Peads Guilty.
From the Philadelphia Times.
Cstharine Burneson, the school
teacher, who shot to death Maggie
Curlett, q school girl Of IL, on Jan.
81, pleaded guilty In Judge Allison's
court yesterday to q charge Of murder.
The woman, tall and slender, was
dressed simply In black. Her face
was covered with q heavy brown veil.
She was almost constantly In tears,
aud at times gave way TO %oonvulslve
sobs. The shooting took place In
front Of Miss Burneson's house. The
woman had been annoyed by children
In the neighborhood for two months or
more, and on Jan. 81, after having
been called to the window Of her house
by q noise and insulting remarks, she
displayed q pistol to q group OF her
tormentors, and then fired upon little
Maggie Curlett, who remained stand
ing after the others ran away, The
victim had taken no part In the annoy.
anoe Of Miss Burneson, and had upon
that day merely Joined the others In
jumping arope.
Testimony was heard to enable the
court to fix the decree of
crime. Maggie Moore testified that
shortly before the shooting she, with
Fannie Cunningham, Eddie Hawkins
and other little companions, were
passing by Miss Burneson's residence
ON the opposite side of the street when
they saw Louisa Hawkins and Lizzie
Mcintyre, children whom they knew,
on the other side with a jumping rope,
They went ovef and Joined them.
They moved upon Hawkins pavement
which sdjoined that of Mrs. Burne.
sons house. Maggie Curlett came
around the corner with o bucket of
ashes, which she set down and Joined
the others In play.
Miss Burneson was at her window.
Eddie Hawkins, who was 4 or 5 years
old, called out at her, "Oh, you
stsrer," and called her a devil. Miss
Burneson left the window and In a
short time returned with a pistol. She
threw up the sash and displayed the
weapon. Then she pointed 1t and
fred. All the children except Maggie
ran away. Maggie was shot over the
right eye and fell. The witness,
whose testimony wss not always clear,
testified that before the shooting Miss
Burneson had called Louisa Hawkinsa
beast and that Louisa had replied,
II am no more of q beast than
you are.' She had not heard Louisa
say anything before that. She said,
however, that Fannie Cunningham,
before the shooting, had called In at
the keyhole of Miss Burneson's house.
A day or two before the shooting a
little girl had closed In the shutters of
Miss Burneson's window, pulled down
the curtain and threw down some fan.
cy work. For perhaps two months,
she said, the children had annoyed the
defendant. They had called her
false face" and sold black devil"
made faces at her, threw ashes and
dirt upon her steps and bricks into the
vestibule of her kouse. The children
thought that all this was fun. Mag.
gle, however, had taken no part in the
matter and seldom went into the
street. Maggie Curlett's father testi.
fed that his child never spoke after
she had been shot. District Attorney
Graham said that the rest of the test.
mony which the Commonwealth had
to otter would be cumulative. The
court did not think it necessary to pro.
duce 1t.
Richard Burneson, an uncle of the
defendant, testified that Miss Burne-
son had lived with him for thirteen
years and had always been of an even
and gentle temperament until recently,
when she became afflicted with an In
trinity that caused her great pain.
The pistol which had teen used he
purchased, he said, In 1867 In Illinois.
He usually kept 1t In a book case. He
had carried 1t out one night before
the occurrence, he said, when he
knew that he would be out late. Upon
his return home he thoughtlessly laid
the pistol upon the center table In the
parlor. He saw nothing more of 1t
until after the shooting. He did not
know when he had last loaded 1t.
The pistol was not q sell. cooking one.
DR.. Eure, the defendants phylician,
testified that . physical infrmity had
somewhat affected Miss Burneson's
disposition and caused her at times to
act In q strange manner. A large num-
Der Of Witnesses, chiefly neighbors,
testified that the defendant had always
been Of q mild and peaceful disposi-
tion, and many of them insisted on
telling the court Of the annoyances
which they had suffered from unruly
children. District Attorney Graham
asked the court to enser judgment In
the second degree. A. s. L. Shields,
who represented the defendant, did
not think that the circumstances
would justify q higher verdict than
manslaughter. The court took the
matter under confederation. Miss
Burneson was sent to prison.