National Republican., 1883-04-05
THE RAZOR TRAGEDY.
The Prisoners Mother and Sister Describe His
Horrible Crime.
The Defense Begin with Evidence Show
ing His Generally PcaceabIo Character.

case. The remaining juror was secured in
the person of Mr. M. ]. Adlor, who, although
ho said he had formed an opinion which
would require evidence to remove, was adj
judged competent by Judge Hagner and ac-
cepted by the government, the defense having
exhausted their challenges. An exception
was noted by Mr.. Miller
The jury is composed ofHenry NJ Dellinger,
James NJ. Foster, George il. Boston, +. J.
Heiberger, jr., Andrew Goddard, Charles
Ruof John Riddle, W. b. S. Clymer, Harry
G. Noyos, John X. Connell, Joseph IL. Semmes,
and NJ. j. Adler. Messrs. Fostor, Boston, and
Semmes are colored
Mr.. Moore opened the case for the govern
ment shortly after IL o'clock. He said the
government proposed TO show that the married
life of the couple had not been smooth, and
that after repeated quarrels his wife, on the
morning of Oct. IL, had threatened TO leave
him. He had gone of to his work, and then
returned, and finding his wife packing up her
things had become infuriated and brutally
murdered her.
The first witness called was Mrs. Anna
Minor, the mother of tho prisoner. She is u
bright mulatto of very respectable appear
ance and was dressed in deep mourning.
She gave her testimony in straightforward,
earnest manner, and betrayed no emotion.
The witness said she did not see Frank on
the morning of the murder until after he re-
She was outside on the pavement talking
with next-door neighbor when she heard
Victoria scream. Had not heard any sounds
of q quarrel before that. Witness ran up
stairs and found her son cutting his wfe's
throat. Witness begged him to stop, but he
did not pay any attention to her The razor
was here shown and identified by Mrs.
Minor When witness went in Victoria
was lying on the floor with her
head toward tho door and Frank had
hold of her by the side of the neck. Witness
believed she said Oh, Frank. don't kill her."
but she was so weak and frightened she did
not know exactly what she did say. Emma
Minor, her daughter, came up and he kept on
cutting Victoria. Witness went down stairs
and about three or four minutes afterward
Frank came down. Witness said to him
"Well, Frank Minor, you have done for your
self now" He said, "Yes, she's dead" Frank
and his wife had been quarrelling off and on
for eight or nine months. Sometimes she
would call him names and aggravate him SO
that he would smack her.
Cross-examined by Mr.. Miller: Frank was
always dutiful husband He was too loving
toward his wife. Eight or nino months ago
Frank began accusing Victoria of being too
intimate with young man named Adolphus
johnson, for whom Victoria washed, and who
used to come to the house and lay down.
Witness had told Victoria that she ought to
tell him not to como TO the house. Frank
told her continually that he did not want
johnson to visit the house. The quarrel
between Frank and his wifc had gone on
for eight or nine months. He would
como homo from work and be pleasant
to his wife, and she would quarrel with
him. Sometimes ho would sit down and cry
and sometimes he would go out. Had heard
Victoria threaten to leave Frank, and had
also heard her say to Frank that Adolphus
was his master. She wouldn't go out with
him, nor to church with him.
After Mrs Minor had left the stand, Judge
Hagncr called up George j. Mueller, who had
been summoned as n talesman and neglected
to respond, and fined him So for contempt of
court. recess was then taken. After re-
cess Emma Minor, sister of the accused, took
the stand. She testified that on the morning
OF the homicide witness was returning from
hydrant, about square and a half away
from the house, when she saw her mother run
out on the pavement. Heard no noise. Went
over to the house, and upstairs into the
room occupied by Minor and his wife.
Here she found Victoria lying on the
floor, and Frank cutting her throat.
Only saw him make one cut. 1t
was made on her neck. When Minor came
down stairs he said TO witness to keep away
from him or he would do her the same way.
At this time he was walking up and down the
street before the house. When Minor came
down stairs he was in his shirt sleeves. wit
pants which Minor wore on the morning of
the homicide).
DIR. j. f. Hartigan testified to going to 1893
+ street southwest on the 1lth of October
and making an examination of the murdered
woman. Death occurred from shock and
hemorrhage. The wounds upon the body
were innumorable and the mutilation was
frightful.
Cross-eXamined by Mr.. Miller: Any one of
the wounds on the neck would have probably
caused death. The wounds on tho face and
side of the head were from two to five inches
long. There were several gashes on the fore
head, and tho nose was cut through from the
base to the point The cuts ON the throat ran
into one another, and formed u chasm under
the chin, tho head falling back, and only being
held to the body by q little skin and flesh at
the back of the head. Three fingers ON tho
right hand We're cut. Witness had seen and
examined persons before who had been killed
by arazor. Had never before seen such an
e1ectual case of killing by such means. The
wounds on the fingers might have been caused
by the woman attempting to ward off one of
the blows.
Henry l.. Gossford keeper of the first pro-
cinct station, testified that Minor had adj
mittcd killing his wife and expected TO pay
the penalty, and Police Sergeant Pierce testi-
fled to similar admissions.
Mr. Wright opened the case for the defense
He said the charge of murder was the killing
of one person by another with malice i'm
piled or otherwise. The defendant has al
ways led q conscientious, honorable, and up
right life. He won tho respect of tho COM
munity in which he lived He was always
industrious. We claim that the prisoner is
not guilty of the crime because he was men
tally irresponsible. Mr.. Wright said that
they proposed to prove that when Minor was
IL years of age he was struck on the temple
by policomau's billy, and that ever after
NNur hn t4tnu afN aV,I 1s,,
He never associated with other men, and
never went out of the house at night save to
school. He had known his wife from her
youngest days, and he loved her with pas
sionato teryOr. After they were married tho
wife violated all the proprieties which du-
table wife should hold as sacred. She caused
him TO become the sc0m of the neighbOrhood
About four months before the fatal day he al
lowed his wife TO do Johnsons Washing
johnson made this an excuse to come to the
house, where Minor frequently found him un-
der suspicious circumstances Minor forbade
him to come to his house. He complied, but
his wlfe continued to meet Johnson. The
defendant grew moroso and his mental con-
ditiOn became so delicate that IL was liable to
break at any moment, Then his wife left him,
and fearing that Minors reason would en-
tirely leave him his mother and some friends
went TO his wife and persuaded her TO return.
She calno back sullen and surley. Then they
quarreled more and more about johnson, and
she called her husband low niger dog and
said johnson was his master. Mr. Wright
said the defense would prove that Minors en-
tire COnduct had phaugn1 an1 that ha b,J