The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-05-24
WEBS OF CIRCUMSTANCE.

WEBS OF CIRCUMSTANCE
Curious Cases in which Circumstantial
Evidence Has Played an Important
Part.
To show that ''truth is stranger than
fiction" the following incident is given,
AMI claimed by u legal writer on the
subject to be fully authenticated 1t
DC urred in an English coast town, in
the latter part of the seventeenth CEN
fury. Two brothers were lod ging at
an inn in the town. They had come
into possession of some property, con
corning the dispos .tion or division of
wh CHI they co Id not agree, and had
frequent quarrels. One nieht they had
peen DIR hiking hard, and had become
so quarrelsome that friends were
obliged to interfere to prevent fight.
At last they were Quilted, and retired
without further disturbance. They slept
in double-bedstead room. In the first
gray dawn of the morning che of the
brothers was awakened by violent at
tack of Bleeding at the nose. Al Using
and pant ally dressing himself, he
walked out to the seashore. Here he
was so unfortunate as to surprise q
band of smugglers in the act of
secreting hoat-load OF brandy
casks, who made him their prisoner.
Not wanting to. kill him, and not
daring to let him go back to the
town, lest he might betray them
TO the excise officers, they carried him
off to their ship, without the harbor,
and took him off with them to the Bar
BADGES. Meanwhile, the other brother
had been aroused by the no ror-stricken
inmates of the tavern who found him
asleep, his brothers. bed being empty
and the pillow drenched with blood.
The trail of blOod-spots was followed to
TIC sea Shore and the conclusion was
inevitable that tie one brother had
murdered the other during the night,
and had dragged the dead body out
and thrown it into the sea. The sup
posed murderer was tried, condemned,
and hanged on the strength OF the testi-
mony of facts against him. Happily
for him he had most elevated and low
ing sweetheart, who had not only made
every effort to secure his release, and to
console him when his death had be-
come certain, but had hired servant
to cut down his hfeless body as soon as
possible, and bring it to her that she
their astonishment to find when about
TO place this poor victim of circum-
stances in his coffin that he was not
quite dead Medical aid was sum-
moned, the man revived. Then, as
there was great danger that the law
would seize upon him again if the fact
of his resuscition were known, he was
hastily welded to his devoted lady love.
and the pair took passage that night Tor
the West Indies. Landing at the Bar
BADGES the first person the man met
was his brother for whose murder he
had so recently been tried and convict
ed by the law.
In this case the law overlooked one
important principle, strenuously insisted
upon by later authorities, which was to
secure proof that a murder had been
committed Sir Matthew Hale declared
that he would never convict any person
of murder or man slaughter, unless the
body of the murdered one had been
found. This necessary evidence of the
actual commiss on of the crime was
wanting in the conviction and cxecu-
ton, in 1860, at Campden, Eng, of j ohm
and Richard Perry, and their mo, her,
Joan Perry, for the supposed murder of
William Hanson, who, two years later.
reappeared in the village, alive and
well. In this case justice was doubly
confused by the fact that John Perry,
through s1me strange M tive OF hatred,
sNore that his mother and brother had
committed the murder, and that he had
simply been a ,cessory to the act. AS
he told while in prison other undoubt-
eddy false stories, it was charitably
Judged later that the man was mad
But tn Judgment was not arrived at
soon enough to save him or his unfnr-
tunate relatives from the gallows.
Another instance wherein the full
penalty of the law was exacted for a
chine that had never occurred was de-
tailed, we are tod, by : il N athew Hale
as having come within his personal
knowledge. A gentleman of somewhat
hasty temper had niece placed under
his guardianship, who proved a most
willful and intra table charge. At one
time, being inoensed against her for
some act of waywardness, he punished
her, and she was heard TO cry loudly,
Don't kill me, uncle, don't kill me y
A few hours lateL the child had disap-
peared, and suspicion of murder was
turned against the uncle, who was her
heir at law to considerable property.
The excitement increasing he went in
search of the child, but not finding her
where he had expected, he was induced
by his fear TO bring another child of
milar complexion and appearance,
and pass her Of as the missing girl.
] he deception proved fatal one. The
gentleman was arrested, tried, con-
victed. and hanged. 81, years later.
when OF age, the peiee reappeared. hav,