St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-06-07
ARIGHTEOUs VERDICT.


In the trial of the young Virginia lawyer,
THOMAS j. CLUvERIUs, who stood charged
with the murder of his cousin, Miss FAN
ME LILLIAN MADISON, the jury rendered
a verdict of murder in the first degree. The
evidence against the accused was entirely
circumstantial, yet the prosecution wOve
such a Skillful network of it as to leave no
doubt on the minds of the jurymen that he
was guilty. The prominence of the parties
in social life, as well as the horrible details
of the crime, excited deep interest in the
case throughout the whole country. The
murdered woman, who was % years of age,
was descendant of eX-President JAMES
MADISON. The convicted murderer, who
is young lawyer "a years of age, is related
by blood to the family of eX-President
JOHN TYLER. The evidence went to show
that the young lady had been seduced by
CLUvERIUs and within a few weeks from
the time of her death would have been a
mother. The last seen of her was in COM
pany with CLUvERIUS, who called for her
about 9 o'clock at night at hotel in Rich
mond, where she was registered under an as
sumed name. Together they took street car
leading out in the direction of Hollywood
cemetery, near which was an old reservoir
At the end of the line they left the car to-
gether and were seen by the driver going in
the direction of the reservoir. The next
morning Miss MADIsoN's body was dis
who were draining off the water. There
was the mark of blow on the forehead,
which medical experts pronounced sufficient
to render her insensible but the Indications
were that she was alive when thrown into
the water, as water in small quantities was
found in the lungs and stomach. On the
bank of the reservoir near the point where she
was found were footprints made by man
and woman and evidences of struggle. An
old-fashioned gold watch key, picked up at
this spot by a boy playing on the bank of
the reservoir an hour or two previous to the
finding Of the body of the young woman, was
identified as the property of CLUvERIUs,
and this key was used by the common
wealth as one of the strongest links in the
chain of circumstantial evidence connect
ing the accused with the murder.
Through the kindness of wealthy aunt,
by whom they had been adopted, both
CLUvERIUs and Miss MADISON had been
literally educated. Their associations were
good and their moral and religious training
supposed to have been perfect. Both of
them were members of the Baptist church
and he was an officer in the Sunday school.
And yet the annals of crime scarcely con-
tain more diabOlical act and one perpe-
trated with more deliberate and hellish
purpose than the ruin and subsequent MUIR
der of this poor girl by this man. 1t was
observed that during the entire progress of
the trial, which lasted for nearly month,
never did the young man at any time betray
the least emotion. Not even when, during
the pathetic recital of scenes connected
with the unfortunate girls history, death
and funeral, the entire audience in the
court room, including judge and jury, were
bathed in tears, was his eye seen to moisten
OF his face change color.
The verdict of the jury meets with uni
versal appreciation. "The wages Of sin is
DEATH" and there is no blacl1er sin than the
ruin of innocence. The seducer who robs
maidenhood of its virtue and furnishes the
luster of female honor is a criminal monster
whose sin is thousand-fold blacker than
murder, and deserves the scaffold.