Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-07-03
UNPARALLELED CASE.
THE MURDER OF MISS MADISON MORE
THAN AN ORDINARY CRIME.
Young Ciuvcrius, Condemned to Death for
the Crime, as Inpassive as If lie
were in No Way Affected
by the Sentence.

RICHMOND, June 27.--Nothing has been
moro rena kabe in ali the remarkable tie
volopnents IN the trial of Thomas Cluverius
for the mulder Of his cousin than the impas-
sive conduct of the accused throughout. This
was from the beginning seemingly
incxpi canle--how this baariless youth,
hardly out of his teens, well born
and reared, Of good conduct. always in the
past, protesting Christian, could have de-
lberateiy murdered Girl who had been his
playmate from infancy, and without any
apparently adequate motive. There seems
no doubt that nc took her out to the reser-
voir wi tho settled purpose of beating her
TO death. The circumstances of the murder
show it to have been brutal beyond parallel
-parallelel perhaps only in fiction. Indeed,
the murder of Nancy by Bill Skies
has redeeming features beside this
for thai bloody act YVES followed by
instant remurse and the scourgng fear of
consequences. But Cluveiius has NAM
tanned calm self possession from the mo-
ment of hi arrest that has never deserted
him for an instant. When sentenced to
death with the sol mn words, land may
God in his infinite goodness have mercy on
your soul" h sat down composedly and with
almost a smile on nj; lips.
He put his firm III nd within the arm of
the attending officer, and walked down to
his cell with as little apparent nervousness
rs though he were going to his dinner at the
home of his good old aunt in King and Queen
county. She has stood by him Loyalty, dis
believing even now that her adopted son
/ could have been guilty of the murder of her
adopted daughter and his almost foster SIS
ter. She would have willed to the two most
| of her fortune One is dead, and she has
| spent large part of 1t in saving the other
| from an even more horrible death.
Since the verdict that rendered by
the jury after less than half an hours de-
Liberation his counsel have given prac-
ticaly all their time to efforts for new
trial. 1t will he remembered that Cluverius
insisted that he had not seen the girl since
September last, when she went up into
Bath county to accept pos ton as gov
ernesS. But the state proved beyond the
shadow of a doubt that he was not only
wi h her here in Richmond all through the
last day Cf her life, Lut had been with her
here on Jan. last. Ii was this proven
lie that unque,tio1ably counted most
against Linn win the jury. So, since the
verdict, his counsel nave cndeavOred to
prove an abb A witness was found who
was to swear that he had seen C.uverius
clone at place of entertainment here in
less but still living .odY was thrown into
the reservoir. This effort fell through. the
state, it is understood, Icing prepared to
prove that this witness was not himself in
Ric mold that nj ht This attempt to
prove an alibi was entirely aband ouel n the
Hastings court, but counsel submitted an
other motion to set aside the death sentence
AMI grant nav trial on the ground of new
ly-discovered evidence.
The motion was based upon the affidavit
of DR.. James b. Gallicl, the principal Of
Bruing on academy, which institution Lii
Ian Madison attended Tor several sessions,
in which he states he mas positive conviction
that the superscrlption ON the envelope con-
tanning the torn note found at the American
lo5c, end which connects the deceased with
the prisoner, is not in the handwriting OF
l. lian Madison. This torn note and en-.
velope was one of the many striking
dramatic incidents 81 tho case. Some one
it will be remembered, sent to Lii IAN
Madison, under her assumed name
of Merton "a name Cluverius had
on several occasions assun.ed-a note
! by a little negro messenger who, s,ngtl.
larly enough, considering the W, uf,!LCity
Of the trial, has never since been identified
She answers it at once and gave her reply
to another messenger. lie came back in a lit
tie vile, reporting to theclerk of the hote
that he cCu not find the gentleman tC
whom it WIS addressed The clerk put TIA,
note aside without noticing the superscrip
ton Lillian Ma lison went out that mig
with young man since almost copclu,ively
identified TO have been Cluverius
end in less than two hours aiterwarC
was gasping in her death strug
giles beneath the waters of RichmOn.
reservoir, three miles away. The idnntiii
= cation Of the dead body us either that o
: Miss Merton" or of Lillian Ma iison wa
not established for couple of days. Mean
while the clerk had torn up the note anC
envelope and had thrown the fragments in
a wastebasket. When the Identification
9 was made complete the clerk bethough
| him Of the note, looked in the vast
, basket, fortunately not yet emptied pickle,
/ out the fragments and pieceI them to
5 gether. The envelope was addressed to I
j. Cluverius. The note read: II will b
there soon as possible Please do wait TO
me-" If this note was in the girls hand
r writing, of which until to-day the def Ms
q has made no question, it of course established
n even without the testimony of witnesses
= that she was in communication with Ciuve
,s rius ON the day of her death, and belied hi
A plea that she had not been.
No After brief argument on this point b.
# counsel on both sides, Judge Atkins over
a ruled the motion for u new trial and tn
= counsel for the defense excepted to the rul
# ing. They will now turn their attention t
II securing hearing before the supreme cour
"a of appeal of the state to have the verdict Sc
~ aside and new trial ordered.
a The placid and smiling demeanor of tn
"a convicted young man does not change
;, whit as one by one his chances of escap
!. come to naught
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