The Irish standard., 1889-09-07
THE UkONIN MURDER.

THE UkONIN MURDER.
The Trial of the Five Suspects Has at
Last Begun.
The trial at the Cronin suspects began
August 26 and at 10 0 'clock each prisoner
accompanied by a baliff entered the
court. Burke was the first to appear.
Then came Woodruff, Coughlin, Beggs,
O'Suilivan and Kunze, IN the order
named. Woodruff looked pale and sick
ly, his long confinement having bleached
his face unpleasantly. Big Dan Cough
lin, was pale, too, but he was far mer-
rier than the confessor. He never looked
at Burke, but chatted almost constantly
with Beggs, who sat at his left. The
two men laughed and nodded to ac-
quaintanoes in the crowd. Beggs is the
best looking man among the prisoners.
O'Su]livan appeared i'll at ease. He.
scarcely spoke word during the time
the court was in session. His eyes were
almost constantly riveted on his law
yers. Little John Kunze, who, it is
claimed, drove Coughlin to the slaugh-
ter-house on Ashland avenue before the
murder was committed, looked like one
of the Anarchists during the last days
of the famous trial of 1886.
Judge Mcconnell took his seat shortly
after 10 O'Clock. AS soon as court was
formally opened, Attorney Donahoe
slowly arose and hogan an earnest plea
in behalf of Kunze, who, he said, had
been denied list of the witnesses who
testified against the prisoners before the
Grand Jury. Kunze, Mr.. Donahue de-
clared, was fighting for his life IN the
dark. He had never spoken to the rest
of the prisoners. He had been snapped
up by the State pficers, indicted on tes-
| timony which he now knows nothing
about, and practically abandoned to
fight his own battle for life. MIR. Dona-
hoe grew dramatic as he detailed the ex-
perience of the German boy, and in a
loud voice asked the court to issue an
order compelling the State officers to
furnish him (Donahoe) with list of the
witnesses and other memoranda of the
Grand Jurys proceeding, in order to be
able to meet the charges against his
client. The court took the matter under
advisement.
Then Judge Wing, assisted by Attor-
neys Donahoe and David, began the
seemingly hopeless fight to get separate
trials for their clients. The afidavits of
Coughlln and his lawyers we're first
read. Then came the afidayits of O'Sul-
Ivan, Burke, and Woodruff. We're all
the defendants tried together, the affida-
Wits maintained, the testimony of Wood
ruff might be fatally prejudicial in the
cases of O'Sullivan and Coughlin,
whereas, if separate trials were given
these men, they could easily establish
their innocence. In each of the affida-
Wits of Coughlin and O'Sullivan we're
extracts from Woodruff confess ion.
One of these extracts bore upon Wood
ruffs story that Coughl1n had paid him
1926 to drive the wagon and the dead
body to the catch basin. Another ex-
tract vas Woodruff's declaration that
Coughlin and O'Sullivan wrote to one
another in cipher. To all these charges
and many more besides, the prisoners
entered the most sweeping denials.
While the extracts from Woodruff's con-
fession were being read Coughlin and
Beggs smiled contemptuously. Even
Burke showed his disgust for the man
beside him by looking at him with a
savage leer. The confessor grew whittier,
if that we're possible, during the reading
of his afidavits. He Slid down into his
seat, sprawled his legs out in front of
him and buried his head in the palm Of
his right hand Finally he became 50
nervous that he unbuttoned his vest and
loosened his necktie.