Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-12-04
GOVARDLY And BRUTAL
Joseph Berriere Murders His
DefenseIess Wife in a Most
Atrocious Manner.
A Little Child the Only Wit
ness to the Terrible
Crime.
From Sundays Daily.

From Sundays Daily.
Angelica Berriere, a woman, residing a
No. 80 Galena street, was shot and al
most instantly killed by her husband
Joseph Berriere, yesterday morning be
tween 8 and 10 o'clock. Berriere and hi
wife nave lived a sort Of cat and dog exist
ence for several years past. Berriere i
reported to have been insanely jealous o
his wife and at the same time did practi
cally nothing toward the support OF her
self and children.
Mrs. Barriere has been a much married
womanin her time, and il the statements o
her associates are true, Berriere ia tn,
fourth or fifth man who has basked in tn,
sunshine Of her tickle affections. Both ar,
natives OF Canada M OF French extrac
ton. Mrs. Berriere wearied OF her hus.
band and had instituted proceedings fol
divorce, having been captivated in the
meantime by the alleged charms OF littlt
Frenchntan. This rendered Berriere furi
GUS and he ia said to have re
peatedly threatened the life OF his wifi
unless she left the rival to cleave unto him
The woman, it is claimed, paid nc heed tc
her husbands warnings, but insisted or
carrying on a mesalliance with the favored
Frenchman, with the result that the lonl
pending trouble eliminated yesterday
morning in a fatal tragedy, in which the
woman lost her life, and left three little
children ~motherless.
Strenuous efforts were made by Berriere
and several Of his friends, to show that
Mrs. Berriere had designs upon the life OF
the former, and, that acting upon this re.
solve, she secretly purloined a revolver
from an adjacent saloon early Friday night
and quietly ''laid" for her obstreperons
w~orse-half. However, when closely cross
questioned, the witnesses who sought to
establish this theory weakened m could
not give satisfactory explanations OF GER
tain discrepancies in their testimony.
But to the shooting. Bet" cen 8 and 10
o'clock yesterday morning people living
adjacent to No. so Gelena street, were
startled by the mufled report OF a
pistol. Among those who heard
the shot was Officer James, who
was patroling his beat in the vicinity. The
officer was proceeding to make an investi-
cation, when he saw Rerriere emerge from
the door OF No. 30 and start up street.
tation, and when near James beckoned for
for him to come over. The woman and I
had a row." said he, land she is shot,"
IBID you shoot herr" asked the officer.
mo, she pulled a gun on me and in the
struggle she was shot"
Taking Berriere in charge, James con-
Quoted him back to the house. Mrs. Ber-
riere was found in a half sitting posture in
the corner OF the room. She was dead. A
terrible cash in her left cheek showed where
the fatal ball had entered. 1t had evident
ly taken an upward course and lodged in
he brain, causing almost instant d. atb.
You say she shot HERSELF" said Police.
man John Curran, who had also arrived
by this time, to Berriere, now where is the
gum"
~ think it is under her." was the reply.
Officer James then conducted BeTriere to
the county jail. The prisoner was fearfully
nervous, and in SISTED on his innocence.
Following their departure, Officer Curran
and severaIcItizens instituted search for the
revolver. They ransacked every possible
Mace OF copcealment about the house,
without finding a weapon of any kind.
They had concluded the search and almost
abandoned hope of finding the pistol, when
a negro, Charles j Johnson, who had entered
the rear ward, TAPPED ON the window and
informed them that the pistol was lying
partially concealed under the back door
doorstep. johnson then handed the
vesnon to Curran, who gave il into the
cnstodv of a man named Shortsleeve. 1t
was of the pattern known as a British
BULLDOG, double action. One OF the cham
hers had been discharged, while the other
four were loaded, .
An inspection of the wound showed that
the weapon at the instant OF discharge
had been held so close as to blacken
the woman's face with burned powder,
particles of which had been forced INTO the
flesh. The remains were given In charge OF
Coroner Beal, who had been summoned.
Tbe coroner, after viewing the body, at
once ~impanelled Ed Carroll, Joe Perron,
John Curran, Thomas B. Harper, Frank
Rateman and T. j. Booher, as a jury, and
a%nnourced that the inquest would be held
at the court house at 2 O'Clock.
In the meantime the widest consterna'
ton reigned among the evil vlsaged deni-
zen oil NIAlSDb ICO Il
Din nave chartered in their confusing iurgon,
and o~esticulated mildly in a vain attempt
to explain the situation, the saddle col.
orad mulattoes and ebony hued 'cocns"
trotted back AMI forth, while the Japanese
and Chinese sirens looked on in bias 'eyei
wonder. Tnen theI was a lively skirmlsh.
inc around among the ''pinkies," a class OF
vicious and debased caricatures on
man, who live off the shame
-rD nj the IAIoDA
street demi monde. They were keenly
onyious TO learn all the particulars for a
nurnose hat will doubtless appear Later.
This nnrnose, it is believed, is no more nor
ioss than a combined attempt to clear
Rarriere by false swearing and manuiac,
tnred testimony, since it Il well recognized
that Galena street swarms with ahoaVi0
people whose association with tne ruin Is
40 remote as to negative even q passing
acquaintance.
When the town clock in the court house
steenIe tolled off the hour OF Up. m the
nrobate court room, in when tne Inquest
pos 10 he held, was crowded with a mis-.
ceIIaneons crowd OF ~'coons," mulattoes,
French "pinkies" and SIRENS policemen
and reporters. The witnesses, SIX or seVen
in number, were sworn IN q puncn, anS
officer Ed. James piaceu uPon
He testified rs follows:
II started down Galena street sometime
between 9 and 10 o'clock this morning, and
saw this man (pointing to Berrlere) COMING m
up. He was very pale and nervous: he te
beckoned me and when l apProaenea, ne
so;d that he and Mrs. Berriere had become
;nvolved ia a fight or struggle, durn9
abe had been shot. l asked him if he had
sbot her. He said NO 1 then asked him
II fine he had a gun, to which he replied that ht
had not, but explained ne ra mat asd n wsn w'i ins sat
tbe honse. where l found Mrs. Beriiere in o
S hal posture in the back bed room
sSn Gas dead, l assumed her death hac
been occasioned by an u%gly!o1king bnlle!
wound in her cheek, from which tne o,oof
iait nther officers 10 charge of the hous'
snS took Berriere to jail. know bot
narties well. 1 have been called into th.1
ppiacs f frequently to quell disturbances be
tween Them" r..,. h,.oL-eve
q ,oors of age, the child OF tn