Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-01
lrRnH A srAFF coRREsPoNnENr.l

SOMERSET, May 31.-The famous Um-
berger murder case went to trial this after
noon. The forenoon and greater part of
the afternoon were spent in getting jury,
and it is pronounced one of the most intelli-
gent iuries that ever sat on a murder case in
Somerset county. The only witnesses on
the stand this afternoon were two very i'm
portant ones, Miss Stern and Mrs. Umberger,
the latter the vile of the murdered man.
The former was employed in the Umber-
ger household, and a witness of the tragedy
up to the time the pistol was pointed at
Mr.. Umberger, when she fed.
Court adjourned at the conclusion of the
direct examination of Mrs. Umberger. The
story of the murder was listened to in
breathless silence by the immense crowd in
the courtroom. Every seat on the floor and
in the gallery was occupied, and every inch
of available standing room was filled. On
the night of February q, at a little after
O'Clock, two men knocked at the
door of Herman Umberger's residence in
Jenner township and were admitted. They
searched the house on pretense of having
a search warrant to examine all places on
the road. They saw the pocketbooks in
which Mr.. Umberger kept his money, and.
when the smaller man who accompanied
Mr.. Umberger into the room adjoining the
parlor had returned to the latter, the old
gentleman slipped the pocketbooks into the
inside pocket of his vest
THEIR SCHEME EXPOSED.
On his return to the parlor the smaller of!
the two men aimed revolver at him and
demanded his money or his life Mr.. Um-
berger threw up his hands and backed. The
man fired five shots. Two struck Mr.. Um-
berger and he reeled into the kitchen and
fell dead at the feet of his wife, who had
run there to ring the big dinner bell.
Miss Stern and Mrs Umberger's grand
daughter, Mamie Horner, had run out
Twenty thousand dollars in cash is the,
amount supposed to have been in thet
pocket books which were taken by the rob-
bers, beside papers of great value. The men,
were muffled, as if to protect them from,
cold, but really to disguise themselves.
Suspicion was directed toward David and
Joseph Nicely, of Ligonier township, West
moreland county, because they had been
seen going in the direction of Nicely's ons
the day of the murder. In court to-day
handkerchiefs which we're alleged to have
been tied round the face and head of one
were shown and Miss Stern tied them
around the District Attorneys face to show
how they had been worn. Overcoats, boots,
gumboOts and damaged hat were shown.
SOME STRONG EVIDENCE.
The latter, the property of one of the
Nicely brothers, was identified by Miss
Stern as having been worn by the man who
fired th9 shots. The handkerchiefs had also
been taken from one of the Nicely brothers.
IN Dissemination Miss Stern's testi-
nonN 10 the effect that she was sure the
Nicely brothers were the men who COM
mitted the murder and robbery was greatly
weakened by her inability to give good
reasons for it. Yesterday the defendants
elected to be tried separately. The Com
monwealth decided to try David Nicely
first.
For some reason this did not suit the
plans of the defense, and to-day they de-
cided to have both tried together. Their
father aud mother and their wives are here.
They sat near the prisoners and looked
much more concerned than either Of them.
The prisoners frequently whispered to-
gether, and during the cross-examination of
Miss Stern frequently smiled, especially the
smaller one. The only smile that crossed
Miss Stern's countenance was az the comical
appearance of the District Attorney when
she tied the handkerchiefs around his head
and face.
AN ARRAY OF TALENT.
District Attorney Biesecker is assisted by
Hon. John Cessna, of Bedford; F. j. KoO-
ger, of Somerset and S. U. Trent, of Pitts
burg. General Cofroth and General
KoOntz, ex-Congressmen from this district,
and W. h. Rupel, of this plsce, represent
the defense Constable Rough, who worked
up the case against the Nicelys, and Henry
Umberger, brother of the murdered man,
sat with the counsel for the prosecution DUR