Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-15

Joseph Dimmey, a coiored hack driver
was put on trial in the Criminal Court yes.
terday, for the murder of Special Oficel
William Miller, of Allegheny, on the morn
ing of September 4, 1855. This is the second
trial of the case. Dimmey was convicted oi
murder in the first degree last spring, but it was
proven that some of the jurors in the case were
allowed to take whisky with their meals during
the progress of the trial, and new trial was
asked for and granted.
Yesterday the case was begun for the second
time. The work Of selecting jury filed in the
day until 3 O'Clock. when John End, a mill
worker of the Twenty-fourth ward, was ac.
cepted as the twelfth man. An odd circum.
stance appears in the selection of this juror.
He was the first man called in the
morning, and after answering the usual
questions as to scruples against
capital punishment and whether or not he had
formed an opinion as to the prisoners guilt OF
innocence, he was stood aside while others were
called and chosen. OF the entire panel called,
l9 were challenged by the defense and 2 by
the prosecution. After eXhausting the panel
End was again called and accepted as the
twelfth and last man. The fact that he was
called first and last and that he bears the
name he does was commented upon as being
peculiar by many interested in the case.
Judge White was on the bench. The CON-
monwealth was represented by District At
torney W. d. Porter and John S. Robb, while
the defendant was represented by Thomas NJ.
Marshall. Sr., Thomas NJ. Marshall, Jr., and
William Reardon. The jury as finally made up
is as follows:
Arthur Chisett. clerk, Seventeenth ward; David
Elphlnstone, bookkeeper. Fifth ward, Allegheny:
August Meohl, dnner, Lower St. Clair township:
Morris W. Mead, electrician, Fourteenth ward:
Samuel Crawford, merchant Nineteenth ward:
Peter Hill, farmer, Indiana township: W. W.
A..
Montgomery, tObaccOnist. Twentieth ward. +. b.
Thomas Scanion, dyer. First ward, Allegheny:
John U. Smith, clerk. Seventeenth ward and
John End, mill hand, Twenty-fourth ward.
District Attorney Porter opened the case and
defined the law relating to homicide and the
different verdlcts that could be brought tor
FIRST or second degree, or manslaughter if the
evidence warranted it, and if not a verdict of
not guilty would be expected. He reviewed
the circumstances of the murder and told of
how, on the morning of September of last
year, about o'clock, Special Officer Miller, of
Allegheny, had. in the vicinity of his beat
seen the prisoner and another man quarreling.
In attempting to stop the fight one of the men
shot him and ran. a Pittsburg officer who had
been doing duty heard the shot, and seeing a
man run away. gave chase, the fugitive turn
ing and shooting at him twice. The pursued
ran through the park, and was caught on
Western avenue, and proved to be the prisoner
Dimmey
The first witness called was Mrs. Annie Mil
Ter, widow of Officer Miller. She told
of how her husband had left home
about Z o'clock on the evening before his
death and of his singing song as he went out
the door. She next saw him dead about
o'clock in the afternoon of the 5th, when he
was taken to their home on Perrysville avenue.
She said he was AZ years of age and had been
an officer for three years. When she was
shown her dead husbands clothes to identify
them, she completely broke down and wept
pitituIly. She was led from the stand by
young lady attendant.
Officer David Speer, of Allegheny; was next
called He said he was on a street car going
home when be heard pistol shot, and met
Dimmey coming ont through the park to
Western aven ie. He ran forward to arrest
him, when the prisoner said: ''D-you, I'll
let you have one. too" He took the pistol
from him, which was pressed close to the wit
ness stomach. Officer Fitzgerald. of Pitts
burg, came up and another man whom he
knew as Virgins. Dimmey was taken to the
patrol box on Irwin avenue and sent to the
lookup, and the witness went TO the hospital
with the wounded man, whom they found
on Irwin avenue near where he was shot
Miller said to the witness: "pm shot and done
for, God have mercy on my soul"