Daily Republican., 1889-03-28
EVIDENCE BROKEN.

=
euinstantial evidence would hang the
king of England. While that VISA put
ting II pretty strong, II Is admitted that
chain OF eircumstan:iel evidence has often
sHnt men to the eslows. If clrcum.
stance can be explained away, It is but
shallow. Ii II cannot he explained away,
II becomes menace to the prisoners life
witness may be tribed, abducted OF i'm
peached. A circumstance Is a lion In the
path demanding blood.
1t has been often asserted that inno-
cent men have en- hung on crcumstan-
tisl evidence. There may have been such
instances, but they hsvs been rare in
deed. In my own experience 10 law and
detective work | have seen some curious
things about circumstantial evidence. 1t
is, In ono eensc, the strongest chain
which can be forged, 10 another the very
weakest.
About twenty years ago was detailed
on murder case IN Kentucky town. It
was not to work up the case, but to save
II possible the young man arrested for the
crime.
When rot TIE facts aud details, felt
helpless TO accomplish anything. lie
was o young man Of twenty three, named
Graham, and was Of respectable family.
80 ifhNA tNNh 'hERHNh w lhtlN VI
the highest responsibility, but they had
quarreled about something. Common
friends had brought about a reconcilia-
ton, but q new sutton had appeared upon
the scene, and Graham's Jealousy had
provoked another quarrel. lie had not
visited her for Two weeks, when, on the
evening OF Sunday, Oct. 80, one OF Ora.
hams friends met him and said:
your rival is up at Lossing's, and
seems bound to cut you out. Adele
seems very sweet on himl"
Graham truly loved the girl, and this
speech made him wild. He turned pale,
trembled, and finally raid:
Hes an Advepturer and an interloper.
Let him look out for himseln"
An hour later he started for Lcssing'e
He passed several people, who saw that
he was excited. The house stood rack
from the road In q grove of trees, and
was approached by two paths or drives
from the 'front.' Graham fully Intended
to enter the house, but when he came
upon the grounds his courage failed him.
He was afraid he might say or do some
thing rash in his present mood, and very
sensibly decided to return to town and
defer his call till the next day. Next
morning his rivals dead body was found
on one OF the drives, about half way be-
tween the house aud the fence. He had
been struck down with bludgeon.
Conclusions are always jumped AT in
murder cases.
Two OF the regro servants were at
once arrested, but before noon they were
set at liberty and Graham was taken into
custody. The chain already contained
several links. Others were added the
moment he was arrested. He was dread
fully agitated, hesitated to acknowledge
that he had been near the place, and a
blood stain was found on the right sleeve
OF his coat. Before he had been In iail
one day even his own father believed
him murderer. He wss examined and
bound over, aud IL was only after that
event that he began to protest his limo
cence. The girl who had been the cause
Of It came nobly 10 his rescue. While
she truly loved him, she had been will
ing to make him jealous, and when muir
der had come OF 1t, as she believed, she
felt terribly conscious stricken and anx-
ious to believe in his protestations Of In
nocence.
When I came upon the ground the
state had Its case all worked up, and
when went over it 10 look for flaw /
could find none. had TO acknowledge
Il
lieVed Graham guilty His own explana-
lions rather strengthened that belief.
Lossing's house faced the east. The high
way In front ran north and south. The
lawn was twenty rods wide, and one
drive led in from the north and the other
from the south end. Graham approached
from the north. He would naturally turn
in at the first drive, but he claimed TO
have gone on TO the second. He followed
1t TO the house, passed around IL, played
for two or three minutes with the dogs
and then circled about the fish pond and
| took short cut across the grove and
struck the road, not hitting the north
path at all. The dead man had come
from the village as ell, and on loot. He
had come and attempted to return by the
north drive.
If Graham was innocent who was
guilty2
Not the slightest suspicion had been d.
rected elsewhere. II seemed hopeless To
look. questioned and cross questioned
him, but he could not give me tho slight
est foundation for clew or theory.
What got came by accident. l asked
to see the blood stained clothing, and I
found II to be single daub OF blood on
q white vest. II was a curious mark,
buCu hb uhu ncboT seen before, anu
when | quietly investigated further /
| discovered that the murdered man had
been stuck on the back of his head and
fallen forward on his face. He had very
thick hair, and, while the blow had
crushed the skull, he had bled bu little.
The blood would not squirt from ouch a
blow. The body had not been lifted, aud
so how did Graham get that blood statn9
Accident gave me the knowledge. ]
was looking the ground over at Losing e
for the fourth or fifth time when one OF
the dogs came and leaped upon me in a
caressing way. LOSING observed 1t and
remarked:
"Old Fan WAS always very fond OF
Graham, and believe she misses him.
Here Fan, let me look at your paw. Ali
it's about as we'll as ever, isn't III"
"What allied her pawf' asked.
"She got terrible out on piece Of
z lass few weeks ago"
ed?"
eyes"
"Then It was her bloody paw that made
the mark on his vest that nightP'
"0ood heavens, but 1t must have
beenl"
had a clew and hope. Everything
changed In an hour, and | now believed
Graham innocent and went 10 NO k to
secure proofs. posted up to Louisville
and examined the police records for
arrests. 1 followed a score or more of
cases to their finish, but got nothing. 1t
was my belief that white man commit.