The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-10-06
|FOR KILLING His WIFE.
William Cuniff Before
Judge and Jury for His
Brutal Crime.
THE PROSECUTORS OPENING.
Witnesses Tell How the Fatal
Lamp Was Thrown at
the Woman.

tails of this horrible death are still fresh
in the minds of the readers of The JER
sEY CITY NEWS. During the night Of
September screams attracted attention
to the home of the Cuniffs and when as
slstance reached there Mrs. Elizabeth
Cunif was found on fire. Cunif was ar.
rested the next morning by Detective
Pearson, and charged with having thrown
lamp at his wife and thus setting fire to
her. The suffering woman died that day
at the City Hospital.
Cunif is an ordinary looking individual.
He is thirty years old, and has neither
mustache nor whiskers on his dissipated
face.
In selecting the jury the defense,
Counsellors Warren Dixon and W. ID.
DAILY, made ten challenges, and the State
excused eight jurors. The following were
chosen;-
William Parmental, who served as a
juror in the Murphy and euro murder
trials, foreman: Albert Norton, who de-
sired to be excused because he must serve
as an election officer tomorrow The
court refused his request The other
jurors are Henry Rathjen, john Hether-
Tierney, Owen Mcguire, Louis r. Nc
Cullagh, William Jones, Jacob Christi
man, Mathew Lynch and Timothy Con-
din.
Mr.. wINFIELD's OPENING.
In addressing the jury Prosecutor Win
field said:-"On Sunday morning be-
tween one and two O'Clock Elizabeth
Cuniif, the wife of the defendant, ran
down stairs from her apartment into the
street. She was entirely naked when she
reached the street and frightfully burn
ed. She soon afterward died. That
night she had come home from
her work and prepared supper for
a controversy between them. It was over
money. The wife had said when she got
the money due her for working, she in
tended to buy her father some under
clothing, and it is fair to presume that
Cuniff tried to get possession Of this
the quarrel that he seized her by the
hair of the head and thrust her
through a window near where she
sat. Shortly after this she was standing
near a mantle that adjoinS q doorway.
Cuniff picked up a lighted lamp that
stood on bureau and threw u at her.
The lamp struck the doorway and broke,
the fluid falling over her, setffng her on.
fire. She tried to fee down thesstairs but
Cuniff tried to keep her back. She
screamed Let me go, Wftlfe,' several
times, but he tried to detain her
bur ming his hands i the attempt He
afterward claimed the burns were caused
when he tried to extinguish the flames.
Her father, John Sinot. now In the hos
pltal, occupied a room adjoining the
apartment where Cuniff and his wife
were when the lamp was thrown
He stood in the doorway when
the lamp was throw. When she fed to
the street she was as naked as the day she
was born. Cunif who should have aided
her then if on any occasion on earth, be-
lieviDg there was no evidence of'his crime,
fled. Cuniff has made three statements.
one of which was that his wife set Ere to
herself when trying to throw the lamp at
him and he endeavored to take IL from
her."
A DIAGRAM FOR THE JURY.
Louis H. Broome was the first witness
called. He testified that he was an archi-
tect and that the map showing diagram
OF the room where the lamp exploded was
made by him ana that it was correct. The
map was placed in front of the jury.
Police Captain Frederick w. Farrier
called, testified as follows:-"Detect
Pearson and went in the room where the
explosion took place on Monday. The
chairs were upset and round circle in
the board looked as if lamp had struck
it; examined it with mag
in it; there is glass in it yet;
these are the pieces exhibited to him by
the Prosecutor); they are the pieces Of
the bottom of the lamp; tried the pieces
with the broken part of the lamp aud
they fit; this fire board Shown by Prose
cutor) was covered with Kerosene OIL; /
could smell it; found a bureau in the
room; an impression of the lamp was on
the cloth on the bureau; Isaw a mantle in
the room; there were Il few ornaments,
vases and shells on it; there was no space
for q lamp to sit on it, l did not see Mrs.
iV, 81, lf<,s,
court; he was taken to the station house
about ten O'Clock; he made no statement
to me; he made one to the Police JUS
Uice."
Cross examined by Mr.. DAILY the witt
pess merely rehearsed his direct testi-
mony.
AT THE wOMAN'S BEDSIDE.
Detective Pearson related how he
found Cuniff the day after the burning of
his wife and that he subsequently, took
Cuniff TO the hospital and to the bedside
of Mrs. Cuniff. Said the detective:--'T
asked Mrs. Cuniff who assaulted her,
and the dying woman said, I
was present when she was assaulted, and
she replied, i don't know / asked her
if she knew she was dying, and she shiv-
cred little and replied, / don't know +"
The witness corroborated Captain Far
rier's evidence as to the condition of the
During the examination of the witness
John Sinot was brought into court from
the hospital on q stretcher. He was too
weak to speak audibly at times, and
Stenographer Nugent had to read his tes-
timony to the jury when he testified He
Said:-
II live at No. 103 Warren street, Eliza
beth Cuniff was my daughter; she had
been married TO CuniH a number Of
years; lived with them; often saw him
beat her as many as dozen times; I
heard him threaten her life several times.
II saw him beat her with q club; / saw
him club her and beat her with shell,
and saw him kick her on several oc-
casions / was sitting outside the door on
the night in question; she asked me to
get a pint of milk and said this Is no
place for you. l refused to get
the milk, it was too late. She
said / was sick and ought not be
up so late. / went up stairs
for pillow, the door was open and / saw
Cuniff and my daughter. William was
lying on the floor; when came down
with the pillow, the door was still open. |
looked in and saw William get up from
the floor and take the lamp from
the bureau and throw it ar
my daughter. She stood by the
mantle and had on only night dress and
a petticoat. l heard her scream when the
lamp was broken; she wanted to go down
stairs but Billy would not let her; she
broke away from him and ran downstairs
and said You've done it now She had
not been drinking any beer that night
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