St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-17

Trial OF the Alleged French
Assassins Of Toussaint
GOuffe.
The Biography Of Eyraud
"a Shows Him to Have Been
;. Desperate,
While His Female ASST slant
g Poses in Fully as Bad a
. Light,
But Each Tries to Throw the
q Hideous Crime Upon the
% Other.

| Eyraud and Gabrielle Bompard for the
murder of Toussaint Gouffe, notary
and process server, commenced to-day
in the assiZe court. Great interest is
| manifested i'll the case and the court
room was densely crowded. Among
those VINO gathered to watch the
| members of the diplomatic corps,
| senators and members of the
chamber of deputies. Eyraud was
! cool and collected. Mile. Bompard was
| attired in dark dress and jacket and
upon her head she wore a seaTskin toque.
Her face was partly yelled. Both
| answered the questions put to them by
the judge in a confident manner. Dur
ing the reading of the indictments,
which occupied rs minutes. they mani
tested emotion. Mile. Bouipard fire.
quently holding her handkerchief to her
face. A table i'll the court room
was covered with the implements al
legged to have been used in the murder.
Among them was the trunk i'll which
the corpse was packed and taken from
Paris. Eyraud's answers revealed de-
plQrable story. The president of the
court gave in detail
History of His Career.
At the age of thirteen years his con-
duct was such that his father was
obliged to send him to a reformatorv.
When nineteen years old he enlisted in
chaSSeur regiment, from which he was
transferred to the foreign legion. He
served i'll the war between France and
Mexico. He deserted from this regi-
ment and joined the guerrillas under
Gen. JuareZ, to whom he betrayed
the position OF the French forces
For this crime he was tried by
French court-martial and condemned
to death III Contumaciam. The am
nesty of 1859 enabled him to return to
France. After his return he led an adj
venturous life, committing robberies
and other crimes. Eyraud declared
that the allegations made by the presi-
dent were calumnies. The president
replied that proof of his statements
would be produced. Continuing, the
| president said that Eyraud had not
caused Mile. Bompard to enter upon an
immoral life, as he had first made her
raud here interrupted and declared
that he had attempted to discourage her
from evil courses. The president re-
4torted:
"a gentleman offered Mile Bompard
| 10000 francs il She would become his
mistress. She proposed to Eyraud that
| size accept the offer, and that they
should enjoy the money together
rnI L.,
some fun?'"
Eyraud narrated to the court had
Mile. Bompard proposed to entiee Gouffe
to her house and then murder and rob
MIN. He told also OF the purchase of
the trunk for the purpose of eenceaiihg
the body. He gave every detail of the
crime without showing the slightest
trace of emotion. Gouffe, lie stated, was
sitting down with Mile. Bompard oil his
knee and was fendling her at the mo-
ment the moose with which he was
strangled and which was attached to a
pulley behind curtain was passed
He died." said Eyraud, "almost with
out struggle
ROmpard Blames Eyraud.
Mile. Bompartl, when interrogated.
declared that all the details of the MUIR
VI WIZ pittuLCu Uy GSIduu, dllu THAI
he influenced her to assist him in carry
ing out his scheme. The judges order
ing the trunk TO be opened led to ill.,
tense excitement and noisy demonstra-
tons i'll the court room. Mile.
Bompard said she bought the
trunk i'll London to pack linen
I in. In a colloquy between
! Eyraud and Mile Bompard, the former
maintained that the latter was through
out eognizant of the intended murder.
The woman stoutly denied Eyraud's as
SertIonS. She declared that he had in
yited Souffe to her room and that she
was Ignorant of the purpose for which
he had brought the cord. The presi-
dent of the court called these assertions
absurd, Whereupon the prisoner re-
torted, amid Taught
"There are many aDSurdities in this
case"
Later Eyraud told of his visitto Amer
lea IN company with Mile. Bompard.
The latter asserted that on the couple
arriving in San Francisco they were at
the end of their resources, and that
Eyraud contemplated murder and rob-
berry with the view of getting fresh
supply of funds. Eyraud denied this,
| exclaiming:
Let them take my head. l have de-
seyed it. My past is unsuIlied.''
After he had described his arrest at
Havana and his abortive attempt at sui
eide, the court adjourned till tomorrow.