St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-09
A SICKENING CRIME.
Jealously Insane, a Colored
Man Commits a Terribly
Revolving Crime.
Edward Finlay Deliberately
Stabs His Wife Through q,
the Throat,
And With Fiendish Delight
Hacks 1t From Ear
to Ear.
He Then With Deadly Effect
Applies the Weapon to His
Own Throat.

There is no record anywhere In the
annals Of crime OF more damnabIy
hendl'h murder than that perpetrated
yesterday at 155 Martin street. The
victim was Mrs. Edward Finlay.a hand.
some young qdadroon, ana the murderer
her husband. The wOman's head was
almost severed from her body, and she
died within ten minutes from the in.
fiction Of the wound The murderer
then deliberately cut his own throat.
He died at the city hospital yesterday
afternoon at $50.
The story of the crime and it's at
tendant circumstances betrays the fact
that the monster Jealousy has added an
other To its list of victims. Finlay, the
murderer. was cOlOred N IN in the same
degree as the woman he married. The
couple met and were wed In Chicago
two years ago. Both were at the time
seventeen years old. The man
was lnsaneIy jealous. According to
the testimony of those who have
known him longest. he never did a DAYS
work in his life. Recently he was con-
fined to his room with bronchitis. and
for their joint support the wife took a
position as chambermaid at a house in
West st. Paul, occupied by a Mrs.
E anna Mason. Sunday night the FIN
lays paid visit to Mrs. Conway, resid-
ing at the number on Martin street
given above. Their residence was at
221 Fuller street, and when it became
late Mrs. Conway pressed them to stay
IUh . %ha-
they had some distance to travel. Fin
lay consented. and with his wife occu-
pied room up stairs. They arose yes
terday morning at $50. Finlay was
apparently in 4 bad temper. His wife
seemed used to such a condition Of
things. and returned no answer to his
causeless upbraiding. This line of corI-
duet seemed to still further exasperate
the fellow
Are you going TO the West side to-
day?" he asked of his wife, in snari-
ing manner.
She returned no answer, and he re-
peated the question, Sue still maintai1s,
ing =:
a Dogged silence.
As the conversation progressed In
this wise. Mrs. Finiay was adjusting her
bonnet and shawl preparatory to going
out. Finlay noticed this. and became
maniacal in his rage. He snatehed the
shawl from the wOman'S shoulders. tore
the bonnet from her head. bowling all
sorts of accusations the while. Sud-
denly the yellow-skinned fiend made a
rush at his wife with sharp case knife
be had taken from the breakfast table.
''Isll make an end of your damned
chasing around town" he said, and
with that plunged the knife into the un-
fortunate wOman'S throat on the right
side. The weapon mad a sharp point
and it penetrated the soft flesh until the
point was visible from the left side,
The wound was a fatal one. The Jug
nlar vein was severed at the first blow,
but the atrocious scoundrel was not yet
satisfied with his work. A stream of
crimson blood flowed from the frightful
cash. saturating everything and hOw-
ing in a warm food over the
murderous hand that still held the
knife where it had been driven.
Fearful that perchance a spark OF
life might remain in the poor woman,
Finiay seized her ly the hair. deiiher-
ately held her head hack and sawed
away. pulling the knife toward him,
until it had eaten its way through the
throat of his victim, leaving the head
almost severed from the body. With
her expiring etfart the bleeding victim
if tn escape, but Finlay. seiZing a billet
OF tirewood, rushed after her.
You won't die, won't you?' he
shrieked. The heavy piece of timber
descended on the dropping head of the
dying woman. and she fell forward on
her face. She was dead in less than
five minutes. FInlay turned back into
the house. and picking Up the blood
stained knife, plunged it
Into His Own Throat.
and then rushed up stairs and threw
himself on a b. d,leaving a trail of blood
behind him.
Mrs. Conway, in whose house the
awful butchery had been enacted, wit
messed it from beginning TO end. When
Finlay first attacked his wife, she eu-
deavored to interfere, but was unable to
prevent the crime. her screams had
attracted the neighhoTs. dozen OF
whom, mostly colured people, stood
about the body of the murdered woman,
which lay in the alley. face downward.
Some one ran for the police, and IN
short time:Patrolman McCarrick. of the
ROndo street district. arrived. He took
in the situation at a glance, and sent
for Dr. FitZSImmons, who lives short
distance away. A notification was inn
mediately sent To police headquar-
blocked all the points of exit
from the murderer, who was believed to
have escaped. Capt. Lowell, on his ar
rival at the house. ordered the premises
searched. Finlay was found up stairs
in all unconscious condition from loss OF
blood. lie was at once removed to the
city hospital. The search of the house
Was an undertaking that will never be
forgotten by those who participated in
it. There was blood in Shiny cOngealed
pools on the floor. blood on the walls,
blood again on the stairway, and in the
room up stairs ill which the murderer
had essayed to bleed TO death. The
knife with which the murder had been
committed lay on the tioGr. 1t was taken
charge of by the police, but will never
be used in evidence against the mur-
derer. The body OF Mrs. Finlay was
given over to Schroeder, the undertaken,
who will prepare it for burial.
Mrs. FIBlay was prior to her marriage
LeonOra Totten. She is given a good
reputation by all who knew her as
hard working wOrnan and faithful wife.
Finlay is known to this vicinity as a
worthless character. He formerly de-
voted his time to singing for what he
could get in music halls and saloons.
He will be remembered by some as the
leader of c0lOred quartette seen at the
fair grounds last autumn.
Coroner Quinn stated that he would
hold an inquest this morning on the
boty of the murdered woman. Tho
death Of the murderer, however, Will
probably remove the necessity therefor.