St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-08
LIBERATED BY DEATH,
Mrs. Southworth, Slayer of
Millionaire Pettus, Expires
in the Tombs,
Wasted to a Skeleton by Dis
ease and Her Mental
Troubles.
With Her Arms About Her
Mothers Neck She Passed
Away.
The End Of a Celebrated Case
That Wrecked Two
Homes.

New YORK, Jan. Mrs. Hannah
Southworth, the slayer of Stephen Pet
tus, the wealthy Brooklynite, whom she
accused of having betrayed her, died in
the Tombs at 2:40 this morning. DIR.
Chelwood, who granted the death GER
tificate, places the time of death at $3.50
O'Clock, and gives as the cause of death
primarily heart failure and gen
eral debility. The death of Mrs.
SOuthWOrth is described as hay
ing been peaceful. There were
at the death-bed Mrs. SouthWorth's
mother and her brothers, George and
William B. Martin. The grief of the
witness. The body OF Mrs. SOuthWorth
was wasted almost to frame. AS soon
as Coroner Schultz reached his Office he
granted an order permitting the re-
mOyal Of the body to Brooklyn, where
it will remain at the residence of her
brother until Thursday. Then it will
be removed to Greenwood cemetery and
placed in receiving vault temporarily.
As soon as Mrs. Martin is prepared to
return to her Southern home she will
arrange for the removal of the body to
Louisville, KY, for final interment in
the family plot there.
as dramatic and unusual murder story
as has been told in New York for sew
eral years. 1t possessed all the points
of strong, sensational novel. The
man who was murdered was well
known, even in as great and big city
as New York, and the women who muir
dered him was beautiful and young, and
some SAID terribly wronged. 1t would
have been celebrated case, a case that
would have divided the city or two
sides: but now the Indictment against
Hannah Southworth has been
QUASTTED By A HIGHER COURT.
Ever since she entered the TombS,
nearly two months ago. Mrs. South
worth has been steadily falling. From
time to time the papers told of her fail
ing health, and the busy outside public,
to whom she had been more than nine
days wonder, guessed what the end
would be. Since the first of the new
year her death has been expected at
any hour. Acute bronchitis, pneumo-
mia and chronic trouble, which latter
she attributed to Stephen l.. Pettus,
have dragged her down; the mental
trouble has helped the physical all
mentS. ana the surrounding presence of
the prison walls has not tended to give
her the strength or the will to bear up
against it. At 8 O'Clock last night DIR.
Chetwood. the city prison physician,
told her mother, Mrs. Martin,
that her daughter could live
but short time. Mrs. Martin
telegraped for her two sons. William B.
Martin and George Martin. They
reached the Tombs at 1880, and re-
manned with their mother until the
death. Mrs. Southworth'S cell was in
a corridor of the female ward, in which
n fltn ont Inv txure
five other inmates. They have all
shown an interest in the young woman.
though she lad Fad no intercourse with
her frail sisters, and they hung over
the ratings and peered through the cell
doors to catch a glimpse of what was
going on at so late an hour. The two
brothers entered the cell and sat down,
one at the head and one at the foot of
the bed. There was no talk between
them, and save for the Kissing of sin
gle gas jet. turned or at full head, there
was absolute silence in the
CELL OF THE DYING WOMAN
The only other occupant of the cell
was one of the prisoners, a girl called
Blanche Cunningham, who has nursed
Mrs. SouthWorth with great affection
and patience during the last days of her
life, with the fidelity of an old friend.
This girl came and went as did the doc
tor, but the family sat still and waited.
About 10 o'clock Mrs. Southworth raj
lied, and with the assistance of Blanche
Cunningham was raised upon the couch.
Turning to her mother she said: 81
know Pm going to die-and Pm willing
TO. | am perfectly resigned to it, and
would not exchange it now for health"
Then she asked her mother to come
closer, and the mother bent over the
bed. Mrs. SouthwOrth threw her arms
around her mothers neck. and resting
her head on her shoulder. whispered
that she would like to pray. Her spoken
prayer was as well her last spoken
words, and it had no reference to her
suffering, her crime OF her past life.
She repeated simply the prayer that is
taught to little children. and which is
so well known it has almost lost its sig
nificance. 1t was:
Now 1 lay me down to sleep,
pray the Lord my soul TO keep;
And if die before l wake,
pray the Lord my soul to take.
After she had repeated these lines
she became unconscious. and lay in a
stupor until she died. Her death was
painless. The murder for which Mrs.
South worth was indicted took place on
the morning of Nov. %, on Fulton street
in front of tea store. Stephen l..
Pettus had just left the Brooklyn ferry
boat, and had walked not more than
fifty yards with Mrs. Southworth, who |
had joined him as he left the boat, when |
she stepped away from his side, and. |
drawing a revolver, began firing. The |
bullets struck him in five places. Not |
one missed him, but he was still able |
to run a few yards and staggered into |
the tea store at No. 10, where he fell on |
the floor dead.