Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1890-10-25
A Lawyers Cunning.
From the Semitic Press.

murder case. You would have at
tended, day after day, the trial which
resulted in the acquittal larry Jae-
ger, listening to each word Of testi-
mony, the mastery pleas ofthe attor-
neys, the charge ofjudget to jury, and
would have Joined in the general feel
ing ofsatifaction when the verdict was
announced. Two years before, Hen
ry Jaeger purchased the finest farm
iu the Grand Ronde valley, and had
settled down TO a honeymoon which
promised all the happiness that on
could wish. For a time all went well
but too soon the young wife realized
that her dream of marital felicity
was shattered, and she began TO see
her husband ip the light of his true
character. Visitors frequently found
her in tears, and ere their married
life had reached it's first year, Jae-
gers reputation was that ofa disco
lutte, depraved character, among his
offenses being the most brutal treat
ment of his fair young wife. Things
went from bad to worse, until after
repeated separations and reconcIlia.
tions, jaeger wasfound one morning
dead in his bed. There was no evil
dence of robbery, no sign that the
house had been entered during the
night, nor had the sleep of the serv-
ants been disturbed by any unusual
sound.
The c~oroner's jury promptly de-
cided that J aeger had come to his
death from a wound inflicted by a
pistol in the hands Of his wife, and
when Judge Brooke, the famous
criminal lawyer, arrived two days
later to take charge of the case, he
found what an attorney, next to an
adverse verdict, most dreads-popu-
lar feeling against his fair client and
an unanimous opinion that Mary
Jaeger was guilty of the murder oil
her husband. The first interview
I was held in the county jail. Alter
greeting him cordially. Mary said:
Judge, / rely entirely upon YOU,
Since my arrest, not a word concern
ing this matter has escaped my lips
and ! am now prepared to make a
+ full statement of all facts in thecnset
to you and you alone"
Mrs. Jaeger, did you kill YOU
husband?"
e Il did"
Estate the circumstances and thu
motives that prompted you.
Q "As you know, my lie for months
!. had been a hell upon earth. Tn
q evening before / shot him we had haC
h a fearful quarrel. He swore chat h
t would kill me as he would "A dog, an'
rushed down stairs for a rife. | haC
barely time to secure my reyolye
e and secrete myself under his bed whel
| heard him ascending the stair:
IS cursing like a mailman in his awtr
rage. He searched the house for ms
Ie and / was fully resolved to kill hir
<: should he find me. At last he CAV
Is up the attempt, and got into bed N
e tering threats that made my bloc
I" run cold. We were locked togethe
in that room. / realized that escap
was impossible, and that it was hi
life or mine. While he slept / place
the revolver close to his head, pre-
"A ing the bedclothes tightly down t
deaden the report. and fired the she
- that sent him from sleep into etc
nifty"
sWbara 10 4ha nistni9s
p elm my haste / threw it into til
~ kitchen fireplace. The next mornin;
realizing that search would be mac
nv for it. | removed the ashes, but W;
y watched so closely that | could NJ
y, destroy the only evidence OF n
% guilt"
you may describe the spot whe
~ the contents OF the crate were d
posted"
n Mary did so, and the Judge co
u tinued;
llu Tell me who, besides yourself al
husband, were in the house on t
or night that he was killed."
"There was the hired girl, who b;
~ been with us since u marriage, M
a boy of seventeen. The hired IN,
IN slept in the barn.
>Hi describe this man as closely
possible.
"His name is Sam Burke. He is
hard drinker, and has been dru'
ever since the news OF the-ever sir
int thatnight."
in When the judgeleft his clienta pl
inc of action mad already its
raj to his fertile mind. That night
md secured the pistol and secrered
9 is again in a hollow tree at some d
the lance from the house, carefully n,
ide ing the new location. The next d
ure he obtained receipt given by Bun
nta to Jaeger for payment of wages a
cry took the noon train for PortlaI
lille His business was with the most
sol pert photographer in the city and
on. his return he carried with him,
IN a what an expert would swear to h,
lied been Burke's writing a letter VIII
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