New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-05
MURDERED BY HER HUSBAND.
HER BoARDER MORTALITY WOUNDED.
THE -AssAILAST QUICKLY ARREsTED-HE CON-
FEssEs THE coLD-BLooDED CRIME.

THE AssAILAST QUICKLY ARREsTED-HE CON-
FEssEs THE coLDBLooDED CRIME.
After six hours chase the police of the
Twenty.frst Precinct yesterday morning captured
John Lewis Osmond, who, as reported in The Trl
buno yesterday, murdered on Saturday night
his young wife Mary Ellen Osmond in the
Kitchen of their home, No. 600 Third-ave.
At the same time and in the same place
Osmond fired two bullets into the body OF
John BorchilI. boarder, inhicting wounds from
which the man is likely to die. Casting one glance
at his victims as they lay wfithing the floor,
Osmond walked out of the house. unmolested by
any of the men who stood around, and went
down TO First-ave. He had been crazed with
drink, but now athe hystercal frenzy
| in which he had taken life had gone, and
nothing but listess, stupid apathy remained
| He had no money and knew not where to turn
for refuge from the police, who were already
| closing in on him. All through the night he
wandered through First-ave, Twenty-fourth ana
Twenty-tifth sts., and finally in sheer desperation
made for the house of his Brother, William H.
| Osmond, letter-carrer Of No. 246 East Thirty
thirdIst. Captain Ryan and Detective Robert
Binning were on the watch and as Osmond
entered the house they followed him in. HIS
brother met him in the hallway and told him TO
walk out again. AS he stepped out on the side
walk he found himself in the grasp of the police
captain who hurried him of to the police sta
ton. Osmond admitted the crime, but treated
the whole affair with offhand coolness and In
difference In the afternoon he was taken TO
the Yorkville Police Court and there remanded
until to-day
| The detailed story of the shooting as told
by Borchill in his ante-mortem statement and
by witnesses to the act is briefly as follows +:
| Osmond and his wife, whose maiden name was
Murphy, were married seven years ago by Dr.
McGlynn, at st. Stephens Roman Catholic Church
The murderer followed the trade of brass-rnlsher
and was employed by the Internal Conduit and
Insulating Company No. 527 West Thirty-fourth'
| st. Mrs Osmond was a remarkably handsome
| and well-buit woman, and at the time OF her
| death was twenty-six years old. Soon after the
marriage Osmond, who was good workman ana
had earned fair wages, took to drink and loated
for the greater part Of the time. lie also conrted
the company of abandoned women His dlssolute
! habits caused constant quarrels between himself
and his wife, and they had frequently been separ-
ated Up to about two years ago they lived at
No 70s Third-ave. Then Osmond's aunt, Mrs
| Eliza Cushing, who had Hat on the top hoor
of No. 600 Thirl-ave, died.
| Borchill, who had been befriended by and had
lived with Mrs. Gushing, ever since his boyhood,
proposed that Osmond and his wife occupy Mrs
Cushing's rooms; he, Borchill, living with them
and paying for his board. This suggestion was
carried out and the three lived together until Sat
urday night, the only other member OF the family
being Mrs Osmond's thireen-year-old sister Ellen.
The last of the long series of separations between
! Mr. and Mrs Osmond occurred five weeks ago
| Osmond became i'll and was confined in Bellevue
| Hospital for two weeks. When he went home his
wife refused to receive him. saying that she would
never live with him again. Osmond went to
lodge in furnished room at No. 6l0 Second-ave.
He tried repeatedly to bring about a reconcia-
tion. but failed. Mrs Osmond had begun suit
| for absolute divorce and alimony, the case being
| set down for hearing to-day.
| On Tuesday last he went to his wife and pro-
posed TO settle the suit out of court. She simply
referred him to her lawyers and pointed to the
| door, Early on Saturday morning Osmond went
| to the shop where he had worked and drew so 80
which was due to him. With part of the money
he bought revolver, telling the stOrekeeper
that he wanted to defend himself against bur-
glars. He loltered about the neighborhood Of his
lodgings until 10 80 at night, and then
made his way to his wife's apartments. When
Osmond reached his wife's rooms he found her
in the kitchen seated at the table with Borchlu.
She was eating clans. In another room was the
girl Ellen OSmond strobe up to his wife and,
standing over her. said:
We'll, Mary how about this sillt?
Il can't talk to you ABOUT ii, JOhn, She re-
Piled Il guess you'll have to see my lawyer"
Osmond's right hand darted to his hip pocket;
the steel of revolver barrel gttered in the lamp
light there a flash. a report. shrek. and
Mrs Osmond fell to the ground. AS sine partially
turned over on her back, there was second shot,
and she lay still
The horrible quiclIness and suddenness and
cold booded ferocity of the attack had dazed
Borchil who lay back in his chair stupidly
staring at Osmond As the latter turned to run
out Of the room, BOrchill jumped from his chair
and seized the hand which still held the smoking
revolver. There was a short sharp, murderous
struggle Then three more shots rang through
the rooms and Borchill sank TO the ground.
When the police reached the rooms Mrs. Os-
mond lay where she had fallen, gaspng for BREATH
AS the officer bent over her she opened her eyes
gave one weary, hcart-broken sigh, and died.
The first of the bullets which struck her had
entered her back little TO the left Of tho spinal
column passed in an upward slanting direction
through her body just grazing the heart in Its
course. and lodged in the left breast. The sec
ond bullet had pierced the right breast. Both
of the bullets fred at Borohill struck him in the
left side, lodging Just above the heart. The tfth
and last bullet went wide and hit the wall Bor-
chill was taken to Bellevue Hospital. He has
one chance in thousand TO live.
Captain Ryan has now commanded the twenty
first Precinct for little ten years, and in
that time has had nineteen murders on his hands.
In all but one Of these cases he has secured the
arrest and conviction of the culprit.