The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-02-17
CHARLES THOMAS ON TRIAL.

The WOu1d-B0 slayer Of Mrs. Burn1s
Charged With Attempt TO Kill.
The sensational shooting ARRAY in which
Charles Thomas, Mrs. Adeline Burma and
her son, Charles st. GERMAN figured al
principals, on the east side, on tho first oil
last December, is still fresh in the mem
DRY of the people of Helena. Thomas sboi
at Mrs. BURMA, was knocked down by the
son, who subsequently secured the revolver
and took q shot at his mothers would-bt
murderer. The boy had a trial before
Judge Sanders and was acquitted. Thomas
did not fare o. we'll He was held to the
grand Jury on the charge of assault with
intent to commit murder. He has been in
the county jail ever since. and yesterday he
was on trial in the district court. Hiss
Ella Knowles was his attorney, and Col.
Nolan prosecuted.
A larg, array OF witnesses were examined
and not many new features were brought
Dut. Thomas left q wife and two chill
iren in Chicago to accompany Mrs. Bnrnid
TO Helena. and lived with her as man and
wife. Mrs. Burnia's story is that Thomas
had told her he was a single man but when
she learned the truth she decided not to
live With him any longer and ordered him
while Mrs. BURMA and her two children
are French. A few days previous to their
separation the woman and her children
held all their conversation in French, which
Thomas could not understand. On the
night of November 30 he started to drink
ing: On reaching home he had a quarrel
with the family, and tie boy got q police
man to arrest Thomas. He remained in
jail that night. and continued to drink in
the morning. He made four visits to the
house The last time he went
his trunk was on the front steps. Being
denied admittance he broke his way into
the house and with a pistol in Lis hand ran
Mrs. BURMA and the children out of the
house. He overlook the woman in tho mid
die of the street, and pointing the pistol at
her head fred a hot which grszed her
scalp. II was presumed that he pointed
the second shot at his own head with sui
cidal intent and for the purpose of ending
both their lives right On the spot. The
shot only grazed his scalp also. and hardly
had he fired it. until he was struck in the
face with a stone thrown by Mrs. Burnia's
son. h after assisting his mother to the
sidewalk. picked up the pistol and fired a
shot at Thomas who was lying PROSTATE
about thirty feet distant, insensible from
his wounds.
The testimony elected yesterday showed
that Thomas had remarked to different
people before tho shooting that that was
his last day on earth, n to James McGill
ne said ne was going to take his own life.
n11'."S1 e"oA I'm PIstOi sway from him.
The defense was tina. Thomas was tempor-
arily insane, caused by his over-indulQeuce
in liquor, which he was NOT accustomed to
drinking; and that this threw him into
such a mental condition that he could NOT
be charged with cool. deliberate. premedi-
tated malice aforethOuRht such as the com
plant alleges. Counsel for defense ad-
mitted he should be punished for his CON
duct, but not to the extremity provided by
law for such a charge, which IL was claimed
could not be su ostantiated.
The case was a gued on both sides and
the court will instruct the jury this morn
ing.