Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-12
TALKS ABOUT MURPHY.

John Hyatt Relates One Tale to the De-
fense Attorneys in the Famous Gaut
Case and Another to the Court-Denies
the Truth of His Former Statement.
A telegram was received from Green's
burg yesterday, containing the following
story: William r. Gaut, young man OF
good social standing, was placed on trial in
Criminal Court there Yesterday, for the
burning Of his mothers elegant residence
and farm building in the vicinity of Irwin.
The fire occurred in 1890, and there was an
insurance of $4,000 on the property,
placed in several insurance companies.
John Hyatt had been employed by the
Gauts as farmland. The insurance COM
panies, suspecting incendiarism, employed
Detective P. j. murphy to work on the case.
The detective says he succeeded in getting
confession from young Hyatt, and both
men were arrested.
Hyatt, a smooth-faced youth aged about 20
years, told plausible story on the stand.
He said Gaut, who wanted the insurance
money, agreed to pay him $500 for burning
the property. The details of the job were
cited, and witness said Gaut had paid him a
portion of the money, giving him also gold
watch he said he had purchased at Biggs, in
Pittsburg:
James Stoner, salesman of that store.
identified the watch. and showed by the
record books that it had been purchased by
Gaut, to be used by Hyatt.
In the cross-examination Hyatt contra
dicted himself several times, stating that
the watch was given to him by Gaut for
work done on the farm. He also admitted
that he told Venting and Miller, attorneys
for the defense, not later than a week ago
that Gaut was innocent and had nothing to
do with the burning of the property, but
that Detective Murphy filled him with
whisky and beer, gave him some money, and
in that way persuaded him to assist in con-
victing Gaut, as lie was the man the insur-
ance companies were after.
Witness also admitted that il Gaut was
convicted the insurance money would not
have to be paid. SO Murphy told him; also
that he (Hyatt) would be taken care of. "Of
course" admitted the witness, "they caught
Of it.' ' ~ eO' O
Continuing, the witness said that Detec-
tive Murphy wrote out a story which he de-
sired him (Hyatt) to tell on the stand and
sent it to him in Jail, with 35 cents, but he
had lost the paper.
This story created a sensation in court.
Hyatt admitted that he had told all these
things to the attorneys for the defense, but
that there was no truth in them, and he had
never told the truth about the burning until
put on the stand to-day, when he swore
Gaut had put him up to it.
Detective Murphy was in the room, and
moved about uheasily in his chair during
the time the witness made admission OF
what he had told defendants attorneys.
There are about IS witnesses on each side,
and the case will be stubbornly fought,
great interest being manifested owing to the
prominence of the parties implicated. An
effort will be made by the defense to prove
that Detective Murphy, the prosecutor in
the case, and others, forced a statement i'm
pl1cating GauG, by threats and the free use
of whisky.
Detective Murphy could not be seen last
night to secure his side of the story.