The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-02-10

YVES the Inmate OF IHSnlOnaDle DOaIulIlg
school for young women in this city. Her
name was Helen Potts The marriage Of
the two had been kept secret, but the
mother of the girl learned of it and had
pressed young Harrison, a medical student,
| to fix a time when the marriage OF
| her child should be made known. That
| time was close at hand when the young
woman died of morphine poisoning.
| Fifteen days later rumors OF foul play
having crept about the Jersey town where
| the dead girls home had been, she was
dug up and an autopsy was
her system. Then the young man
was arrested, the marriage was announced;
he admitted having given her capsules OF
morphine and quinine as a nervine, but
| tried to cast the blame of his wife's death
Upon the druggist who prepared the cap
sules upon Harrison's prescription. 1t
transpired that the young woman had
been. before her demise, brought close TO
| death bv one or more criminal operations
made by Harrison.
On the trial which has just ended, it
| transpired that when the young wife was
| almost in extremis on one of these occa-
sions Harrison was engaged in hbertine
orgies with other women, notably in
Canaandaigua, \. y. Evidence that he
had wished to be rid of his girl wife, and
that he dreaded his family should know
of his marriage, was introduced.
It was proven that he had betrayed other
| young women and that he had boosted OF
this power with girls. Much expert testi-
mony has been introduced. the defense
seeking to convince the jury that the
young wife died of heart disease.
Finally at $50 o'clock tonight the case
was given to the jury and at 10 80 they re-
turned, the foreman announcing: Guilty
of murder in the first degree"
Mrs. Harrison shrieked and fell to the
floor. my God," she cried, where is
justice?"
''There is no justice Oh this EARTH" re-
piled Harrison's younger brother, who
held his mother in his arms.
Its a lie that he is guilty, and from
such men as these" moaned the grief
! stricken woman.
The convicted murderer turned to COM
fort his mother Car is all right" he
whispered to her. There, mother, it is
only for time. This won't stand"
THE recorder did it," cried Mrs. Har-
rison. The woman was utterly overcome
and it was some time before her younger
son and other relatives were able to take
| her from the courtroom.
The recorder thanked the jury for the
attention they had given to the case, and
said that from the evidence, he did not
see how any otherverdict could have been
| found.
New York, Feb. 3.-The counsel for
Carlyle W. Harris, the wife-poisOner, con-
victed last night, did not place him on the
witness stand In his own behalf during the
| trial. and the reason was made apparent
today when, having fastened on Harris
| the murder of the beautiful and confiding
young woman, the prosecuting attorneys
made public statement of the murderer
| double life for the past half dozen years.
| Assistant District Attorneys We!lman and
Sims, on whom devolved the labor OF
| gathering together the mass of facts that
! proved Harris guilt to the jury. were pre-
pared to bring out the sad details of bad
| record had Harris gone on the stand.
/ Following are briefly stated some of
| these alleged clearly ascertained facts in
| the young mans career: Toward the end
| of the first week OF Harris trial, q gentle
man living in Connecticut sent letter to
| Mr.. Wellman telling him that he was
| interested In the newspaper reports OF the
trial and that he could narrate some
peculiar stories about a young man named
Harris which might be of use in the
trial.
Mr.. Wellman at once telegraphed the
| Connecticut man, whose name is withheld,
to come to New York. which the latter
did, arriving in the city last Satur-
day week. lie told Mr.. Wellman that
about seven years ago he was acquainted
with young girl named Lula Vanzandt,
who had been married at the age of four
| teen to young man named Charles Har-
ris, who was then sixteen years old. and
! that the marriage took place in this city.
Within fortnight the girl-wiie discovered
| that her husbands first name was Carlyle.
| He took her to Brooklyn to live. Her
parents were residents of Plainfieid, n. j..
The Connecticut man said that Harris was
well born and bad an uncle who was a
famous physician, Harris grandfather,
DR.. McCready, was probably the physician
referred to-.
The pair, it is affirmed, left Brooklyn
soon afterward and went to live in Con-
necticut, when the young wife, it is said,
soon detected her husband in an intrigue
with another girl. In disgust she left him
andsreturned TO this city, when afterward a
criminal operation was performed. She
subsequently consulted a lawyer here
about obtaining a divorce from Harris,
who had then disappeared. A search was
made for this girl and it was found that
she had been living with her mother in T..
Ninety-second-st for three years, but had
left there year ago. 1t was also discov-
cred that other parties had been looking
for this girl few DAYS previously. These
are supposed to be the emissaries of the
defendant then upon the trial. Inspector
! Byrnes' detectives finally found the girl at
Perth Amboy, n. j., where she was found
to be physical wreck from the operation
performed on her. Nothing, however,
could induce her to come to New York to
testify against Harris, who had threatened
her so she lived in perfect terror of him.
To the district attorney it was also af-
firmed that Harris became engaged to the
daughter of Kentucky clergyman about
two or three months after his secret mar
riage to Helen Potts. A letter was re-
ceived at the district attorneys Office to-
day from a well-known citizen who stated
that about the time of Helen Potts death
he saw Harris flirting with girl on a
Broadway car as both rode down town one
morning. During Harris engagement to