Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-11-16
HIS PRETTY YOUNG WIFE.
Suspicious Awakened by Her Hand
some Jewelry and a Letter.
AN AFFECTING SCENE IN COURT.
The Prisoner Had Purchased the Revolver
to Kill Himself
SETTING Up THE PLEA OF INSANITY


A goodly portion of the evidence was unfit
for publication. Doubtless the spectators
were annoved that the witnesses all spoke
so low that even the Judge and jury did not
hear more than two-thirds of what was
said. The intention originally was to wind
up the case yesterday, but the prolixity OF
some ofthe witnesses prevented this being
done. The jury will surely take the case
to-day.
The first witnesses called were chiefly
newspaper men who testified to Frank
Garyin's good character. These witnesses
included Henry j. Ford, Alfred Reed,
Prof Shaney, John F. Edmundson, Thomas
Merton, W. B. Moore, F. X. Burns, james
Aiken, w. j. Adams, Julius Pichel,
Charles Danzuger and others N. G. Evans,
j. Pressing and NJ. Cost all testified to Gar
WINS peculiar conduct before the shooting,
and the last named witness also said that
Garvin had unfolded to him his ambition
to be a Napoleon, scheme he had for q
perpetual motion machine. and mammoth
animal on the megatherium order which he
proposed to build, bury and dig up again to
put on exhibition.
A Pathetic Scene in Court
Mrs. Garvin, the prisoners mother, his
brother, Cyrus M. Garvin, his sister, Mrs.
Daley, and his brother-in-law, R. w. Dali
ley, corroborated previous witnesses in re-
gard to the prisoners detection, lack of ap-
petite and symptoms of mental derange-
ment before the tragedy. A very painful
scene occurred when the prisoners aged
mother went upon the stand. She and
Frank both wept bitterly, and there was
hardly dry eve In the room.
The proceedings retained painful pathos
when the prisoner himself was called to the
witness box. There he betrayed intense
nervousness and an apparent reluctance to
say anything in an audible tone. 1t is
doubtful if the jury heard all his testimony.
Judge McClung confessed he only heard
about half The defendants counsel, young
Mr.. Marshall, explained that he had had
great difficulty in persuading his client to
testify at all 1t is understood that Garvin
wished to plead guilty, and did not wish to
have any reflections cast upon his dead
wife, but of course this cannot be brought
out In evidence. Once or twice Garvin
broke down completely, and his sobs could
be heard across the courtroom.
The Story Told by Garvin.
This was the story Garvin told on the
stand: 81 am in my oath year. 1 met Cora
four or five years ago when she lived op-
posite our house on Sandusky street. We
became intimate, indeed, but 1 loved her
devotedly. When she went to Chicago,
after spending some time on the road with her
little sister, Ollie Redpath, who was in The
Country Circus" troupe, I sent her money
twice to come home. She finally came and
1 was ready to fulfill my promise to marry
her. told her what my wages were, where
our home would be and what she might
she was satisfied and that she'd
always be true to me. I didn't know
of her having any improper relations
with other men at the time of our mar
riage. Before we were married she showed
me a new watch she had, in the lid of
which was inscribed from "Ed to Cora"
She told me it was her brother Eds pres
ent. When found the letter from Ed
Rahm l asked her if she had fellow in
Chicago. She said no, but admitted she
had known Rahm three or four months in
Chicago, whittier he often went from Pitts
burg. Then, as 1 was sitting on the bed
beside her, i realized for the first time that
the watch and the lock and key bracelet
had come from Rahm 1 asked her why she
hadn't married Ed Rahm, and she said she
only cared for Rahm's money.
How the Tragedy Occurred.
"On Friday morning while she was comb
ing her hair preparatory to going to town
to meet man l said to her: You are
very pretty, Cora and she replied, No,
I'm not, but do not care so long as can
make a good living Then she put on her
shoes and got out a good dress. 1 took off
her shoes and begged her not to do anything
like that. 1 remember touching the foot of
the bed with one hand and taking two steps
torward-everything after is a blank to
me-" Here the witness burst into tears be-
fore he continued: 'l had bought the re-
volver somewhere on Ohio street day or
two before to commit suicide. The next
thing l remember was my mother waving
her hands in front OF my lace 1 don't re-
member my arrest or anything else"
After the noon recess District Attorney
Burleigh cross-examined Garvin. Some of
the important facts elected were that Gar
vim had betrayed Cora Redpath within four
or five DAYS OF their first meeting, when she
was but 16 or II years old; that close in
timacv had existed between them from that
time till last September. He had also sup
piled her with money off and on and lived
a month last spring.
Pinning Him to Facts.
Mr.. Burleigh took the witness over the
whole ground again, but apparently did not
succeed in doing more than getting the
above damaging admissions out of him and
pinning him down to some degree to the
exact time of the various events, converse
tions and movements In the three DAYS be-
fore Cora met her death. The witness re-
sponded somewhat to the tonic of hostile
examination, and his answers to Mr. Bur-
leigh were delivered in a fairly audible
tone most of the time
Charles Orton, the Double x cough drop
celebrity, was the next witness. He testi-
fed to seeing Cora Redpath call for Garvin
at his office 20 or 80 times. Garvin would
ask the witness if he had seen her every
time he passed, and told witness to trust
her for candy, ETC., and he would settle
for it
T. Merton, of the Commercial Gazette. re.
called, said that when he saw Garvin in his
cell, two hours after the shooting, he was
terribly excited, incoherent In speech, and
did not know the witness, an intimate ac-
quaintance, or several other friends who
were there Mr. Burleigh asked Mr.. Merton
what there was extraordinary in Garvin's
manner, and the witness answered positive
ly that he considered him insane. The an
swer was objected to, but the description of
an apparently insane man got before the
jury all the same. Patrick T. KERN, of the
Times, corroborated this testimony.
Experts on Insanity Called.
Dr.. A. V. Chessrown, the Jail physician,
testified as to Garvin's deplorable condition
since the tragedy, which he defined q ap-