The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1893-08-17

Her Testimony Regarding the
Mutilation of Johns Body.
THE JUDGE EXPRESSES SURPRISE

In Answer TO the Judges Query the
Prisoner Says She Made No outory
| when Strangers Came to Dlsembowel
Her Doad son-Expert Opinions Differ.
! TRENTON. Aug. 1.-THE evidence of Mrs.
| Kate h. Stryker, which was taken at her
! home in Princeton, was read in open court
when the Sham murder trial was resumed.
Mrs. Stryker is sick abed. She testified
that she heard the door bell at Mrs.
Shann's house ring between / and o'clock
the night that the disemboweling took
place. About half an hour later she heard
Il carriage in the street, but in which drec-
tion it was going she could not say The
carriage did not stop.
Mrs. Sham was then recalled Her
daughter Mabel and her son Hugh, she
said, were lin the house with her when
John died. He had been low, but the
family was not looking for his death at
the time. John did not expect to recover.
He talked several times about his death.
He had horror of embalming and ice
about the body, and requested that his
body be kept longer than his fathers was.
He begged his mother to remain in the
room with him after his death, and until
he should be removed. For that reason
she stayed with the body, and her daugh-
ter Mabel stayed with her. She was alone
with the boy when he died. 1t was about
4 o'clock in the morning. John called his
mother, and she went to him and put her
arms around him He said, Mamma,
mamma, Pm going home" and he was
dead Mrs. Sham wept softly, and in
moment proceeded with her story.
Mrs. Sham told the story of the three
men as follows: She was awakened by the
ringing of the front door bell. She slipped
on her wrapper, put on her slippers, and,
taking a small lighted lamp in her hand
went down stairs Three men, when she
opened the front door, stepped inside, and
one of them inquired if there was young
man dead there. She told them Yes"
and they wanted to know if they could
see him. She said mo" obiecting on the
grounds that the hour was late and that
her daughter was asleep in the room where
her dead child laid. The spokesman of
the party said they had come to see the
dead man and intended to see him. Mrs.
Sham said she would call Mr.. Vanselous,
a boarder, but the men said that would
not be necessary. The spokesman pushed
her twice while the conversation was GO
ing on and the other men passed quickly
up stairs.
She attempted to follow them, but was
held back by the man who remained down.
stairs. She demanded to know what the
outrage meant, and the man said; you'll
find out in good time" In little while
the two men who went up stairs came
down, They passed out Of the front door,
and the third man followed them. Wit
ness could not say that the men who went
up stairs carried anything in their hands.
She did not know whether they had any
thing when they came down. She was
oh To = I,a
stand just how she felt when this thing
took place. After the departure Of the
men she went up stairs, and thought she
saw blood stain on the canopy over the
corpse. The three men wore storm coats
and slouch hats. Mrs. Sham aroused
Vanselous and he went to the corpse and
detected what had been done.
The witnes then described the waking
of her daughter Mabel, and how she told
the members of her family of the occur
renee. They passed the hours until day
light in talking, crying and praying. Mrs.
TShann did not know what to do about
sending for persons. She concluded not
to notify anybody right away, thinking
that perhaps this was the autopsy that the
insurance agents had threatened to have
made. AT O'Clock she sent word to the
family physician, and soon everybody con-
cerned knew of the affair. DIR. Bergner
when he came, said to Frank Borden, who
brought him the news: "Well, Frank this
beats graveyard robbery. The men who
did this will talk of it ing time, how
they made the autopsy without waking
up the girl who was sleeping in the same
room
The witness before the conclusion of her
direct examination, in reply to questions
denied that she had disemboweled her son,
or had any knowledge of the deed There
was no reason why she should wish the
disemhowelment of her son. She had given
John nothing in his food or medicine which
she wanted to conceal. Under cross-exam-
inatiOn the witness said it was a stormy
night Chat the three men came to the
house, but she did not notice that they
were wet or that their feet were muddy.
They made tracks in the hall, but witness
did not notice them until $3.50 in the morn
ing. The man who pushed her aside used
her roughly, but she made no outcry at
all
"Whatp' exclaimed Judge Albeit, "you
uttered not a word?"
mo, sir; did not" said Mrs. Shann
Later she explained this by saying that
she was so dazed, frightened and grief
stricken that she thought she must have
become partially unconscious.
heV. Albert L. Baker, an Eplscopallan
clergyman, testified to frequent inter
views with John during his illness.
The greater part of the afternoon session
was taken up with expert medical testi.
mony. DIR. David Warman, of Trenton,
declared in his evidence that the autopsy
on young Shann's body was improperly
performed. DIR. Thomas II. Mackenzie, of
Trenton, testified that from the symptoms
of young Sham as described in the testi-
mony it would be impossible for him to
say what the cause of death was. The
symptoms were characteristic of mGny
diseases. The person who disemboweled
him had to know good deal about anat-
Omy. Surgical knowledge was not ueces-
sary. DIR. w. W. l.. Phillips, the Oldest
practicing physician in Trenton, was of
the opinion that young Sham died of
CASTRO enteritis, but what caused this dis
ease he could not say.
The Hawaiian Annexation Question.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1.-THE arrival of
Minister Blount at San Francisco was not
a surprise to the state department Some
time in July Mr.. Blount informed the
PRESIDENT of his intention to leave Homo
lulu for San Francisco on Aug, g. As the
Hawaiian situation auds at present the
settlement OF O. annexation question will