Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-09-06
oIRcuMsTANrlAL EVIDENCE.
Interesting "Reminiscences of Some Noted
Murder TrfaIa

Interesting "Reminiscences of Some Noted
Murder Trials.
The law reports tell of a young man
arrested on charge of killing his faith
er, who had been found dead from
wounds in the head. The young mans
sister was the principal witness against
him, and she testified that her brother
was very undutiful and had often ex-
pressed desire to get possession of his
fathers property. She said that on the
evening of her murder her father went
out to milk the COW and she went away
to pass the night.
On her return in the morning both
father and brother were missing, and
the fathers dead body was subsequent
~ found by the neighbors- In the
brothers room they found hammer,
and on the head some blood and pieces
of splintered bone. Upon this evidence
the son was convicted and hanged.
-Four years later, while dying, the sis
ter confessed that she had killed her
father, and in committing the crime
had worn her brothers shoes and had
allowed her brother to hang because
she hated him.
In 1742 traveller came to the BELL
Inn," near Hull, in England, at late
hour one evening and reported that he
had been assaulted and robbed of
twenty guineas by a highwayman, add
ing that as the coins were all marked,
he hoped the thief might be detected.
short time after supper the land
lord came to the man and told him that
that afternoon he had sent a waiter
named John Jennings to get a guinea
changed, that the man did not return
until late when he was under the influ-
ence of liquor and reported that he
could not get the coin changed. But
the guinea he returned was not the
same he had carried away. The land
lord said he had paid that coin to
stranger, but suggested a search of Jen-
nings' room. The nineteen other miss
ing guineas were found there, and Jen-
nings was tried, found guilty and exc
cuted. Within year the landlord was
arrested for robbing = guest, and be-
fore his execution he confessed that he
himself committed the crime for which
his servant was hanged.
In Vermont case an advertisement
saved the accused person. In 1912 Bar
ney Boorn lived in Manchester in that
state, and with him his sons, Stephen
and Jesse, and his son-in-law, Russell
Colvin. Colvin disappeared, and after
a lapse of years, it was suspected that
he had been murdered by the Boorn
boys Then Colvin's hat was found and
a dog uncovered some bones that Law
under an old stump Stephen had left
the state, but Jesse was arrested, and
he confessed that his brother had told
him that he and Colvin had had a quar-
rel and that he had killed Colvin.
Stephen was found and brought back,
but he stoutly asserted his innocence.
Both of the brothers were indicted,
however, and in November, 1919, seven
years after Colvin's disappearance, they
were brought to trial Stephen was
induced to confess to the crime in the
hope of mercy from the court. Both he
and his brother, were, nevertheless,
convicted and sentenced to be hanged
January %, 1920. Moreover, their
mother was expelled from her church,
and the father held as a possible Access
sorry to the murder. AS last resort
Stephen prevailed upon his council,
who believed him guilty, to advertise
for Colvin. This was done, and Colvin
was discovered alive and working for a
farmer in Dover, N. J.
Another remarkable case was that of
William Harrison, steward of Lady
Campden, Of Gloucestershire, England,
who left his home on August 6, 1860, to
collect her ladyship's rents, and did not
return. In the excitement caused by
his absence half-witted fellow named
John Perry went before a magistrate
and deposed that his brother murdered
Harrison in the presence of his mother
and himself, and that they robbed the
dead man of one hundred and forty
pounds. The woman's reputation was
! bad and all three were arrested, con-
victed and executed. Three years later
Harrison returned to Gloucester. He
had been impressed by gang and sold
as slave to Turkish merchant.
A strange case was that of a man of
whom alcohol was the undoing. He
was lying in the street intoxicated
when two passers-by, who had quar-
relied, stumbled over his body. One of
them, noticing that the drunken man
had a sword, drew it and ran his COM
| panion through the body. leaving the
weapon sticking in the wound. In the
morning the two men were discovered
| and the reveller was tried, convicted
and hanged. Several years afterward
| the real murderer confessed the crime
An English innkeeper was once pun
| ished for the will but not the deed. He
went into guests room with knife
| prepared to murder q man for bag Of
| gold known to be in his portmanteau,
| But some one had been there before
| him and his would-be victim already lay
bAthed In blood. Meanwhile, two other
guests, aroused by the cries of the man,
entered the room and arrested the pro-
prietor. Although none of the prop
erty was found on him he was SEN
fenced and hanged. Several years
later the real criminal was sentenced
| to the gallows for another crime, and
confessed the first murder.
An instance mentioned by Sir Ed.
ward Coke reads like . romance. In
the county of Warwick were two
brothers, one Of whom died leaving
lands and a daughter to the care of a
brother who was his next heir. One
day as the uncle was Furnishing the
| girl for some offense she was heard to
say: "Oh! good uncle, kill me not!'
From that time she was not seen and
the uncle being suspected OF killing her
was arrested but was released on bail
and given certain time to find the
child. Not being able to produce her
he took another child as like her in
person and years as he could find.
dressed her in his little niece's cloth
ing and brought her to the next
assizes. The fraud was detected and
the man hanged. But his niece was
not dead; she had only run away after
the beating and finding friends and did
not return. A few years later becom'
ing of age she came back, proved hel