San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-03-22
MURDER CAUSES INSANITY.
A Deputy Sheriff Feels that He will
Be Assassinated.


murdered in NueceS county by
some parties, one of whom was al
| legged to have been James Martin,
a deputy sheriff of Tilden county.
The murder caused considerable
excitement throughout the entire
state, and it was several months
before the sensation died away.
Martin was arrested on the
charge of being implicated in the
murder of Smithwick, and was
tried and acquitted, although some
of the evidence was strong against
him.
In this laps of twenty-five years
matters have left the minds of
everyone, excepting the guilty, but
have again within the past three
weeks been brought to light by the
appearance of Martin in San An
tonic, he having come here four
months ago to be treated by a ply
stefan for mental trouble. He
brought his wife and children here
and they have resided at No. 10
Fest street.
Three weeks a go Martin met De-
tectiVe O'Meara on one of the
streets of the city, and approached
him in a strange and apparent in
| sane manner. On being asked why
he was acting so strangely, he re-
piled: al am going to be killed by
two men, relatives of John Smith
wick, who was murdered twenty
| two years ago. They are here in
the city now and are making an
effort to aSsasSinate me-" He asked
| the advice of the detective and al
so requested that he keep look
| out for these two supposed con-
| templatOrS of murder. At this
meeting, although Martin appeared
of unsOund mind at first, he quiet
ed down and Mr.. O'Meara was of
the opinion that his assertions had
some foundation and that perhaps
it would be advisable to investigate
the matter. He has since that time
kept a close watch on Martin and
has searched many times for some
clue as to who the supposed
| relatives of Smithweck are, and
| what their intentions were. After
the investigation, and several con-
| VerSatiOnS with Martin, Mr..
| O'Meara came to the conclusion
thst he was suffering mentally and
thought that he should be placed
| under restraint.
| Last evening about o'clock
Captains Druse and Bennett, with
| Detective OMeara We're standing
in front of the city hall, when Mar
tin came up and called O'NIeara to
one side. He informed him that he
was going to the City Hall reStau-
rant for supper, and requested that
| he keep aclOSe watch for these two
| men whom he had been lodging.
He then repaired to the restaurant
and ordered supper, after which he
stepped out into the side walk and
looked up and down the street in
a strange way. Captains Druse and
| Bennett We're informed of the
affair, and proceeded to ques-
ton the man. AS they were APP
| preaching Martin tried to pull
a revolver from his pocket,
thinking the officers were the men
looking for him. They were two
quick, however, and the pistol was
not pulled. They marched him to
| the police station where charge
of carrying pistol was preferred
against him. When searched he
| l,nJ on biS ,,nrSpn Ro1 ~ n Dnm hnr
of papers, one very costly revolver
and $50 cartridges to suit. He was
escorted to a cell and spent the
night in imagining rash deeds,
which he is Of the opinion, are be-
ing arranged for his death.
1t is well known now, judging
from all facts that can be gathered,
that Martin is a raving maniac at
times, that is, when he entertains
any thought of the murder of
Smithwick. He informed his wife
last night, that, were it not for
| their children, he would murder
her and then take his own life in
| order to save further trouble. The
affair is the most mysterious one
and were the truth known, prObab-
ly an awful story could be related.
Martin was arraigned before the
| recorder this morning to answer TO
to the charge OF carrying pistol,
but his case was continued, the
officers desiring to gain further in
| formation regarding the case.