Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1893-07-12


A remarkable American case is that
of the Boorn family. In 1872 Barney
Boorn lived in Manchester, VT, and
with him lived his sons, Stephen and
Jesse, and his son-in-law, Russell Col
vim. Colvin disappeared, and after
lapse of years, it was suspected that be
had been murdered by the BOOrn boys.
Then one of the neighbors remembered
that the boys had said they had "put
him where potatoes would not freeze
him." At length some children found a
hat, which was recognized as the one
that Colvin wore at the time of his dis
appearance A search was made, and
dog uncovered some bones that lay I'M
der an old stump. Meanwhile Stephen
had left the state. Jesse was arrested,
and confessed that his brother had told
him that he and Colvin had had a quar-
rel, and that. he had killed COlvln.
Stephen was found and brought back,
but he stoutly asserted his innocence.
Both of the brothers were indicted,
however, and in November, 1719, seven
years after it was supposed the crime
had been committed, they were brought
to trial. Stephen was induced to con-
fess to the crime in the hope of mercy
from the court. Both he and his brother
were, nevertheless, convicted and SEN
fenced to be hanged January %, 1920.
Moreover, the crime seemed to lie SO
entirely at their door that the mother
was expelled from her church and the
father held as a possible accessory to
the murder. By act of the legislature
Jesse's punishment was committed to
imprisonment for life, but that body re-
fused to interfere with the sentence i'm
posed upon Stephen. AS a last resource
Stephen prevailed upon his counsel,
who belle we'd him guilty, to advertise for
Colvin. This was done in the Rutland
Herald and copied into a New York
paper, and Colvin was discovered alive
and working for farmer in Dover,
n. J.
Another remarkable case was that Of
William Harrison, steward of Lady
Campden, of Worcestershire, England,
who left his home on August G., 1860, to
collect her ladyship's rents. Weeks
passed and he did not return. There
lived in the neighborhood family
named Perry, consisting of widow and
her two sons, John and Richard. The
reputation of the woman was bad and
John was half-witted. In the excite
ment that followed HarrisOn's pro-
longed absence, John Perry went be-
for magistrate and depOsed to the
murder of Harrison, stating that it was
ence of his mother and himself, and
that they robbed the dead man of e140.
This deposition led to the arrest of all
three, and their trial by Sir Charles
Turner, for robbery of the man they
were supposed to have murdered, as
the corpse had not been found. In the
hope of clemency they pleaded guilty.
After being sent to jail John still per-
sisted in his statement, and even
strengthened it by alleging that his
mother and brother had attempted to
poison him for telling the truth At
the next session mother and sons were
tried for murder by Sir Robert Hyde,
and, although John retracted his accusa-
ton at the trial, the two were convicted
and suffered death as the penalty.
Three years later Harrison returned to
Gloucester. He had been impressed
by gang and sold as a slave to Turk
ish merchant.
A horrible case, caused by mistake,
occurred under these circumstances: a
gentleman, who had been dining too
generously, fell down in the street in a
state of vinOus insensibility, and, as he
| lay there, two passers-by, who had
quarreled, stumbled over his body
One Of them, noticing that the drunken
man had sword, drew it and ran his
companion through the body, leaving
the weapon sticking in the wound In
the morning the men were discovered,
and the reveler was tried, convicted
and hanged. Some years afterward the
real murderer confessed the crime
In the following case the reader will
find fine illustration Of poetic Justice:
a wealthy gentleman, known to have
a bag of gold in his portmanteau, took
| lodging for the night in a small INN near
st. AIDS Bridge in Oxford. At mid
night the innkeeper entered the room,
armed with a knife, with the intention
of killing his guest and taking his
money, but he had been anticipated
and his wouldbe victim lay bathed in
blood. Meanwhile two other guests,
aroused by the cries of the IMAM, EN-
tered the room and arrested the pro-
prietor- Notwithstanding the TACT that
none of the property was found upon
his person, he was arrested, sentenced
and hanged Some years Latter the real
criminal was sentenced to the gallows
for a similar crime and confessed the
first murder
Sir Edward Coke mentions this case
as remarkable instance of the fallacy
of circumstantial evidence: "In the
! county of Warwick there We're two
| brothers; the one having issue a daugh-
! ICI hIN BC1l1S oClZtO OI IdIICS I'LL kO6, US-
vised the government of his daughter
and his lands, until she came to the age
of Is years, to his brother, and died.
| When she was about or 8 years of age
her uncle, for some offense correcting
her, she was heard to say, oh! good
uncle, kill me not, after which tinpe the
child, after much inquiry, COULD not be
heard of, whereupon the uncle, being
suspected of the murder Of her, the
rather that he was her next heir, was
upon examination anna Jac. Regis conn
mitted to the Jail for the suspicion OF
murder, and was admonished by the
| justices of assize to find out the child,
and thereupon bailed until the next as
sizes. Against which time, for that be
could not find her, and fearing what
would fall out against him, he took an
other child, as like unto her, both i'm
person and years, as he could find, and
| appareled her like unto the true child.
and brought her to the next assizes;
but upon view and examination she was
! found not to be the true child; and
upon those Prescriptions he was indict-