The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-08-08
THE SHANN TRIAL BEGUN.
The Jury Selected and the Case
Opened by the Prosecution.
special to The .yerseu oitv Ne,cs.


TRENTON, Aug. s. 1s93.-The trial OF
Mrs. Matte c. Sham. Indicted for MUIR
dering by poison her twenty-year -old
sou. John F. Shann, at their home in
Princeton on April 13 last. was begun
this forenoon. The peculiar and horrible
nature OF the accusation against the
woman-the doing to death by slow tor
ture of her own child to recover $2 100
insurance on his lifs-lends dread fasci-
throng of spectators was early on hand /.
Several OF the front rows of seats In the
old County Court House were fill ed wit h
women. among wnom were half score
of Mrs. Shann's Princeton nei ghbors.
Her appearance in the court room was
the signal for renewal among them OF all
the old talk about the suspicio US death of
Fred Shanu. the prisoners husband. last
November, and The peculiar and myster-
ious illness OF her daugnter-iu-l aw. Mis-.
) Hattie Shann. five years ago. AS the
story goes. Mrs. Hattie Shaun WAS III
| confinement and drank some of the con-
| tents of bowl Of lemonade in the bottom
of which were discovered traces of Paris
| green. The poison had settled In the bot
tom of the bowl and she did not imbibe
enough to do her much harm.
THE PRISONERS APPEARANCE.
| The prisoner, Mrs. Shann, WAS Drought
into court at eleven o'clock. She Is a tall,
| slender woman, with face indicating
| considerable refinement. She was
! dressed III deepest mourning, a long crepe
veil, black kid gloves, black fau and
/ black hordered handkerchief be-
| ing conspicuous features of her
attire. She gave no sign
! of suffering in consequence of her three
months of Imprisonment In the County
/ fofI faA
| Mr.. and Mrs. James Kelly of Philadel-
| phia, the latter her daughter, and by Mrs.
| Harriet b. Gray OF Princeton, who is 4
sister. Near the prisoner sat her four
| lawyers. viz:-ex-Senator G. o. Wander
bilt of Princeton. and w. D. Holt.
Chauncey II. Bealsley. and Frsncis H.
| Lee of Princeton. The State was repre-
sented by Prosecutor Bsvard Stockton
| and Assistant Prosecutor w. Holt Apgar.
| DRAWING OF THE JURY.
| Ths drawing of the jury YVES, as usual.
tedious process. Judge Albeit, who
! presided. made it plain at the outset that
| the reading of ne ewspaper accounts OF the
the jurors were asked. after admit
ting that they had read the
news paper reports of the case,
what optn ion, if any. they
4 had formed touching the innocence or
| guilt of the accused. One man declared
L -
1 all. and he was peremp ptorily challenged.
| Several. who said they had conscientious
scruples against the Initiation OF capital
| punishment were speedily excused from
serving,
/ AN ATHLETE REFUSED.
| One proposed juror was declared
| Incompetent to serve because he took
morphine twice week TO deaden the
The pains OF rheumatism. Another
| was excused upon acknowledges q
| membership in the East Trenton
Athletic Association. Ths defense sent
| him off but did not make the reason for
| his action known. An intelligent lock-
| ing man about fifty years of age, living
In the heart of Trenton, declared he had
never even heard of the Snaun case. His
declaration seemed to amuse the lawyers
for they all smiled, but he was not chal-
lenged and therefore got seat in the
bJx.
THE JURY SELECTED.
The jury as finally selected consisted of
George H. Dapper. of Trenton; Edward
Engel. a bookmaker; David FLOCK,
farmer: James Lee, merchants; Peter
Ten Broeck, business man: Frank
Cook, farm or; Frank Adams, cowntry
storekeeper; j. E. Petty, a country black
smith; Enoch P. Post, farmer: Simon
Meyers, a salesman; joseph Watts,
miller. and William Cole, farmer.
Prosec Stockton opened the case
by statement of facts,