The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1894-06-19
A Suicide.

"A Su1C1des
John G. Rommel, who formerly lived
on east Mill street, but now living near
Burlington, committed suicide on Friday
morning. He was undoubtedly insane.
All day Thursday he was working in a
corn field Near him was a farm hand
named Joe, and Rommel would frequent
ly leave his own work and stand beside
the other man. When asked why he did
this Rommel replied because 1 love you
so much" About midnight Rommel
awoke and took hold of his wife, dragging
her down stairs. In his hand he had an
open knife, with which he attempted to
cut his throat, and it is thought that he
intended doing his wife harm with the
weapon.
1t required the efforts of two men to
get him away from Mrs. Rommel. For a
time he quieted down and went to bed i,
but in about an hour he got up and went
to the barn, where he was found about
half past four showing all the symptoms
of poisoning, and it was soon discovered
that he had taken heavy dose of Paris
green. BY his side was his dog. DIR.
Melcher was sent for at once, but Rom
mel died soon after the physician reached
the house.
Deceased was SO years of age, and had
been very healthy and strong until last
winter when ne had the grip. Since then
he has shown symptoms of an unsteady
mind and has more than once threatened
to kill himself Coroner Borden viewed
the body and gave burial permit
Wesley Warner Denied a New Trial.
X The Court of Errors and Appeals yes
terday refused to interfere with the YER
dict in the case of Wesley Warner, now in
Jail for the murder of Lizzie Peak.
The syllabus of the Courts decision is
as follows
If an intoxicated person has the capac-
ity to form an intent to take life, and con-
ceives and executes such intent, it is no
ground for reducing the degree of his
crime to murder in the second degree,
that he was induced to conceive it, or to
conceive it more suddenly by means of
his intoxication.
That the statutory intent to kill existed,
and the killing was unprovoked by any
cause adequate to reduce the degree of the
crime to manslaughter, the lntoxlcation
of the homicide, at the time of the act,
cannot affect the degree of the crime.
When the court had charged that If
there was reasonable doubt of the exist
ence of any facts essential to constitute
murder in the first degree, such doubt
must be resolved in favor of the defen
dant, it was not error to refuse a request
to charge that if there was a reasonable
doubt whether a particular fact, i. e., an
intent to kill, existed, because of another
particular fact, i. g., intoxication, the jury
could not return verdict in the first de-
gree.
The act of the jury in going to the place
of the homicide during the trial was ir-
regular; but inasmuch as the facts show
that the defendant in this case could not
possibly have been preiudiced thereby,
it does not vitiate the verdict.
The reasons for inquiry of the prisoner,
before judgment, in capital cases, if he
have anything to say why judgment
should not be pronounced, have disap-
peared since prisoners have been allowed
counsel to defend them.
The death watch has been placed on
the prisoner. Judge Garrison will prob
ably be here on July 3, to again sentence
Warner.