The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-07-09
ALTENBERGER'S
ORDEAL.
The Murderer OF Katie
Rupp Faces a jury
Today.
INSANITY THE DEFENCE.
Max Salinger's Vain Fight for
Delay = Winfeld's Dramatic
Story of the Crime.

miner this morning to stand trial for the
murder of Katie Rupp at Snake Hill a fe"
weeks ago. He was in a pleasant mood
and before leaving the Jail told a keeper
that he expected to get seven or eight years
Imprisonment, and that before his term ex-
pred he would be ~pardoned.
The Court room was crowded with people
anxious to see the murderer and hear the
tale of his crime told in court. Many of
them commented on the beardless and boy
ish expression of the heartless assassin when
Constable George Stanton took him within
the bar and gave him a seat beside his law
yers, Norman L. Rowe and Max Salinger.
As soon as Judges Lippincott and kenney
took their seats on the bench, Counsellor
Rowe asked the Court to postpone the case.
He said that before Altenberger could safely
go to trial it would be necessary to receive
answers from Germany to letters that
counsel had sent there. He Informed the
Court that the defense would be insanity
and that the lawyers were waiting for proof
from Germany to show that insanity was
hereditary in Advantageous family, n that
the defendant himself had been LII an
asylum.
GETTING A JURY.
The Court refused to grant any delay and
ordered that the jury be called. Counsellor
Salinger objected to this action on the
ground that Sheriff Toffey and Judge KEN
ney could not strike a special panel of forty
eight jurors from the panel of sixty. as pro
yided in the act of 1855, because an act OF
1889 repealed it. Salinger also challenged
the array because only fifty-nine Jurors
were on the panel, one having died, and
and three were over age. Those over age
were Marinus Wells, age sixty-nine; Michael
Lennon, age seventy, and Charles Turner,
age seventy.
Judge Lippincott treated Salinger's OBJ
iections as emanations of a badly constituted
mind and refused to grant any delay.
The selection of the jury followed. There
were sixteen challenges for the defence, and
one for the State. These were the twelve
chosen:-John ]. Ginsto, Foraman; Jack
Master, Henry c. Petty, Herbert Wilson,
John S. Sothern, William H. Drescher, John
A. Slower, George Taylor, Samuel Pearson,
George Logan, John j. Cronin and Charles
Beenhammer.
s~ALINGER's QUEER MOVE.
Before the case was opened by the Prose
cutor, Counsellor Rowe read an affidavit
made by Max Salinger as follows
Max Salinger, of full age, maketh oath
and saws that he, with Norman L. Rowe.
Esq, are the attorneys of defendant, on
above Indictment, and assigned by this
court 10 aid and defend this defendant on
the trial thereof. That under the plea of not
guilty OF such trial the defence of insanity
will be interposed, and upon which defence
the deponent and his said col
tai of said defendant. Deponent
says that they cannot safely proceed to trial
upon said indictment on this ninth day of
July A.. D. 1894, for the want of material
witnesses IN behalf of said defendant to wit.
DIR. Knapp. resident at this time at Ludwigs-
burg, in the Empire of Germany, and
Caroline Kraft, resident at this time at
HaDgstedt, in Germany aforesaid, and whose
absence at this time from this country and
from this conrt is solely due owing to the
shortness of time intervening between the
time they heard from the deponent of the
Imprisonment of said defendants upon this
Indictment TO wit. On or about the twenty
fifth day of June A. D.. 1894. and
which thus rendered it impossible for
either of said witnesses to be here
at this time from such a distance.
Deponent therefore prayS for a continuance
of said trial until the next succeeding term
of this court. when and where said absent
witnesses will be by bin produced and by
whom this dsponent viii prove ami establish
a defence OF insanity aforesaid upon such
trial. Deponent grounds his belief that said
absent witnesses will then appear and testify
as aforesaid, for these reasons namely, as to
DR.. Knapp, this deponent has been
in written communication with him
concerning this case and has
received a reply stating that he is willing to
appear III his QeleIGSnbS EenaiI ana prove
insanity in the defendant. and as to the
Caroline Kraft. she is the mother of said de-
PENDANT. and through relatives of defendant,
6eponent is creiibly informed that she is most
anxious to testify as to certain facts which
established insanity in said defendant, but
that owing to tie shortness of the time and
the great distance between her present resi-
dence and this place she cannot be here
today.
NOT CUMULATIVE.
ssDenonent says that said testimony of
such absent witnesses is not cumulative to
other testimony t. be offered for the defend
ant. AID deponent verify believes that on
said trial there viii be a direct conflict of
evidence between the State and this defend
anton the defence OF insanity aforesaid,
and that by said absent witnesses the
defendant will be placed in great hazard
and peru of his life Deponent says that
by said absent witnesses lie can and will
proveathat, on May 10. said defendant was
SUFFERING from a disease of the body which
afflicted his brain and reason, and that by
such sickness the defendant had been con-
tiuuonsiv afflicted from January, 1890; that
by reason of such bodily sickness, May Is,
1921, he was suffering and laboring under
such a defective reason as not to
know the nature and qualities of any act he
was then doing or if ne dli know that what
lie did was wrong. That at Ludwigsburg, in
Germany, aforesaid, in January, 1890, such
bodily disease became SO manifest in defen-
dant that it became necessary to take and
place him in a certain asylum at said place
and maintained for the cure of the insane by
DIR. Knapp, in which asylum said defendant
was thereafter incarcerated for many
months and under the medical care and
treatment of said DR.. Knapp for the cure of
the then malady of said defendant, to-wit,
insanity, and which has continued and yet
exists in defendant. That although said
defendant could not be wholly cured
of said malady he was deemed harm
less except on receiving a sudden
provocation or anything to happen to him
that would produce excitement in him when
his mind was likely to give way under such
a strain and pressure, and while thus affiict-
ed he becomes deranged insane and his said
bodily disease to. again cause HIM to labor
under such a defect of reason as net to
know the nature and quality of any act he
was doing or if he did know that what he
did was wrong, and that on said May Ii his
mind and reason became thus afflicted, and
he is irresponsible in the law for the death
of Katie Rupp, and on the indictment afoTe-
said. deponent says that this application is
made Ia good faith and not for the purpose
of obtaining anyadelay in said trial"
The Court refused to accept the affidavit
MR.. wINFIELD's OPENING.
In his address to the jury the Prosecutor
said
TAT fifteen minutes before seven O'Clock in
the morning of May Is two men at Snake
Hill, while going to their work, heard groans
from a person on the Hill. The men Slam