Connecticut western news., 1894-03-22
MURDER OR SUICIDE?
MYSTERIOUS SHOOTING OF A PRETTY
 TYPEWRITER.


 TYPEWRITER.
 The Lawyer In Whose onsce She Wa. Found
 with . Bullet Hole In Her Temple H~s
 Been Arrc~sed-sone New Light shed on the Case.
 NEW YORK. March so.-The web of evi. deuce connecting Joseph T. Msgee, the young lawyer, with the killing of Miss Laura !. Fuller. the handsome typewriter. in the office of Lawyer Mullen in Nassau Cham bers on Saturday evening, was woven . little closer yesterday. and the theory of suicide WAS correspondingly weakened. Superintendent Byrnes personally stepped into the case and detailed two of his best detectives to assist Captain Slevin in the investigation The latter, who held to the theory of suicide on Sunday, while refus- ing to commit himself positively, last night said, While do not say that this Is murder, man can change his opinion ss s case develops"
 One of the things which seem to indicate that the unfortunate young woman, if she shot herself, held the revolver good dis tance from her head Is the fact that no powder marks were found upon her 90 far as can be aScertained.
 Another thing which has already been dilated upon is that the shot passed through her head from left to right; that she Is not left handed, and that on her left hand was a glove so arranged that it would have been exceedingly difficult for her to have fired a revolver in any direction with sc. curacy. And the revolver, from all appear snoes, was aimed accurately when the trig, ger was pulled.
 Some New Light
 Through the wall of mystery and reti- cence which has grown up around the of flee where the tragedy occurred there has come some additional light. The most i'm portsnt evidence was secured from J. Frank Kiernsn and J. F. Riley who occupy Room SS. Nassau Cham bers, directly over that in which the tragedy took place. MT. kiernan was the frxt man after Nsgee to respond to Na9ee's cries and the first to enter the room in which the dying girl lay. His evi- dence is diametricSlly opposed to the state ment made by Maeee In several vital par ticulars. It even goes SO far as to indicate a premeditsted crime
 Mir. kiernzn says he was about to leave his offioe for the day and was standing al the door when he was startled by loud report frcAn the steam pipes that pass through his office. He exclaimed to Mir. Riley, Whats thats" and noticed that the pipes were vibrating There was no explanation just then, and he started down stairs He was half way down the second flight when he hesrd Nagee calling for the janitor in an excited voice. Then he called to two men who were standing on the stairs to come and assist him. He hurried back. and when Magee saw him he shout ed for him to come in, as a terrible soci- dent had happened. MT. kiernsn entered the audience room and then followed Ma gee into the office jointly occupied by him and Miss Fuller.
 kiernans Story.
 As he entered the door he saw the young woman in a sitting posture, with her back against the radiator. Her head hung on one side, and the blood WAS pouring In a stream from 6 wound in the right temple, from which the bullet made it's exit
 Her skirts were punched up behind her, and she was partially sitting on the pro jection at the base of the radiator. Her skirts were also raised almost to her knees in front, showing that she had evidently staggered against the radiator and slipped down. her skirts rising as she sank down. Her hat was on her head, her hands were extended, and glove was partially pulled on her left hand. She was moaning slight ly. Nsgee was very much excited and cried to kiernsn, Wont you come ins'
 kiernan entered, and his eyes hastily but critically swept the room To Miss Full ler's right was her desk, and to her left were the steam pipes, where the bullet had struck after passing through her head. In the corner by the pipes was a cane seated chair that will probably play an important sx> sh ha from the extended left hand and in front of the chair was s pool of blood There was no blood to the right Following the instincts of an old newspaper man, Kier- nan looked for the weapon with which the crime had been committed, but he could not see it
 Kiernan turned to Nsgee and asked, How did this happent" Magee replied that he did not know; that he was in the next room attending to some business when be heard the shot He rushed in and saw Miss Fuller ss she was then lying Kiernan, thinking that there should be more wftnesses to anything that was done, said that he would go up stairs and g~t Ar. Riley. They returned together in a very few minutes
 While moving the body of the girl Kier- nan had again felt and looked for the re volver. but did not find or see 1t Kiernan found policeman and sent him to the of flee and subsequently summoned an am bulance- During his absence Mir. Riley asked Magee whether the woman was a client. He replied that she was the type writer and then repeated the story of the tragedy that he has stuck to from the be ginning. Magee was trembling from head | to foot and was wringing his hands, but, '' as Mir. Riley put 1t, The still had the power of saying nothing"
 New Theory of Crime. From these facts furnished by Messrs, i Riley and kiernsn the prosecution builds almost a new theory of the crime based on the hypothesis that Magee shot and killed Miss Fuller. It is that the two young per. sons had been in deep conversation during those late hours in the afternoon, and 90 | that they might be closer together Msgee | had moved the little bookcase to one corner | of the room hnd placed the chair in its | place for Miss Fuller. Sitting naturally. this position would place the left side of her face toward Magee, assuming that he was sitting in front of his desk. At the critical moment of their supposed quarrel or disagreement they both started | to their feet Msgee leveled his revolver and fired, the ball passing through the Jeff temple and emerging from the right The | girl partly turned and then fell backward against the radiator into the position in ! which she was found by Kiernan. Before falling the blood gushed on the carpet where she stood and where it was seen near her left hand by kiernan. but was not no ticed by the police or other witnesses on the night of the tragedy. Yesterday, how ever, the stain was plainly visible several feet away from the pool of blood that had formed near the radiator.