The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-07
HANGED HER SWEETHEART.
A Jealous Girl GOaded by Her Pa
rents to Commit Murder.
From the Kew York World.

From the New YORK world.
Logorto. Tex-On the witness stand to-
day, after a rigid examination by the
coroner, Miss Bessie Harris, the pretty
daughter of wealthy farmer, confessed
that she had hanged her sutton, Albert
Blackman, of whom she was insanely
Jealous.
Blackmans body was found hanging to
a tree in a lonely spot a short distance
from this town. The general impression
was that he had committed suicide. There
We're several people who did not accept
this theory. They suggested to the cor
oner that he subject Miss Harris to a Sc
we're examination. 1t was known the dead
man was last seen in her company.
Miss Harris was accordingly put upon the
witness stand to-day and instructed to
tell all she knew about the case. She
said that Blackman, who was a well-to-
do young farmer, had been counting her
for some time in opposition to the wishes
of her parents. Her father and mother
did not object TO the young man on ac-
count of his habits. He was Industrious
and sober and was abundantly able to
provide comfortable home for her. But
the parents maintained that she was too
young TO marry, being scarcely IS years
old. They hoped that she would take a
fancy to a relative living in another state,
whose name she refused to divulge.
Her parents. finding they could not
change her affection for Blackman, be-
gan a systematic attack upon her jeal-
Gus disposition. They told her that
Blackman was simply making her ridicu-
lous, and that he was engaged to an
other girl.
The girl believed the stories told her,
and determined to kill Blackman. She
gave him no chance to explain the reports
her parents had given of him, and did not
even mention that she suspected him of
infidelty.
At her fathers suggestion, she request
ed that Blackman give her test of his
love by letting her hang him, promising
to cut him down in time to save his life.
Blackman was so desperately in love with
the girl that he readily submitted to the
test.
On the night of the murder she took a
walk with him and lured him to a lonely
spot, where her father was in hiding with
rope. Excusing herself for a moment
she procured the rope from him and placed
1t about Blackman's neck. She says that
he expressed little fear of the result, as
he felt sure that she did not have strength
enough to pull him from the ground
After the rope had been placed over the
limb of the tree and drawn taut her faith
er appeared. He and the girl pulled Black
man from the ground and tied the fatal
knot The poor fellow struggled terribly
and she would have cut him down, but her
father mentioned the "other woman" and
her heart hardened toward her lover, who
was slowly strangling to death.
After the body became rigid she united
the rope and lowered the body to the
ground. Even then she felt no pangs of
remorse, but, with the assistance of her
father, arranged the body and the rope so
that it would appear to be a case of sui
eide.
This unexpected confession created a
sensation. There was talk of lynching the
parents of the girl. 1t was averted only
by the promptness of the officials. who.
Immediately after the girls confession
placed her parents under arrest. The girl
was also arrested on a charge of murder