The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1895-09-04
SHOT BY A WOMAN.
Charles Pepper, a Pullman
Porter Found With a
Bullet in His Breast:
JEALOUS OF EACH OTHER
Jennie Says She Acted in Self
Defence But Is Gontradicted
by Witnesses.


employed by the Pullman Parlor Car
Company. was shot and almost instantly
killed shortly before midnight last night
in his apartments. His paramour, Jen-
ME Pepper, is accused. of his murder.
She was arraigned before b. Van
Keuren, who is sitting in Justice Potts
court, this morning and formally COM
mitted to await the action of the Grand
jury. Alexander Simpson has been re-
tanned to defend her
No. 462 Monmouth street is a three
story frame tenement house. situated
between Sixth and Seventh streets. The
house is tenanted exclusively by colored
people. The Peppers occupied the second
floor. Within five minutes after the
supposed murder was committed the
police were on the scene and the alleged
murderess and several important wit
nesses placed under arrest. Chief of
Police Murphy was on the scene early
and without the loss of any time he
procured statements from eye-witnesses
of the tragedy.
The prisoner, who says she is Jennie
Pepper. is about 2S years old. She is
good looking colored woman and is
unusually well educated She was born
in Wilkesbarre, North Carolina. Accord
ing to an acknowledgment made to Chief
III OnOC pHy Sic 14eSo fAlAOHA SPPSA
more than ten years She had lived
with him six months as his wife, al
though never married to him
JEALOUS OF EACH OTHER.
For the past four months they have
lived at No. 462 Monmouth street. and,
according to information procured from
the other occupants, they Quarreled fire.
quently. Pepper was handsome light
colored negro, and the woman, it is said,
was jealous of him, while on the other
hand he is said to have been suspicious
of her every movement. Pepper re-
turned to his home from work about
noon yesterday. He slept for an hour
or two and was dressing himself to so
out when David c. Lee and his wife
called. Lee is the steward of the Hudson
Democratic Society. 1t was between half
past three and four o'clock when Mr..
and Mrs. Lee entered the house, as near
as can be learned The afternoon was
spent pleasantly and the callers were
induced to stay TO supper. After din
ing, the party played cards and dur
ing the game two pintS of beer were
brought in.
Up to this point the prisoners story
is corroborated, but the remainder of it
is contradicted by four witnesses. The
prisoner asserts that while the Lees
were still in the house she had words
with Pepper. What the quarrel was
about she cannot remember, but she is
positive that they quarreled. She adj
n1its having used an indecent expression,
which angered Pepper. He. she asserts,
made an effort to strike her, and would
probably have done so had not Mr.. Lee
stepped in between them and patched up
the little difficulty. Immediately after
the departure of the Lees she main
tanis that Pepper approached her and
demanded to know why she dared insult
him in the presence of his friends.
ST saw he was angry" the prisoner
says in her statement and said: Charles,
what is the matter with you? Calm
yourself"
THREATENED TO FIX HER.
ssI'n fix you for what you said" she
declares he said. He again asked her
why she had used indecent language.
and she says her reply was that she did
not mean anything. Without another
word, Pepper, she alleges, went into
the bedroom and going to the washstand
drawer took out a loaded revolver and
walking toward her exclaimed:-'T will
show you what i mean when you in-
suit me-
She declares that she replied
Darling, what is the matter with
you? Don't be so foolish
By the time she had finished speaking
he had cooked the revolver. She
grabbed his wrist, and during the scuffle
the revolver went off.
MY Godt 1 have shot myself she
declares he said, as he fell to the floor.
The ball had entered his right breast
and had penetrated his lung. She tore
open his shirt, and seeing the wound
and hlood ran upstairs to the apartments
of Mrs. Clark and told her Pepper had
shot himself. She says that Mr.. Clark
happened to be in the house. He ran
down stairs and the prisoner SWears
that he, picked up the revolver with
which the shooting was done and put
She maintains that she did not touch
the revalyer t s, at an ,iI and insists fhat peR
RRer RRer. sh0' nimsen @h'is s'fussnns W''n
David C. Lee, who with his wife, had
ing in the Pepper apartments, is dam
aging witness against the woman. He
of any description while he and his wife
were in the office. He denied having
to separate the people at any. time, there
such interference. Mrs. Elizabeth Lee
corroberates the testimony Of her hus-
that there was no trouble of any kind
between the people while she was in
Edward Clark, the co1ored man, who,
with his wife, occupied the rooms over
the Peppers, testifies that when the pris-
oner called him and his wife down stairs
SAYS IT WAS sELF-DEFENCE.
Charles tried to shoot me and I shot
him"
Clark declares that he only looked in
the bedroom where Pepper lay. his
shirt was torn open and the wound IN
his right breast was exposed His face
and neck and shirt were covered with
on the floor beside his body. The head
of the dead man was toward the BED,
and his feet near the hall door. While
he was looking at Peppers body the
prisoner, he says, rushed up to him and
shouted, Ed, for Gods sake, go for
DOCTOR
Clark started for a doctor and on his
way out CHANGED to meet Policeman
Thomas Barry. of the Second precinct.
He informed him of what had occurred,
and with Barry returned to the house
Immediately. He positively denies hav-
ing picked up the revolver. with which
the Shooting was done, and claims not
20 have seen it until Policeman Barry
picked it up in the bedroom near where
Peppers body lay. Mrs. Alice Clark,
wife of the former witness swears that
when the supposed Mrs. Pepper called
her down stairs. she Come down
stairs quickly; Charles is sick. mo-
ment later She declares she said:-"I
have shot Charles" Mrs. Clark claims
not to have seen the revolver with which
the shooting was done. In supplement-