The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-02-15
The TESTIMONY IS weak
1t Is Not Likely That Joseph Rumin-
isky Will BE Convicted of Murder.
STORIES OF THE WITNESSES
Coroner Kelley Says That Old Man Gaus
Died from the Effects Of the Blow on
the Head Which His Son. JohH
Gaus, Dealt Him.

No absolute testimony mas yet Deen
given by the witnesses of the common
wealth in the murder trial now on In
'ourt before Judge Archibald to serious
y threaten the life or even the liberty
If Joseph Ruminisky, the defendant, at
he bar of justice. There was murder
but it appears that the son
Of the murdered man is the real Grim
NAL The boy has evaded the officers
and has not been apprehended.
Attorney Charles E. Oliver opened the
ease to the jury and stated the facts
about the murder in a brief but stu
iious speech. Adolph kloss was the
first witness called. He lived in the
second story of the same house that
the Gaus family occupied the lower
floors of. About l o'clock in the morn
ing he heard shots from the rooms be-
low and recognized the voice as that
Of old man Gaus. The witness raised
the window and looked out on the
street, observing that Johnny Gaus and
were standing there.
The old man was proclaiming loudly
and the witness heard Ruminisky tell
Johnny to go in and shut the old man
up. Both then went inside the house
and the witness heard a heavy fall on
the floor. A moment afterward MIS-.
Gaus began to scream, saying that her
husband was killed. The witness went
down stairs and he saw the old man
lying in a pool of blood on the floor.
Wounds on the Body.
Mrs. Gaus was stretched across the
body of her husband. There were sew
eral ugly wounds on different parts
of the old mans body. Alongside the
body was a piece of iron two feet long
and little thicker than broom
handle. The witness suggested that the
old man ought to be taken into the
other room and put to bed.
Let him lie there" responded Rumin-
isky. land may the Father of Lies
take him" Later Johnny Gaus was
spoken to ouside by the witness and the
son admitted he struck his father a
fatal blow, the reason being that the
old man was turning things upside
down and threatening to send the boy
to the lookup.
Coroner j. A. Kelley was called and
gave description of the wounds on the
body of the murdered man as he found
them at the autopsy. The fifth and
eighth ribs on the right side were frac-
tured and a portion of the eighth rib
was broken and imbedded in the lining
of the lung, but that organ was not
seriously injured. There was a COM
pound fracture of the skull; the wound
was two and one-half inches long and
the bone was crushed in on the brain
The wounds on the skull and ribs were
caused by a blunt instrument. The
coroner found scars of stab wounds
but none Of them would produce death
The man died from the effects of having
his skull fractured.
The commonwealth tried to prove
that old man Gaus made dying state
ment duplicating Ruminisky but in
sufficiency of the first witness ability
to bring that fact out clearly, caused
the court to refuse to allow testimony
on that point.
Map of the Premises.
County Surveyor A. b. Dunning testi-
fled about a map he made of the prem
ises. Adolph Allentopfski, dudish
Polander, then went on the stand. He
boarded at Kloss' house the time of the
murder. He was awakened by the
noise in the rooms below and what he
swore to was substantially the same
as the testimony of kloss.
Mrs. Gaus, the dead mans wife, was
next called. She swore that her condi-
ton as to sobriety on the night of the
to- l. hnt oh
was not aware of anything that went
on. Her husband, Johnny and Rumln.
sky were reveling in drunkenness; they
sent out for five quarts of whisky and
drank every drop of 1t, except about a
half pint that had not been swept away
when the quarrel started.
When the fight began she got up and
saw her husband lying on the floor
She did not see either her son or Rum
insky assault the old man, but she
heard the old man upbraid Johnny foi
his unfilial conduct in using the iror
on his gray head. Ruminisky was there
and he Immediately advised Johnny tC
skip out She heard her son admit that
night that he struck his father on the
head. She did not hear that Rumni
sky had done anything.
Did Not Approach Witnesses.
Mr.. Mckinley cross-eXamined her al
length, but her testimony was in the
main unimportant.
Constable william Dougher. of Arch
bald, the officer who made the arrest
was sworn. He did not know anything
at all about the murder except from
hearsay Mr.. Mckinley asked him Il
he was not showing more than al
ordinary interest in the case. "Mr
Dougher," he said, have you not beer
tampering with the defendants wit
nesses, with man named Jacob Skor
upa?" The constable denied the allie
cation.
Mrs. Anna Weiss, of the Moosit
mountains, lived last September a
Archibald The morning after old ma,
Gaus was attacked, Johnny, the son
called at her house at O'Clock in tn,
morning. He was drunk. Ruminisk!
came there two hours later. WheI
Ruminisky arrived at her house sh
was not home; she was over to Sc,
about the condition of old man Gaus
1nat was HdII IL Hlilc away one Wu
told by Mrs. Gaus that Ruminisky wa
as much to blame as the boy for the ole
mans condition. Johnny told her h
struck his father with an iron bar.
Ruminsky, when she saw him, wa
dressed cleanly and had no blood Stain
on his clothes; but Johnny Gaus hat
spots on his clothing. He might hav,
had some on his shirt but his mothe
testified that she gave him a cleal
shirt. Mr.. Mckinley had just begun t,
cross-examine the witness when cour
adjourned. 1t is not likely that tn
crime of Ruminisky will be raised t,
that of murder.