The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-11-25


return to their own hall or Senate
chamber. If, after the canvassing o1
the electoral vote, the President cleo
should die before the day fixed for hi
Inauguration, the Vice-President
would become President.
| EAsTERLlN ACQUITTED.
The State Failed to Establish the Corpus
Deficit.
CHARLESTON, s. G., Nov. 1S.-Elec
trician VIM. 81. Easterlin was ar.
raigned in the Court of Sessions Tues
day morning for the murder of his
child on September 2lst. This sensa
tional cause drew large and interest
ed throng to the court room, (which
held their places throughout the day.
It will be remembered that on the 23rd
of September MIR. Easterlin was ar
rested on the charge of having muir
dered the newborn infant which was
found dead with stone tied around
her neck in Benefits Mill Pond. On
the night of the 21st of September,
Easterlin's paramour, a young woman
with respectable connections, gave
birth to an infant, which was believed
to have disappeared. On the after
noon of September %, the day after,
a child was found dead in the mill
pond. Easterlin was arrested on the
charge of murder and the three.fold
problem which the state now has to
solve is to identify the body as that of
Easterlin's child; to prove that it was
born alive and was done to death by
violence, and to show that Easterlin
is the party that did the deed. 1t may
be said here that there seems to be lit
tie doubt in the minds of many that
the body of the infant found in the
mill pond is Identical with the illegiti-
mate offspring that was born to Eas'
terlin and his paramour on the night
of the 21st of September. The princi.
pal question remaining to be solved
before the tribunal of public opinion,
asT seems to have arrived at its verdict
in advance, is as to whether the father
was the murderer alone, or at al, and
as to whether the women in the case,
a mother and daughter, are not also
principals. Several supposed strong
circumstances are mentioned as point
| ing to their completely, at least, in the
crime. The defense, too, seems to be
adopting this line in laying the foun'
dation of their case, of shifting the
motive and method of the crime to
other than Easterlin's shoulders.
The trial terminated this morning
in the verdict mot guilty." which was
read on the opening of court at 10
o'clock, the jury having reached their
conclusion in the wee sma' hours OF
the morning and having transmitted
/ it written and sealed TO the Judge.
The verdict was generally anticipated.
1t was evident to the least expert that
the State had failed to make out its
case. 1t was one purely of circum-
stantial evidence, and the one, impor-
tant and indispensable link in the cir
cumstantial chain was not only want
ing but was strangely, if not purpose
ly, overlooked by both sides in the
case-that is to say, the corpus delicti,
the Identification of the body of the in.
FAINT found with that of Easterlin's
child. While all the instances
seemed to point to the identity of the
two, no stress was laid upon this point,
and even when the grandmother In
her testimony stated that after deliv.
ering the child to Easterlin she did
not see it any more until the occasion
upon which she saw it in the hospital,
| it was noticeable that neither side un-
dertook to draw her out as to how
she identified the mutilated and
fish eaten cadaver with that of the in
FAINT in question.
The failure to establish the corpus
deficit absolutely, in case of circum-
stantial evidence-where the accused
had not been actually seen to commit
the eed-would alone seem to be a
prima facie confession of weakness.
But the truth seems to be, that the
Coroner's inquest was perfunctory
merely, as these too often are, and
the proper legal precautions for iden-
tifying the remains were not fully OBJ
served. The swaddling clothes OF the
child as found seem 10 have been
buried with it.
In addition to the fact that there
was no positive evidence to connect
Easterlin with the destruction OF the
infant that was found, there was no
testimony beyond that of the two wo.
men concerned to show that he had
been the instrument for carrying
away the infant that had disappeared,
and as all through their testimony
the women evidenced a stronger mo-
tive for keeping the matter secret and
of getting rid of the encumberance
without exposure than Easterlin could
reasonably have entertained, fatal
suspicion was necessarily cast upon
their story.
The circumstance which bore strong
est against their testimony was that
they admitted not having made any
preparation for keeping the child in
the way of clothing. The prisoner.
who has grown much thinner since
his Incarceration, and who has all
through the trial shown degree of
nervousness natural to the occasion,
and to the fact that there was much
prejudice against him, which was not
altogether owing to the belief in his
homicidal guilt, heard his acquital
with composure and, together with
his brother and son, who have stood
by him during the ordeal. boarded a
street car for the home to which be
has heen q strannar since Saptambar