The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-06-23
SAM TONI IS ON
. TRIAL FOR MURDER
He Shot John J. Rafter, Of Green Ridge,
At Old Forge On Feb. I.
HE DIED SIXTEEN DAYS LATER
Commonwealth Will Press for a
Verdict Which Will Mean Death
TO the Defendant..Theory Of the
Defense Is That II Is a Case Of
Mistaken Identity..Jury Selected
and the Case Opened.


is on the bench. The defe dant is Sam
uei Toni, the Italian. who at Old Forge,
on the night of Feb. 4 last fired two
shots from a revolver into the body OF
John ]. Rafter. of Green Ridge. the re-
suit Of which was the latters' death SIX
teen days later.
District Attorney John r.. Jones is
prosecuting the case for a verdict of
murder of the first degree. The defend
ant is represented by Attorneys John T.
Martin and Joseph U. Brown. From the
time that court convened yesterday un-
ill I o'clock in the afternoon the select
ing of jury was the occupation of the
court and interested counsel. At noon
five Jurors We're found who have not
any conscientious scrupes against oap1-
tai punishment, do not belong to the A.
p. A., and could go into the jury box
and render a verdict in coldance with
the law and the evidence. Mr.. Martin
questioned some OF the Jurors about
membership in the a. p. A. The other
seven were found during the afternoon.
The jury as 1t Is made up is as follows:
Horace Seamans, farmer, La Plume.
Robert Il. Eldren, patternmaker, Scran-
ton.
Benjamin Harris, superintendent Moosic.
James w. Conley, cabinet maker, Scran-
ton.
]. B. Mershon, undertaken, jefferson.
James Ribble. fireman. Dalton.
f. J. Ward, gentleman, Moosic.
Homer English, carpenter Blakely.
Matthew Mcpherson, manager, Dun
more.
George l.. Chamberlain. real estate
agent, Carbondale.
A. w. Klotz, painter Scranton.
r. c. Drum. merchant. Gouldsboro.
HISTORY OF THE CASE.
John J. Rafter. the murdered man,
was a son Of Mr.. and Mrs. John Rafter,
of Wyoming avenue. Green Ridge. He
was a member fthe Thirteenth Regi-
ment, and was esteemed wherever he
was known. A few days before the
shooting he went to Old Forge and was
the guest of Ross Keogh, with whom he
was we'll acquainted.
On the evening Of February they
We're walking along Main street, near
the road that turns over to Barbertown,
and were bound in the direction of
Rendham, at which place the deceased
intended to get on the street car and
come home. They met Toni and another
Italian and in passing them deceased
slipped on the ice and fell.
without waiting longer than 1t took
to pull out the revolver Toni fired at the
PROSTATE body twice, the bullets enter
ing the hip. Toni ran as quick as he
committed the deed, but he was recog-
nized by Mr.. Keogh and a warrant was
sworn out before Justice of the Peace
R. Willis Reese, and the defendant was
taken into custody
DIR. ]. ]. Timlin was called to attend
the wounded man, and then 1t did not
seem that the injuries were fatal. After
the deceased had been removed to his
home his condition became alarming
and Toni who was let out on bail was
surrendered to jail and held for mur-
der. Death occurred on the Goth.
Coroner s. P. Longstreet held an
autopsy the next day and found two
bullets lodged in the femur near the
joint. Blood poisoning had been caused
by pus which formed in the wounds.
THE LINE OF DEFENSE.
The line Of defense which will be Of
fered by Mr.. Martin is that it was not
Toni who did the shooting. There will be
over fifteen witnesses called to attempt
to prove the innocence of the prisoner,
who sits in court with the air of q man
that doesn't mind his fate much or else
he thinks that he is going to be acquit-
ted. In appearance he Is not preposs-
essing. He has big mouth, big nose,
big ears, small eyes, small forehead,
and small head. His face Is disfgured
a mine accident.
At AIS District Attorney Jones opened
the case to the jury and emphasized
the value of human life, the regard in
which 1t is held by the divine law and
the law OF the land. A person who
willfully and deliberately shoots down
another without any provocation and in
cold blooded malice, he said, deserves
to pay the penalty of his own life for
such crime. The evidence of the COM
monwealth will be presented today, and
1t is not expected that it will take more
than today and q portion of tomorrow
to hear it. The evidence of the de-
fence will take longer and 1t Is almost
certain that the case will last all week.
Mrs. Rafter and Miss Minnie Rafter,
mother and sister respectively of the
deceased, sat at the commonwealth s
table and their grief was expressed
when Mr.. Jones was addressing the
jury in his opening remarks.