Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-11-29
1AoRN's STATEMENT.
Charges Mrs. Mack With murder Precisely as
She Accuses MIN.

William F. Howe Thorn's lawyer. has
promised to finish his side of the case,
Monday.
Thorn will testify in his own behalf
and accuse Mrs. Mack of killing Gull
densuppe.
Other witnesses for the defence will
Farms. of whom it is alleged Mrs.
Mack, with Guldensuppe. wanted 10
hire a house. the negotiations failinS
because the house did not have a sew
er. 1t is a question whether Mack VIII
be allowed to testify against his wife
when she is put on trial for her life.
II is understood that after the de-
fence closes Mrs. Mack will be called
by the prosecution in rebuttal to re-
peat her confession and accuse Thorn
Of the murder
District Attorney Youngs did mol
want to put Mrs. Mack upon the stand
again. because she made an unfavor-
able impression on the jury at the
first trial as she related the details Of
the horrible crime If Mrs. Mack is
called again as a witness for the state
it will be because the district attorney
is compelled to take this course to off
set the statement of Thorn when he
charges her With the killing.
When Thorn's fate has been decided
airs. Nack's case will come up. 1t is
generally supposed that if she be 81
lowed 10. plead guilty either to murder
in the second degree or manslaughter
in the first degree, she would receive
a sentence of imprisonment for life.
and for manslaughter in the first de-
gree the extreme penalty is 20 years,
A statement purportng to be signed
by Martin Thorn, was made public,
Saturday. In part it is as follows:
when / go on the stand, Monday
morning, | will tell the true and com
plete story Of the crime for which l
am now being tried for my life. MY
lawyer has advised me to conceal moth
ing, and with the help of God. l will
not.
Augusta Mack planned and accom-
plished the murder Of William Gulden-
suppe. When I got to the Woodside
cottage. that Saturday morning. she
met me at the door and said: i have
got Guldensuppe up stairs. He -
dead. She had shot him in the face.
and stabbed him in the breast. she
said. l was not even in the house at
the time, but in the doorway, and she
was out of sight of the people on the
street at the time. half way to the
stairway.
II knew nothing of her purpose. that
day. She had asked me to come 20
Woodside. l went there. and when l
arrived. she told me that she had killed
Guldensuppe. and that all her trouble
was over. For long time I hardly
knew what to do.
Mrs. Mack asked me to help her to
cut the body up. l hesitated. but could
not make up my mind. You have got
TO help me get rid of it, she said, or
both of us will get into trouble. All
you have to do is to help At last I
helped her to carry the body to the
bath tub. 1t was very heavy.
Mrs. Mack did the cutting. while l
held the body. She mentioned at the
time that ii was a good thing she
knew something about surgery or else
it would be impossible to get rid of the
body properly.
clothes were taken off. Afterward the
body was rolled up in the oil cloth that
Mrs. Mack bought at Mrs. Rigers.
Then we talked over the plans to get
rid of the body. She arranged for the
surrey drives, and the throwing away
OF the pieces. She gave the money to
hire the surrey.
She gave me the money to hire the
Woodside cottage, where she said she
was to start a place to treat women.
She wanted to run a badly farm. too. 50
she could make lots of money.
After we threw the head in the river
and disposed of pieces of the body. as
the papers have stated. she took Gul-
densuppe's clothes and burned them in
stove.
1T was nothing by my love for Mrs.
Mack that got me into all this trouble.
! helped her get rid of the dead body,
to shield her and to save her from be
ing arrested. Everybody has lied about
me in this case. principally because l
have not talked or explained.
They say l told Gotha that l killed
Guldensuppe. 1t is a lie. l told him
Mrs. Mack killed him because l thought
he was my friend. He betrayed me and
swore falsely against me. 1 don't know
what for, unless he was paid for it. He
confesses that he got 5000 or $500 from
the district attorney on the stand.
They say l offered to confess to
Capt. O'Brien, so l could get free. That
is another lie.
They say, too, that threatened to
murder Guldensuppe. Yes. I did say
I would kill him before I would let
him kill me. He almost murdered me
once, and threatened my life every time
he mentioned my name to Mrs. Mack
Augusta, told me so, and told me to
look and have a pistol to shoot him, but
not to do it in her house. She would
get into trouble. she said. 1 thought
she told me that because she loved me-
I now know she feared Guldensuppe,
and wanted to have me kill him, so she
would not suffer.
Mrs. Mack told the jury that COM
mitted the murder in just the way she
actually did it herself. She turned
everything around. She reversed the
whole story, accusing me of just what
she did,"