The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1897-04-01
A SCRAP OF PAPER.
Used as q Gun-wad It Betrays Q
Murderer.
IL Completes . Chain Of Circumstan.
tia1 Evidence which Convicts
the Man Who Committed
the Crime.

Very few chains of purely circum-
stantial evidence have been SO complete
as that which fastened the guilt of
james J. Irwin's murder upon George
Matthews. The crime was committed
in Charles county, Md, in the first
week of August last, and Matthew'S
trial began on November % and ended
with his conviction four days later,
Thanksgiving day. He then confessed
the murder, and is now under sentence
of death.
AS sequel to Matthews trial came
that of Emma IrwinN the murdered
mans wife, which began Monday, JAM
lary 1s, and ended in acquittal owing
to the stubborn refusal of Matthews to
testify in the case. IN his own confess
sion last November Matthews fully inn
plicated Mrs. Irwin as his accomplice
and Mrs. Irwin's sister as one of the
chief instigators of the crime. When
Mrs. Irwin was brought to trial Mat
thews fatty refused to give the testi-
mony, without which it was impossi-
BILE to convict. The counsel for the
prosecution tried every legal device
they knew to introduce Matthew'S
previous confession, but in this they
were defeated at every point by the
alcrtnesss of Mrs. Irwin's counsel.
The murder itself was a peculiarly
brutal one. Irwin with his wife and
child lived at the little fishing village
called Aliens Fresh, Charles county.
Matthews, fisherman, lived a few
miles away. Letters intercepted by r.
win and others, found in the house after
his death, implicated Mrs. Irwin and
Matthews in guilty relations and testi-
mony showed that Irwin had knowl-
edge of the fact and was much dis
tressed by it. His little child testified
that there was domestic trouble on the
night of the murder and that Irwin
was shedding tears before he went to
bed.
In the dead Of that night Mrs. Irwin
went to a neighbor's and said that her
| husband was dead. She said that she
was sleeping on the bed with him and
was next to the wall. She was awak-
ened by loud noise and when she put
her hand upon her husbands head she
|
then fled for help.
That was her story and it was found
to be true enough SO far as the murder
was concerned. The neighbors found
Irwin's head half blown off by gum
shot and what was left of it hacked as
with an ak or hatcbct. The little child,
sleeping in the room where the deed
was done, if awakened at all immediate
ly went to sleep again and knew moth.
ing of what happened.
When suspicion first fastened upor
Matthews he gave so clear and circum
stantial an account Of his movements
during the "a hours, which included tht
time of the murder, that belief in hi.
guilt was shaken. But one small cir
cumstance after another was brought
to light, until finally the chain was
made complete by the clew afforded by
the paper gun-wad found in the deae
mans head. When spread out ant
cleaned it was found to be a scrap of {
newspaper with the printed words near
ly all legible. In Matthews pocket wa.
found scrap of paper which fitted tn,
tear on the side of the gun-wad scrap
and when joined together the line.
could be read. Still another torn scral
Of newspaper found in Matthews pock
ct fitted scrap found on the floor o
the shanty in which he lived. It wa.
the newspaper which Matthews hai
used in loading his gun, and it was I
scrap from an editorial which he had 81
brutaIly fred into poor Irwin's heat
as he slept in fancied security by tn
side of his wife.
| This scrap of paper SO conclusivel,
connected Matthews with the Grim,
that the jury was only few moment
in bringing in a verdict of guilty. II
his confession Matthews said Mrs. Ir
win knew that he was coming that nigh
TO murder her husband and that sh,
was lying awake on the bed when h
did it.-N. Y. World.