Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-19
FATE OF LUETGERT.
1T Is NOW IN THE HANDS OF
THE JURY,
EXTRAORDINARY COURT SCENES
A Mob Demands Admission to the
Building, and Gives the Police
Much TroubIe-No Verdict Before
0;3O A. VI. To-Day.

| CRIMINAL COURT BUILDING. CHI
| CAGO, ILL, October 1S.-The fate OF
Adolph Luetgert, accused of numbering
his wife, and dissolving her body In a
vat filed with caustic potash is now In
the hands Of the jury. Judge Tuthill
finished his charge to the jury at 40 +.
| NJ, and minutes later the jury hled out
and was locked in the jury-room. Sup
per was sent in to them "a short time
later. and after it had been disposed OF
they set earnestly to work on the evil
dence Judge Tuthill took up quarters
near the Criminal Court building, in order
to be within easy call II verdict should
be reached during the night.
AT midnight not word Of any sort had
come from the jury-room, and the chances
of an al-night wait for the verdict
seemed excellent. Rumors Of all kinds
foated around
| The ATTORNEYS on both sides were CONN
dent at midnight Of verdict favorapie
| 10 their side while the opinion Oh lne
public was toward a disagreement.
State's-Attorney Deneen occupied tne
greater part of the day with his closing
address. He concluded by asking that the
| extreme penalty be given the prisoner.
| buzz of comment ran through the
| courtroom as the States Attorney mn
| ished his address, and was congratulased
| by a few friends who sat near him. Inc
| Judge granted an impromptu recess ana
| the jury left the room. Luetgert got up
and went out also for a drink OF water.
In ten minutes the jury had returned.
4 md in
until he faced the jury, and. deliberately
picking up his notes he began their read
| ing. Judge Tuthill instructed the jury as
| follows:
| JUDGES INSTRUCTIONS.
Before conviction can be had in this
case the State must prove beyond rea-
| sonable doubt, and to a moral certainty,
| first. that Louisa Luetgert is dead; second,
| that she came to her death on the lst
| of May, 1897 I'm the county of Cook, State
| of Illinois; third. that Adolph l.. Luet-
CERT, the defendant, wilfully, maliciously'
| feloniously, and of malice aforethouEht'
| killed and murdered the said Louisa
Iuetgert by some of the various means
| charged in the indictment or by means
unknown. The burden of proof rests upon
the prosecution to make out and prove,
to the satisfaction Of the jury, beyond all
| reasonable doubt, every material allega-
| ton in the indictment, and unless that
| has been done the jury Will find the de-
| fendant not guilty.
at Is not incumbent upon the defend
ant to prove that Louisa Luetgert is
alive, or her whereabouts, or what be-
became of her. If 1t is possible for you
| to reconcile the facts in this case upon
any reasonable theory consistent with
| the innocence of the defendant. 1t Is
| a., 10 nd N
| guilty.
You are instructed, as a matter OF
| law. that If you believe that the evil
| dence. beyond a reasonable doubt, shows
| that the defendant assaulted and killed
| Louisa Luetgert, as charged, under cir
| cumstanees showing no considerable
| provocation, but showing an abandoned
| and malignant purpose on the part or
| the defendant, and total disregard OF
human life, then the law pronounces such
| killing TO be murder, and the jury VIII
| find accordingly; provided, the jury be-
lieve that such facts and circumstances
pointing to the defendants guilt have
| been proved so that from considera-
ton of all the evidence in the case,
there is no reasonable doubt in the mind
| of the Jury as to the guilt of the defend
ant Direct and positive testimony IS
| not necessary TO prove the intent. 1t may
| be inferred from facts and circumstances
shown by the evidence.
THE CORPUS DELICTI.
"No man may be convicted of a crime
unless what is known as the corpus de-
ucti has been established by the prose-
cution; and unless you are convinced by
the evidence in this case, beyond rea-
sonable doubt, that Louisa Luetgert died
at the time charged in the Indictment,
and also that she came to her death in
manner and form as charged in the IN
dictment, in such case IL is your duty to
acduit the defendant. To prove the
corpus deficit, the State is required to
produce only such legal evidence as es-
tablishes in the mind of the jury, be-
vond a reasonable doubt conviction that
the murder charged in the indictment has
been in fact committed in manner and
form as charged, and that the defendant
is guilty Of its committal, and II matters
not whether the proof of such corpus
delicti consists in whole or In part of
circumstantial evidence, provided ii IL
sufficient to prove, in the minds Of tho
iurors. beyond a reasonable doubt, the
crime as charged.
.'While the statute provides that a per-
son charged with crime may testify in
his own behalf, he is not under any obi
cation to do so. and the statute express
lv declares that his neglect TO testify
shall not create any presumption against
nim."
Silence as still as death pervaded the
hacked courtroom while the Judge was
reading his instructions. His voice was
clear and strong, and even the throng
which was wedged into the corridor out
side the courtroom heard every word.
The iurors stood and listened TO every
word attentively.
When Judge Tuthill ceased, he read the
different forms of verdict that had been
nrepared. They included one for murder
providing for the death penalty; another
fixing the penalty at life Imprisonment;
a third. providing for a term of imprison-
ment of not less than fourteen years, and
a fourth for mot guilty.
AS Judge Tuthill concluded, he looked
nm at the fury, and said: Gentlemen,
Won NAV retire and consider your ver-
dict"
uPROAR IN COURTROOM.
Then there was an uproar in the court
room People who had been sitting rose
10 their feet. and the shouts OF the
bailiff ordering every one to "sit down."
availed nothing. The crowd surged for
ward. and took every inch of space. to
where the circular fence barred them
from the attorneys. Women almost
tainted In the crush, and their costumes
and headgear suffered. The crowd seem
ed 10 want 10 get near Luetgert. All
wanted TO see how he stood the final or
deal, now that his case was in the hands
~ tho Jury.