The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-02-17
STATE PRISON FOR LIFE
VERDICT OF MURDER IN THE SEC OND DEGREE IN SP4RANO'S CASE.


 oND DEGREE IN SP4RANO'S CASE. Jury Was Out Only One Hour and Half
 Sentence Pronounced Last Night-Third
 tory of sparano's Crime-Cheshire Bur- ! glary Case Called.
 The jury in the trial of Antonio Spa rano returned a verdict last night at 6:30, after having been out one hour and half finding Sparano guilty of murder in the second degree. Immedi- ately after the announcement of the verdict Judge Prentice pronounced sen tence of life imprisonment No notice of appeal or Of petition for 6 new trial was filed by the counsel for the defence and Sparano was taken back to the jail. He will be taken to Wethersfield to- day.
 When the verdict was rendered it's purport was interpreted to Sparano, who at once began talking excitedly to his counsel, evidently being disappoint- ed in the verdict.
 Some rebuttal evidence in the case was put. in yesterday morning. after court opened, by the state, Sergeant Cowles, Patrolman Murphy and Cara fno Carmino, proprieto" of the peanut stand at the corner of Meadow and Whiting streets, being put on the stand. When this rebuttal evidence had been submitted, MT. Wheeler made the open ing argument for the state. He was followed by MT. Fowler for the defence. MT. Fowler advanced the theory that Sparano on the night of the murder of Fitzgerald was endeavoring to escape from Jimmy and Frank the two Ital- Hans who are thought to have been implicated in the murder and With whom Sparano had had trouble and that while fleeing from these two at the corner of Meadow and Whiting streets Sparano ran by Fitzgerald, with Jimmy and Frank close at his heels in pursuit. The theory advanced by MT. Fowler was that just as Sparano pass ed Fitzgerald, or dodged behind him to escape, one of the other Italians struck at Sparano and hit Fitzgerald by mis- take. As bearing out this theory, MT. Fowler tried to show that the wound inflicted on Fitzgerald and which caus- Gu HIS u6dlll w cS llldoS Wy eI lilGlll lollCl than Sparano, and he brought up the evidence deduced in the trial, which was to the effect that the witness saw three men running, one little ahead of the others
 At the close of MT. Fowler's argument MT. Williams began the closing argu- ment for the state. He carefully went over all the testimony, and closed shortly before o'clock.
 Although it was then late, Judge Prentice announced that he would charge the jury In his charge he de- fined homicide and the various classes of homicide. In a very impartial way, after stating what constituted murder in the first and in the second degree, the judge went briefly over the points which each side had striven to prove in the trial and then gave the case to the jury.
 The clothes worn by Fitzgerald on the fatal night, which showed the knife cuts and blood stains, were then bum dled up and taken with the jury.
 On the night of December 26 Thomas H. Fitzgerald, former well known mu- sician of this city, while on his way to the depot to take a train for Meriden where he was working, was attacked by three Italians, and one of them stab bed him in the back, causing fatal wound. He was found by the police ly- ing on the sidewalk soon after the stab- ping, and was sent to the police station where for the first time it was discover ed that Fitzgerald had been murdered. It was several hours after the tragedy that Sparano was arrested. He was charged with the crime, but denied all knowledge of doing the stabbing.
 While the jury was out State Attor- ney Williams called the case of Edward Slosson of Waterbury, charged with burglarizing the house of Richard Jen- kins in Cheshire on the night of August 22 1896. Slosson was put to plea and pleaded not guilty. His case was set down for trial next Tuesday.
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