The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-08-17
Certainly a Curious Case.

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William f. Hinshaw was a clergyman
residing near Indianapolis. One morn
ing he was found lying in the road in
front of his house, with two bullet
holes and seventeen knife cuts in his
body. Nearby lay his wife, uncon-
scious and dying from a bullet in her
brain. He said he had been awakened
the night before by a pistol shot and
by a scream from his wife, who eX-
claimed that she had been shot. Two
burglars were in the room. He grap-
pied the larger one and his wife the
other. In the struggle the burglars
prevailed, preacher and wife were
dragged out into the roadway and left
for dead.
This story was not believed for sew
eral reasons. When Mrs. Hinshaw re-
ceived her death wound the pistol was
held so close to the side of her head
that the powder was driven into her
temple her gown was scorched, and
the pillow was stained swith blood.
BlOodstains were also on her husbands
trousers when they were found in the
yard. Mr.. Hinshaw said the two burg
lars ran east from the house after he
fell in the road, but his pistol, with
three chambers empty, and his razor
were found west of the house and in a
position where the robbers could not
have thrown them unless they had re-
turned to the yard after the struggle.
Furthermore, the wound received by
Mrs. Hinshaw was in the temple, and,
if received as her husband stated, the
murderer would have been compelled
to lean over the husband and press
the pistol against the wife's head. She
was asleep when the shot was fired,
and her death yas not necessary either
to the safety of the alleged burglars
or to their securing the coveted booty.
Brain experts testified that she could
not have spoken or moved after receiv-
ing the wound, for it's immediate effect
was to paralyze ever motor center and
produce instantaneous unconscious
ness. The burned pillow. case and
gown and the particles of powder driv-
en- into her temple by the shot demon
strated beyond doubt that she was
killed while lying in bed. Then, too,
every knife cut that appeared upon the
arms and body of the minister bore
unmistakeable evidence of being self
inflicted, for on the arms the cuts were
inside, and not on the outside muscle,
as would be the case if received in
n,.1s, IL
those on the left breast began near the
shoulder and circled around upon the
abdomen, while those on the right be-
gan and ended the same way, showing
conclusively, according to the prose-
cution, that the first were made with
the left hand of Hinshaw himself
Lastly it was shown that Hinshaw
had been unfaithful to his wife, that
she had demonstrated with him for it
and that he therefore had a motive
for putting her out of his way. On this
evidence Hinshaw was convicted of
murder in the second degree and SEN
fenced for life imprisonment a sem
tence he is is now serving.
But here comes in the second chan
ter in this curious cose. A convict at
Michigan City, one Noah Baney,
swears that he and two other burglars,
named Whitney and Van Tassel, en-
tered the Hinshaw house and that
while he was disposing of Hinshaw's
razor and pistol Hinshaw engaged in a
struggle with Whitney, during which
the preacher was shot and gashed. In
the meantime, the third burglar, Van
Tassel, had shot Mrs Hinshaw. This
story appears the more probable. That
would-be murderer, in order to avert
suspicion would convert himself into
series of human remnants seems on
the surface somewhat dubious. But
if Hinshaw has been sentenced and
imprisoned unjustly, what a grievance
he will have, and justly, against those
who put faith in purely circumstan-
tial evidence.