Omaha daily bee., 1897-11-28
THORN TELLS HIS STORY
Alleged Murderer Gives Out Signed
Statement for Publication.
THROWS ALL THE BLAME ON MRS. MACK
ASSERTS the woman Killed CuIdcn.
suppc aud for Love of Her lie
Assisted in Disposing of
the Body.

NEW YORK, Nov 27.-Thcre Is every
probability that the case of Martin Thorn, on
trial for the murder of william Guldcnsppe
viii go to the jury not later than Wednesday
next, and probably Tuesday night William
F, Howe, his lawyer has promised to finish
his side OF the case on Monday, Thorn will
testify in his own behalf and accuse Mrs
Mack of killing Guldensuppe. other wit
nesses for the defense will probably be Mrs.
Zeigler OF West Farms, of whom It Is alleged
Mrs. Mack, with Guldensuppe, wanted to hire
house, the negotiations failing because tho
house did not have n sewer, and Herman
Mack, Mrs. Nack's husband. 1t is a Ques-
tion whether Mack will be allowed to testify
against his wife when she is put on trial for
her life.
1t is understood that after the defense Is
closed Mrs. Mack will be called by the
prosecution on rcbuttal to repeat her con-
fession accusing Thorn Of the murder.
District Attorney Youngs did not want to
put Mrs. Mack on the stand because she
made an unfavorable impression on the jury
at the first trial as she related the details OF
the crime. If Mrs. Mack is called again as a
witness of the state it will be because the
district attorney is compelled to take this
course to Offset the statement of Thorn when
he charges her with the killing.
STATEMENT BY THORN.
The following statement signed by Martin
Thorn is published in an evening paper to-
day:
When go to the stand Monday morning
l will tell the true and complete story of the
crime for which | am now being tried for
my life. My lawyer has advised me to con-
ceal nothing and with the help OF God l will
not
Martin Thorn is just man. with vices
and virtues like any other, and with the love
Of life Just as strong within him az in any
of those who say he snned because he loved
an unworthy woman; loved and trusted and
shielded her until he was in the very shadow
of the electric chair; loved her until she
swore away his existence TO save her own,
to save herself from the consequences Of her
own act-the killing of the man whom she
feared because of his knowledge of other
crimes.
Augusta Mack planned and accomplished
the murder OF William Guldensuppe.
when | got to the Woodside cottage that
Saturday morning she met me at the door
and said: L have got Guldensuppe up stairs
He is dead She had shot him in the face
and stabbed him in the breast, she said.
was not even in the house at the time, but in
the doorway, and she out of sight of the
people on the street at the time, half way up
stairs. l knew nothing of her purpose that
day. She had asked me to come to Wood
side. 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 / hardly knew what to
do. Mrs Mack asked me to help her cut the
body up. l hesitated, but could not make
up my mind
HELPED CUT UP THE BODY.
:" You have got to help me get rid of it,
she said, or both of us will get into trouble
All you have got to do is to help At last
| helped her to carry the body to the bathtub.
1t was very heavy. Guldensuppe was dead.
He was not breathing when we put him in
the bathtub. Mrs. Mack did the cutting
while l held the body. First she cut the
head off, then she took the saw and sawed
the trunk in two and then the legs. She
afraid the saw would go through the wrong
place in the body, but she finally got the
right place. She mentioned at the time that
it was a good thing she knew something
about surgery, or else it would be impossible
to get rid of the body properly. Before she
cut the body up the clothes were taken Off
Afterwards the body was rolled up in the
oilcloth bought at Mrs. Riger's Then we
talked over the plans to get rid of the body
She arranged for the surrey drive and the
throwing away of the pieces.
"She gave me the money to hire the
surrey She gave me tho money to hire the
Woodside cottage, where she said she was to
start a place to treat women who were in
trouble and who wanted it kept quiet.
after we threw the head into the river
and disposed of pieces of the body, as the
papers have stated she took Guldensuppe's
clothes and burned them In a stove
1T was nothing but my love for Mrs
Mack that got me into all this trouble. I
helped her to get rid of the dead body to
shield her and to save her from being ar
rested. Everybody has lied about me in
this case, principally because | have not
talked or explained. They said | told Gotha
that | killed Guldensuppe. 1t is a lie. I
told him that Mrs. Mack killed him. They
say | offered to confess to Captain OBrien
so could get free. That is another lie. /
told Captain O'Brien something of a private
nature that did not concern the case inll-
mately. / give him permission to speak now
He will clear me-
They say. too, that threatened to murder
William Guldensuppe Yes, | said would
kill him before he killed me. He almost
killed me and threatened my life every tinle
he mentioned my name to Mrs. Mack.
Augusta told me so and told me to look out
and have a pistol to shoot him, but not to
do it in her house, She would get INTO
trouble. she said. | thought she told me
that becluse she loved me. now luncw she
feared Guldensuppe and wanted TO have mo
kill him so she would not suffer.
"Mrs Mack told the jury that ! committed
the murder in just the way she actually ana
ii herself She turned everything around,
She reversed the whole story, accusing me
of just what she did. She is afrad TO go on
the stand Her lawyers will not let her go
on and testify against me, because they
know that | can prove her a lar--can prove
that she herself killed Guldensuppe because
he knew Of other crimes she had committed
and because che was afraid that GuldeEsupps
would kill her for having had anything to do
with me.
81 can ask that woman questions that she
cannot answer without showng concluslyely
that she has swOTe 10 lies, and what Ia
more / have witnesses to corroborate me,
MARTIN THORN"