The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-04
TIE KIPPIE TRIAL FINISHED
JUDGE PRENTICE VILE CRARGE
THE JURY THIS MORNING.


for the acknowledgements by Mr.. Tut
tie and State Attorney williamsburg
pies Fate VIII Probably be Known This
Afternoon.
The trial of Thomas F.. Ripple for the
murder of his wife, Mary Ripple, on
January 81, 1896, is now finished and
all that remains to be done in the case
is for Judge Prentice to charge the
jury before that body takes the case
in hand. The jury will be charged this
morning and before this evening it will
probably be known what disposition
will be made of the murderer.
At 10 o'clock yesterday morning when
court opened, Attorney r. II. Tyner
opened the case for the defence, ana
spoke for an hour and half. The ar
gument was Mr.. Tyners maiden effort
in a criminal case and was remark
ably able one. At its close the rising
young attorney was heartily congratu-
lated by older members of the bar and
by others.
Mr.. Tyner alluded to the prisoners
early life and the lack of training and
of home influences. Upon the married
life of the Kippies, he dwelt at some
length. He spoke of the love the pris-
oner bore for his wife, You can love
without intelligence and education" he
said, land this man loved that woman
in right way and a just way. True,
he lived with her before marriage, but
at the earliest opportunity he married
her to keep at his side. Even when
he left her to go west, before the sec
ond day of the separation, he sent for
her, He loved her. They quarreled
frequently, sometimes because of her
doings, but the poor deluded man re-
turned to her and readily forgave her.
Can you imagine that a man who loves
his wife dearly can become jealous of
her. If she showed favors to some man
you did not want nor wish her to show
favors to, wouldn't you become jeal-
ous?" Mr.. Tyner called the jury's at
tention to the evidence showing the
murdered woman's frequent acts in
violation of her marriage vows.
The liquor consumed previously to the
murder, as adduced by the witnesses,
Mrs. Tiederman, Mr.. and Mrs Clancy
and saloon keepers, and the fact that
at $40, half an hour before the murder
Ripple was tied hands and feet in the
bed, as was told by Policeman Simon
STREET, were dwelt on at some length
by Mr.. Tyner. His eyes roved around
while the policeman was there, but
state that the man was totally uncon-
scious at that hour. He was in a
stupor that night, the result of alcohol
consumed all his life and during that
fatal week" The muscular twitchings
and holdings of Ripple during the trial
were referred to. Mr.. Tyner charac-
terized them as the result Of insanity.
1t would be impossible for you or any
one, to keep that up necessarily" he
said. Thomas F. Ripple marries this
woman and she drives him insane
Drink had destroyed her."
When Mr.. Tyner closed his argument
a 1880 a recess was taken and at
11:40 Mr.. futile began to sum up for the
defence. Mr.. futile dwelt at length on
the testimony of the medical experts,
and brought out all the facts tending
to show that Ripple was insane.
Mr. futile said in part: Gentlemen
Of the jury. Four of the most distin-
guished doctors of the land have testi-
fled that Thomas F. Ripple is insane
If you decided to hang him for muir
der you would never be free of hallu-
cinations in your dreams of scaffold,
more Authorizations that Brother Will
liams could extract from the doctors
of the other side. The state has init
mated that our defence is that Mary
I1I ,trrl,{ rs rI,o
was dissolute woman and an adul-
tress, and that, therefore, it is better
that she is dead. I want to say at the
outstart that we disclaim sucn a con-
tention The hanging of that maniac
would not bring Mary Ripple back. If
1t would why, I don't know but that
I'd say to do ii"
Mr.. futile then proceeded to deal
with the subject of generalization. He
commended that it was absent in this
case.
He said that everybody had the in
clination to kill when injured, and that
the only difference between a sane and
an insane man is that a sane man
would be able, by reason of self-control,
to save himself from such deed,
whereas an insane man could not con-
troll himself.
Mr.. futile then said: "They haven't
even proven the elements Of murder in
the second degree. They haven't even
attempted to prove 1t. Mrs. Tiedemann
said she wanted to hang Tom Ripple,
and even the Thursday night before the
murder she said: Tom Ripple, I'll
swing you for what you have done to
my sister, Now she disclaims any
such intention. Now all you have in
reference to threats against Ripple was
what his sister-in-law testified to. Now,
isn't it fair to give as much weight to
the threats of this intelligent woman
in reference to Ripple as to the threats
of this diseased man-rotten with al
cohol-these drunken threats. They
say Ripple came on here with DELHI
GRAFTON to kill this woman. He didn't
do any such thing. He came on here
and remained week. When did his
intention cease? Why didn't he kill
her when he first came? Why didn't
he kill her at night? Why didn't he
noison her and provide some way of
escape? Her constant effort was to
make this man jealous, to make it ap-
,~ en- hin, that she was incOn slant