The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-11-09
STRANGE DIsAPpEARANCE
Is Punishment JustifabIe on Cir
C"mStantial Evidence?
Baltimore sun.

Is Punishment Justifiable on Ci
. CumStantial Evidence?
Baltimore Sun.
by u curious coincidence in the tw
most remarkable murder trials of tn
year-the Luetgert case in Chicag
ana the Guldensuppe case in New Yor
the same unusual theory of defens
has been set up, namely, that ther
has been no murder.
Counsel for the accused man Thorn
by whom the New York authoritie
believed the missing man Guldensupp
was lured to cottage at Woodside
Long Island, there killed and dismem
bered and his remains disposed of il
frag gments, is going to ask the court on
Monday next for postponement of the
trial. The ground of his motio, tt
postpone will be that, if further time
Is given he believes he will be able tC
prove, by witne ,ses brought from Ger
many, that Guldensuppe has visited
friends in that country since the date
when the alleged remains Of his BODY
were identified at the morgue in New
York. More than this, the counsellor
says he expects to prove, by witnesses
brought from Virginia that the body
Pieced together and identified as
Guldensuppe's is, IN fact the body of a
man named William S. Edwards of
that state
improbable as these theories of the
disappearance, for unknown reasons,
ol Mrs. Luetgert in the one case and
Guldensuppe in the other, seem upon
their face to be, it is interesting to
note that more improbable things have
happened, and are matters OF court
record. There have been cases, though
they are not numerous, in which cir
cumstances conspired to indicate
MURDER so strongly til, accused men
were convicted, and in some instances,
executed, and later it was proved that
no murder had been committed. With
out Offering any opinion upon the two
famous cases now before the courts OF
Chicago and New York, we may recall
one or two OF these historic instances.
at Benton, Ill.,, in 1866, q skeleton
was found in some woods and identi-
fled as that OF Henry Mahorn, who
had been long missing, under circum-
stances that seemed to point to one
DANIEL Williams as bis probable MUIR
derer. Williams was indicted and put
on trial. The evidence against him
wa! was strong, and his conviction seemed
likely, but just as the prosecution had
finished its case, Henry Mahorn walked
into the court room and explained his
long absence.
a most tragic case of this kind oc-
Cured at Gibraltar, in 1871. James
baXwcll, respectable merchant
tn" was charged with the murder
Of ...s daughter, EleZia. The girl was
missing and in a cave near her fathers
house some Of her hair and clothing
were found, stained with blood. Wit |
nesses testified to hearing the father
say, angrily, that he would rather see
her dead than see her married to a |
certain man VIII had asked for her |
hand. Wild shri,6s, as Of a woman in |
mortal agony were heard on certain |
day by other witnesses, issuing from |
The cave where the clothing was found |
ANA, TO cllnch the case, nobody had |
even seen the girl alive since that day |
was convicted and sent to the |
scailold; just as he was about to be |
launched into eternity the girls lover,
named William Katt, cried out to stop |
the execution, that the girl was still |
alive. lie had married her and kept |
her in hiding ever since, and had |
fabricated the evidence in the cave,
including the cries of mortal pain, for
lather. The black cap was removed |
from BaXwell's face. but he was dead |
The excitement of the ordeal bad |
killed him.
Most extraordinary OF all such cases,
however, was that OF two brothers,
Stephen and Jesse Boorn, of Vermont,
convicted Of the murder Of one Rus
sell Colvin in 1917. They had un-
quarreled with Colvin and
assaulted him. They had some fear
that they had killed him, for, when
brought to trial, they both confessed
to the murder. They did so, appar-
emily, hoping to escape the death pen
atty. One brother was reprieved, the
other was left for execution. Then it
was that, feeling doubtful whether
Colvin had been really killed at all,
the doomed brol ler caused an adver-
tisement to be put in the local paper,
describing Colvin, and calling on any
one who knew where he was to bring
him forward and save an innocent
man."
Newspapers all over the country
were asked to "please copy" Many
OF them did SO, and among others the
New York Evening Post. In that pa
per IL was seen and read aloud in
New York hotel parlor. A gentleman
present, named Whelpley, said he had
known Coivin, and described his pc
culiarities more particularly. AS he
did so another gentleman in the com
pany was impressed with the idea that
he had lately seen Colvin at work on
farm in Dover, N. j. Mr.. Whelpley
went to the farm in question, and there
he 'ound the long missing Colvin. He
hat much trouble in getting the man
to 80 back to Vermont in time to save
the condemned Boorn's life, but ho did
so.
These we'll authenticated cases
show sometimes truth is stranger
than fiction" and fully justify the rule
OF law which demands, in all murder
trials, that the actual commission of
murder shall first of all be clearly
established