The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-11-30
MARTIN THORN
MAKES A STATtMENT AS TO GUL.
DENSUPPE's MURDER

Names of The Criminal Parties Reversed
New York, November 27.-The fol-
lowing statement, signed by Martin
Thorn, is published in an evening pa
per today:
when l go on the stand Monday
morning 1 will tell the true and COM
plete story of the crime for which I
am now being tried for my life. My
lawyer has advised ME to conceal moth
ing and, with the help of God, 1 will
not.
Martin Thorn is just a man with
vices and virtues like any other, and
with the love OF life just as strong
within him as in any Of those who say
he sinned because he loved an un-
worthy 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 exist
ence to save her own, to save herself
from the consequences Of her own act
the killing of the man whom she
edge Of other crimes.
Augusta Mack planned and accom-
plished the murder of William Gulden-
suppe. When 1 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
ct n in, he |
was not even in the house at the time,
but in the doorway, and she was 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 WOodside. l
went there and When l arrived she
told me that she had killed Guiden
suppe, and that all her trouble was
over. For a long time 1 hardly knew
what to do. Mrs. Mack asked me to
. help her cut the body UP. 1 hesitated,
but could not make up my mind. You
have got to help me get rid of it, she
said, 'or both of US will get into trou-
BILE. All you have got to do is to help
''At last 1 helped her to carry the
body to the bath tub. 1t was very
heavy. Guldensuppe was dead. He
was not breathing when we put him
in the bath tub. 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 was 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 some
thing about surgery, or else it would be
impossible to get rid Of the body prop
ri Rpfn oh II
clothes were taken off. Afterward the
body was rolled up in the oiicloth and
cloth Mrs Mack 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 the
money to hire the Woodside cottage,
where she said she was to start 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 the pieces Of body, as the
| papers have stated, she took Gulden-
suppe'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 get rid Of the dead body
| to shield her and to save her from be
| ing arrested.
Everybody has lied about me in this
case, principally because I have not
talked or explained. They say I told
| Gotha that 1 killed Guldensuppe. It is
! a lie I told him that Mrs. Mack killed
him. They say offered to confess to
| Captain O'Brien so I could get free.
| That is another lie. I told Captain
| O'Brien something of private nature
| hot ,oS %hn ;v,%i %i,,No 70
ly. I gave him permission to speak
now. He will clear me. Now they say
| too, that threatened to murder Will
liam Guldensuppe. Yes; I said I would
kill him before he killed me. He almost
| killed me and threatened my life
every time 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 hel
house. She would get into trouble, she
said. I thought she told me that be-
| cause she loved me. I now know She
favored Guldensuppe and waited tc
| have me kill him SO She would not suf-
| fer.
Mrs. Mack told the jury that com
| mitted The murder in just the way she
actually did it herself. She turned
I everything around She reversed the
| whole story, accusing me of just what
she did. She is afraid to so on the
stand. Her lawyers will rot let her sc
on and testify against me. because they
know that 1 can prove her Har-car
| prove that she herself killed Gulden-
suppe because he knew OF other crimes
she had committed and because she
was afraid that Guldensuppe would
kill her for having had anything to dc
with me. I can ask that woman ques-
| tions that she cannot answer withou:
| showing conclusively that she has
sworn to lies; and what is more, have
| witnesses to corroborate me.
! [Signed.1 MARTIN THORN"
There is every probability that the
case of Thorn will go to the jury no,
| later than Wednesday next and posi-
bly, Tuesday night. William F. Howe
Thorn's attorney, has promised to fin
| ism his side of the case on Monday
Thorn viii testify in his own behalf
and accuse Mrs. Mack of killing Gull
densuppe. Other witnesses for the de-