The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-10-30
cIRcUMsrANTIAL TESTIMONY

channel.
cIRCUMSTANTlAL TESTIMONY.
philadelphia Times.
We are to tn1k today--according to
promse--about the possibility Of Mrs
Luetgert, the woman for whose alleged
death the Chicago sausage manufacturer
has Just undergone trial. being alive.
There Is certainly possibility OF any
one being alive whose dead body has not
been found. or course that Is o. negative,
and not an affirmative proposition. One
of the greatest English authorities, Lord
Hale. advises that In no case should d
prisoner BIO convicted where the dend body
has not been found-where the fact OF
murder depends upon the fact Of disap-
pearance. Regarding this that famous
authority Chitty, says--and this applies
directly to the Lue.gert case: 1T is said
to be a good general rule that no man
should be found guilty OF murder unless
the body OF the deceased is found; because
instances have arisen Of persons being
xecuted for numbering others, who were
afterwards found to be alive. But this
rule must be taken rather as caution
n
served; for 1t would be easy, in many
cases, so TO concesl body as to prevent
1t from being discovered"
This brings us to the much vexed ques-
ton OF circumstantial testimony
j. r. Archbold who for nearly one Gen.
fury has been standard authority In this
country and in England, In his work on
mi Tra.
numerous instances-added to In mod
ern American edition by Thomas W. Wat
Misunderstanding both the value and the
danger OF circumstantial testimony in
murder cases, and in questions OF the
Identification Of dead bodies. The follow
ing examples are cited
In the case of Eugene Aram--on which
Bulwer founded novel and Thomas
Hood a poem--+the skeleton was found in
a cave thirteen years after the murder
The proof of the Identity Of the body was
very faint. and, but for the strong cir
cumstantlal evidence. a conviction could
never have been Justified. Charles L.
after being much disfigured. was identified
by a resemblance to the head upon the
coins issued during his reign. Marchoinsss
OF Salisbury, found among the ruins Of
Hatfield House, was identified by gold
APPENDICES TO the artificial teeth In the
case OF Mary Martin tho Identification
was by missing teeth. In the case Of
CLOVIS. the body was identified twenty
three years after the murder by the pecu-
liarty OF the teeth
Cases of mistaken identity, however
are not uncommon. A man named
IA ns.rp a1 nk Maui ~
charged with the murder of one Sarah
Bloom who had short time previous
mysteriously disappeared. The dead body
OF Il young woman had been found. which
Jane Bloom identified as that of her sister
sarah. She was very positive OF the fact !;
described with great accuracy and mi
nuteness certain physical peculiarities Of
her sister, and Insisted that the body was
hers. Notwithstanding directly opposite
testimony given by jenkins. But, during
tho Investigation Instituted by the cor
oner the original Sarah Bloom appeared
In Newburg alive and we'll. The young
man Jenkins who had been confined tn
await the result OF the inquest, was at
once set at liberty, all cause for suspicion
against him having been removed by the
discovery that Miss Bloom was living
The question then came up: How could
Miss Blooms sister have been so deceived
80 10 tNnlilN lpMtiNSly tudl tue ueuu DSuJ
was that of her sister, The result OF n
comparison of marks uron the bodies OF
the two women. however settled the
doubt The peculiar marks on the dead
body and those on the body of Sarah
Bloom were Identical in form, position and
number. The body had al scar on the left
eyebrow; Sarah Bloom had the same.
The body had scar Gu the middle toint
OF the middle finger of the left hand;
sarah Bloom had the same. Tho two
middle toes OF the left foot of the corpse
1cint; similar popularity existing in
Miss Bloom. The toes OF both feet IN
the corpse and In those OF Miss Bloom
were compressed, as from wearing tight
shoes. mark, as from ring waich
had been roughly drawn from the finger,
was found on the hand Of the murdered
woman, but the ring was not found Miss
Bloam wore a cornellan ring on the co..
responding finger. These curious comet
denccs. very remarkable as far as regards
physical peculiarities, seemed to justify
tho conclusions which We're arrived ait prior
TO the temperance of the missing wo-
man.
A very remarkable case occurred In
Connecticut A lad by the name OF Sage,
during one OF the coolest mornings Of the
winter was sent by his father TO the barn
TO feed the cattle. The boy declined
going because he had been threatened
with violence by an Irishman named Pat
rick Nugent. who kept his horse ait the
barn. The father thought the excuse q
frivolous one, and compelled the son to 60,
who departed in tears. This was the last
seen OF him by the family Susnir,op =.
FOUL play was at once aroused. and Nugent
was arrested. But the evidence was not
then deemed sufficient TO commit him. A
role was found In the ice in the river In
the rear of the barn, and 1t was sus,
s.s'ea that the body Of the boy had been
put through the opening into the river
some time after body was found on the
river bank. and was believed to be that
OF Young Sage. The father saw upon Il
several marks which corresponded with
those upon the body OF his son. The
height was precisely the game .ns