The herald., 1898-02-10
Punishment Fixed at Life
Imprisonment
LUETGERT LISTENS SMILING
AND RECEIVED THE VERDICT
WITH A LAUGH
The Wife Murderer Confident That the
Supreme Court Will Grant
a New Trial
Press Special Wire

| Associated PreSS Speclal wire
CHICAGO, Feb. e.--Adolph L. Luet-
CERT was tonight convicted of the MUIR
der of his wife and sentenced to impris-
onment in the penitentiary for the term
Of his natural life.
Luetgert received the verdict with a
laugh 1t was 1850 o'clock when word
| was sent to the court room by the jury
that they had agreed upon verdict and
were waiting to bring it into court
Judge Gary, whose home is within a
few blocks of the criminal court build
ing, informed the jury as it passed Out
that he would await their pleasure. ant
at any time during the night that they
agreed upon a verdict he would return
to the court room to receive it.
AS quickly as possible after the jury
had sent word of an agreement, Judge
| Gary hastened to the court room. The
news of a verdict had spread quickly
to the street, and in a few minutes the
| court room was jammed with newspaper
men, policemen and witnesses who had
given evidence at the trial and curious
spectators.
At Ills Judge Gary entered the
room, and at the same instant Luetgerl
and his guards entered through the dool
| from the Jail. The prisoner was calm, tc
all appearances, and did not seem nerv-
Gus in any degree. He smiled at one OF
| two of his friends, but after the first
glance around the court room contented
| himself with watching the door through
| which the jury must enter. They filed
| in, passing to the seats they have oc-
cupied during the seventy-two days of
| the trial. Not one of the jurors looked
| toward Luetgert, who tried vainly to
catch the eye of some one of the men
who had determined his fate.
| Clerk Knopf stepped forward, took
the verdict and then read with a
tremor of excitement in his voice:
I'VE, the jury. find the defendant
guilty as charged in the indictment,
and fix his punishment at life impris-
onment."
There was hush and all eyes turned
on Leufgert to see how he would take
it. He laughed, and laughed in a man
ner that showed plainly that he did not
think the verdict a serious matter, COM
paratively speaking. The sound of the
| cleTk NOlCt I1dQ HOl ultu away NHGli
| Attorney Harmon was on his feet with
| request that the jury be polled. This
| was done, each juror affirming the ver-
dict Then the attorney entered mo-
ton for new trial, which was entered
and will be argued in few days.
Luetgert was led back to the Jail in
apparently good spirits, comforted by
the assurances of his lawyers that he
will get a new trial and that the state
will not be able to convict him a second
time.
At first Luetgert refused to say any
thing, his one response being, Il won't
talk about it," At length he yielded to
inquiries enough to say that the verdict
was a surprise to him.
Il don't see how the evidence justi-
| fed such a verdict, but one thing is
| sure: the supreme court will give me a
new trial. and I shall be acquitted"
| From the time when the prisoner was
led in to receive the verdict until the
bailiffs conducted him back to his cell
his face showed not one tremor of any
sort of fear He smiled repeatedly, even
when the verdict was read by the clerk
and shook hands with his attorneys and
others who gathered around him. After
arriving at the Jail he retired as usual
APPARENTLY undisturbed by the verdict
The jury reached verdict on the first
ballot. They retired at 4:45. and took the
first ballot at $40. 1t was unanimous
| for conviction. Some little time was con-
sumed in arriving at the punishment tt
| be inflicted, but this was settled by $50
| and then the jurors sat around in theil
| room until 10 o'clock, when they an.
nounced their verdict