Daily new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1897-1906, 1898-06-14
THE MUSGRAYE CASE.
The last Appearance of a most
Celebrated Case.


that the county has ever had-Three
times has il been before the Supreme
Court-The Council who will take
part in the ease this time-The state
is at great disadvantage and will
not be able TO make out very strong
case this time-The Lapse Of time
Since the affair first began, the Re-
mOyal and death of Witnesses, the ae-
ton of the Supreme Court all help
the Defense-The Case now has little
Of sensation about 1.-THE first tilt
Results in an advantage to the state.
The case of the State against Da-
vid Musgrave charged with the MUIR
der of his wife, Emaline Musgrave,
on the night of December Ii, 1894,
came up to day in the circuit court
on its second triaI and will occupy
nearly the whole of the June session.
This noted case is familiar to al
most every citizen of the county,
many Of whom watched with inter
est the trial of it at the June term
in 1895. At that time be was con
victed of murder IN the first degree
with the recommendation that he
receive a life sentence in the peni-
Tertiary Musgrave's counsel, who
had taken numerous exceptions to
the ruling OF Judge Hagans on the
admission of certain testimony of
fered by the state, the refusal to adj
nit other testimony offered by them
in behalf of the prisoner and the in
structions to the jury, appealed the
case to the Supreme Court OF APP
peals That body in April, 1896,
rendered an opinion affirming the
the finding of the lower
court. The court was then petition
ed to rehear the case and upon the
second hearing again affirmed the
lower court. Finally after persis
tent efforts upon the part of Mus
graves counsel the Supreme Court
again reopened the case and upon
its third hearing granted him a new
trial. This opinion was rendered
about the first of January, but too
late to prepare for the second trial
of it at the February term and it
now now comes on to be again heard.
Messrs. LazzeIle d Stewart, the
prosecuting attorneys, will alone
represent the State in the second
trial. The defendant will be repre-
sented by Judge Okey Johnson, Geo.
G. Sturgiss, Moreland & Glasscock,
Charles Goodwin and L. V. Keck
The state officials go into the trial
seriously handicapped, but they will
try their utmost TO bring about a
conviction. Several important wit
nesses for the state have died since
the first trial. others have gotten out
Of the Jurisdiction of the court and
will not come back to testify Then
too popular opinion, which at the
first trial was indamed against the
defendant, has mellowed down so
much, indeed, that, little interest is
manifested in the trial which began
to day. The most fatal knockout of
the prosecuting attorneys is the de-
cision of the Supreme Court grant
ing Musgrave a new trial. In this
decision they hold that much of the
strongest testimony before given
was illegal, particularly that given
by the expert witnesses and by the
coroners' jurors, who were permitted
to testify that the wounds on the
neck resembled finger marks. With
all these obstacles it is the general
opinion that the prosecuting attor-
neys will experience the greatest diff
ficulty in procuring a conviction of
murder in the first degree, If, indeed,
they secure any kind of conviction.
Many of the leading citizens Of the
county with whom the New DoMIN-
ION reporter has talked believe that it
would be wisdom on the part of the
prosecuting attorneys to enter a
nolle prosequi in the case rather
to incur the expense to the county,
when there is SO little probability of
conviction. The other business be-
fore the court will be blocked.
The defense will put forth every
effort to clear Mnsgrave, and the
able array of counsel insures a
strong defense. Judge Johnson, who
will actively participate in the de-
tense, was not engaged in the case
during it's first trial, but looked af-