Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-08
ON TRIAL FOR MURDER
George Grant Sewell Before the Court
and Jury.
SUSAN MAHONEY THE ALLEGED VICTIM
Story Told by Those Present at the
Shooting.
ESULT OF UTOP S Y

| George Grant Sewell. colored, indicted for
the murder of Susan Mahoney, colored, the
27th of last October, was placed on trial to-
| day, before Justice Clabaugh. in Criminal
| Court No 1. Attorney E. NJ. Hewlett rep
| resants the defendant, while Assistant Dis
| trict Attorneys Shillirgton and Gould APP
| pear for the government. All records in
| the way of impan,l ling juries in murder
| cases was broken, twelve men satisfactory
| to both sides being selected to pass upon
| the guilt or innocence of Sewer in less than
| an hour after the opening of court The
| jurors serving are Messrs. Thomas ]. King.
| Thomas F. Fame, John NJ. Harry, Charles
| H Peters, James A. Talbert, Frederick S.
| Smith, John F. Donohue. Rufus B. Youngs,
Clarence E. Fries, William H. NJ. Pearson,
| E. w. Yount and Emmett Hopes.
Assistant District Attorney Gould ex-
| planned the case to the jury from the stand
| point of the government. He stated that
| the evening of the 2Tth of last October
Zachariah Brooks and Mary Plumber visit
| ed the room of Susan Mahoney. in house
80 9th street. A man named Wilson, or
Thornton, and a little boy were also there,
were Susan and George Sewel. The lat
ter was reclining on a lounge. After gen.
eral conversation of a pleasant nature, Sc
well took his departure. In about ten min
and shot Susan Mahoney with a bullet from
pistol. He ran down stairs, was stopped
by man, but broke away and made off.
He was later arrested, and at the station
house admitted that he had shot the wo-
man.
DR.. L. w. Glazebrook, deputy coroner, the
first witness for the government, described
an autopsy performed by MIN on the body
OF Susan. She had gunShot wound in the
head, he said, and death was due to cere-
bral hemorrhage.
story of an Eyewitness.
Zachariah Brooks colored, next took the
stand. He called to SEE Susan Mahoney the
evening of the 9th of last October, he stat
ed, and found Mary Plumber, a little boy.
a man called Wilson or Thornton and
George Sewell there. The latter was asleep
On lounge Soon after witness arrived
Sewell took his departure. In about ten
minutes Sewell returned. pushed open the
door and fired al Susan. who was sitting on
he foot of the bed. Witness grasped the
pistol. tussled with SeweI and the two fell
down the stairway. Two men came to the
scene, of whom struck witness with
chair. They compelled him to surrender
the pistol. which was turned over to Sew
ell, and the latter ran off. Witness heard
Susan groaning.
William Thornton colored told the Jury
that he was in Susan MahOneys room the
night of the shooting. Soon after Zach.
Brooks arrived SaWell asked the witness to
hand him his hat. He thereupon left. \
short time elapsed. and then a pistol was
discharged in the hallway. Susan Ma
honey. who was sitting on the foot of the
bed, exclaimed, ION, I'm shot" Zach.
Brooks rushed from the room, and witness
saw him wrestling with some one at The
foot of the stairway.
Did you see who shot Susan Mahoney?"
inquired Mr.. Gould.
mo. sir l did not" was the answer of
the witness.
At this stage of the proceedings a num-
Der Of relatives and friends of Sewell filed
into court and affectionately greeted the
defendant. He was visibly touched by their
actions and gave way to tears.
Son of the Victim.
The prosecution next called Mary Plumb
er as a witness. Her testimony was sub
stantially the same as that of Thornton,
and she gave way to Joseph NJ. Mahoney.
jr., son Of the woman alleged to have been
murdered.
Joseph stated that Sewell called to see
his mother almost every evening both
while they resided at Teneytown and at
the nth street house. While at Tenley-
town, according to the boy, Sewell urged
his mother not to move to this city
He told mamma stated the little boy,
that if she came to Washington to live
again with papa he would kill her.
Joseph declared that he asleep at the
time of the shooting, and when he woke
up his mother was dead.
PoIicemnn's Testimony.
Policeman Minor f. Furr next called,
testified that the night of October 81 last
Sewell walked into the seventh precinct
police station and asked to be locked up.
remarking He guessed he had done it,"
When asked his age. he became angry,
4 wing N 10 he nd
| want to be locked up
The witness asked Sewell: why did you
do it?' referring to the crime. Sewell
piled: Because she has been mean to me-"
on cross-eXamination, the witness denied
that Sewell distressed at the time he
entered and also that his statement was:
''Oh. Lord, l believe I've accidentally shot
a woman,
John Oscar Burke was the next witness.
"Where do you liye?" inquired Assistant
District Attorney Shillington.
4 forget, Burke made answer.
The witness ultimately recalled that last
October he occupied a room in the house
where Susan Mahoney shot. He told
of the scutfling in the hallway and of seeing
the dead body of Susan. The remainder Of
his testimony had no direct bearing on the
case.
Effie Nolan, the raxt witness, was in the
house at the time of the shooting. She OBJ
served two men rolling down the stairs
'One of them was hOllering murder" said
Effie, and l jumped out the window
A recess was taken at this juncture of the
proceedings.
Prosecution Closes.
After recess the government presented
evidence to show that Zach Brooks sus-
tanned a fracture of the leg as a result of
the fall down stairs during the scuffie with
Sewell the night of the shooting This
closed the of the prosecution.
Attorney Hewlett in outlining the de-
Tense to the jury declared that no motive
had been shown for the crime. He main
tanned that Sewel had no intention of
shooting Susan Mahoney. The pistol was
discharged accidently, and no one was more
distressed over thu affair than Sewell him
self.
A large number of witnesses then took
the stand to testify that Sewell had always
borns unsullied reputation for peace
and good order.
In His own Behalf.
The defendant took the stand in his own
behalf. At the time Susan Mahoney moved
from Tenleytown to the house on 9th
street he said, he took the pistol to bring
in to the city. The night of the shooting he
was at Susan Mahoney's. He departed, but