The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-02-11

the New York legislature 10 abolish the
death penalty in that state. 1t may not
be generally known, but it Is a fact all
the same that the death penalty was act
ually abolished once i'm New York state,
and by reason OF #. though the law was
quickly repealed. one OF the most extra
ordinary murderers on record escaped the
gallows and I'M most extraordinary way.
Gaboriau never wrote detective story
that exceeds In interest and surprise lhe
case OF this man. II began with one mur-
der. which was quickly followed on the
same night by another murder, and after
that third murder, which ended the life
OF the man who committed the first two.
Just before the war between the Nortn
and South began "A well-known citizen re-
sided in Eighteenth street. near Third
avenue I'm New York city, a neighbor-
hood I'm those days wSere many ricn mcn
lived. II is name was John Walton. one
evening Walton was shot dead in the
street as he was walking toward hs
house.
AS the fatal shot was fired another
well-known citizen named John w. Mat
thews, who was on the block saw a man
run toward Lexington avenue. Matthews
gave ChdSe. lie WAS IdSt OQtSlflpplnE the
man when the latter suddenly turned,
shot rang through the air, and Matthews
fell dead.
BY this time a crowd had started after
the murderer, who had turned into a side
street. When the crowd got TO the corner
there was no sign of the man anywhere,
lie had vanished as IL the earth had
swallowed him.
The murder OF Walton and Matthews
II. ~k.I. .fe a.. he no
lice were at sea. Why was Walton kill
ed? What was the motive OF the murder
er? A moment before he met his death
a friend was certain there was no one on
the block at the time but Walton aud
himself
Evidently, then, the murderer must have
been behind a tree when he fired on Wal
ton. The latter's neighbors began TO talk.
They remembered that Charles Jefferds.
% years old. Walton's stepson, had had
frequent quarrels with Walton and that
the young mans mother always sided
with her son.
BOLD PLAY MADE BY JEFFERDS.
Was young Jefferds the murderer That
was impossible, az he was known to be
at hotel I'm Brooklyn and had been seen
there the night of the murder sauntering
about I'm his usual way.
However. the talk became so hot about
him that Jefferds, just as an innocent
man would do. sent word TO the coroner
that he would place himself at his offi-
cial disposal, for. said he, II am getting
sick of the talk connecting my name
with that awful crime"
True to his word. he appeared before the
coroner and a horde OF respectable men
testified that they had seen him at the
Brooklyn hotel the night OF the murder
H., aIf -atH 70 haxy
chen killed.
Everybody was convinced that Jefferds
had nothing TO do with the murder and
the coroner apologized TO him for the
unnecessary trouble he bad been put to.
But everybody was not so convinced-the
exception was Nelson j. Waterbury, the
district attorney.
He got the grand jury, in some way. TO
indict young Jefferds for the murder. The
trial soon followed. II was on every
tongue while IL lasted.
The newspapers were full OF It, Well
when IL ended. Jefferds. amid the cheers
OF his friends, walked smilingly out of
court-a free man. The jury had ac-
quilted him.
That ended IL all. said Jefferds' friends.
and the general public agreed with them.
But one man still considered Jefferds the
murderer. True, Jefferds acquitted. could
the law under the constitution. could not
have ha med a hair on his head.
But the one man who believed him
guilty of killing Walton said TO himself:
The man who killed Walton killed Mat
thews. Jefferds can never be tried for
the murder of Walton. but the murderer
of Matthews has not been put on trial
YETI That obdurate man was Nelson j.
Waterbury.
Full of health naturally robust. young
Jefferds enjoyed life. after his acquittal.
to the full. His mother had a lovely villa
on Long island, near the sound. There
was yachting there. Jefferds was fond of
boating. There was plenty of fishing. JEFF
ferds was a great angler.
besides, there were cozy places I'm the
not far away neighborhood where corn
whisky was i'm abundance and where jo-
vial young men assembled in the evening
Jefferds liked merry company and he
liked whisky, too. and he was often,
nights, the merriest OF the merry.
CONFESSION TO A FRIEND.
One young man he met among the mer-
ry-makers Jefferds took a great liking TO.
This young man always had plenty OF
money. He was evidently some one who
during the summer had all the time he
wanted 10 enjoy himself.
He and Jefferds became great chums.
Indeed. they finally became so insepara-
BILE. that Mrs. Walton. Jefferds' mother.
took such a liking for the young man.
that she insisted upon his spending the
at her villa She thought the tav-
ern hotel was not good enough for such
"A nice fellow
The summer days passed on pleasantly.
and the two young men, when they sat
at table with Mrs. Walton playing a
game OF cards. amused her with
their tales Of their mishaps on their boat.
But the boating and fishing had not
been done without considerable inter
change OF views of life and things gcncr-
ally between the two friends. Jefferds had
several times alluded 10 his trial for the
murder OF Walton.
one day he laughingly remarked :"What
fools those jurors were!' and he calmly
told his friend that when Walton came
along that night he was hiding behind a
tree on the corner of Eighteenth street
and Third avenue. IL shot him dead" ex-