The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-06-23
R1rrEN O THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC.

WRITTEN q THE SUNDAY
Seneca n. Taylor Of St. Louis will be as
ociated In the defense OF Robert Stewart
&Gsburg. the young man. formerly Of st.
Ldis. who is charged by the police OF
Pftt field. Mass. with the killing Of his
sister. May l.. Fosburg. in their home In
Pittsfield OF the night Of August 20. 1850.
Mr.. Taylor for many years has been Q
CLOSE personal friend OF the Fosburgs. ana
while the family resided in st. Louis he
was a frequent visitor at their home. Last
January. when the Grand Jury OF Pitts
neld indicted young Fosburg for man
slaughter. MIR. Taylor fastened to inc
scene of the crime and will be the young
mans legal adviser when the case comes to
trial early in JULY.
Aside from his professional connection
with the case In conducting the oeiehse.
Mr.. Taylor ia he says. personally a strong
believer in young Fosburg's innocence.
When his attention was called to the theory
Of the girls death In the midst Of a FAMILY
quarrel. on which. it is said. the State viii
base its case against Robert Fosburg. MI.
Taylor said:
THE idea that Robert Stewart Fosburg
killed his sister is preposterous. There ap-
pears no motive for the deed. and II was
the certainty that no malicious intent could
By any possibility be shown that caused
the police of Pittsfield to charge him with
manslaughter instead of murder. And II IS
equally preposterous to say that the giri
me. her death in a conflict between young
Egburg and his father.
4While in Pittsfield last winter 1 heard tne
Tory OF the young woman's tragic death
from every surviving member OF the Fam
fly and from the lips Of Miss Sheldon. VINO
I was a guest at the Fosburs home the night
of the murder.
NO one who listened to the recital of that
terrible nights events could fail to be con-
WINGED of its truth and of Robert Stewart
Fosburg's innocence. There was no particu-
lar in which the accounts of the tragedy DID
not agree.
-In the morning preceding the murder all
the members of the Fosburg family went to
church excepting the accused man and his
wife. They remained at home until the aft
arnoon, when they went driving. On their
Sxturn the whole family gathered in the
parlor. Mrs. Fosburg. the mother of the
accused man. and Miss Sheldon. her guest.
each took turns in reading aloud to the 9TH
Or members Of the party. Just before the
family was ready to retire May Fosburg
sang a favorite song, The Plains OF Peace
and. although she was gifted with a rare
| voice. her parents and brothers and sisters
recall that her singing that night was so
pathetic that tears streamed from her hear
ers' eyes.
story of the Murder.
There was no diScord in the Fosburg
family that evening, and, indeed. there new
er had been. Their whole life was one OF
mutual affection. Robert Stewart Fosburg
was his fathers business associate and con-
idant. The depth of the affection between
\ the young man and his sister was always a
Veubject of comment. There Is absolutely no
Spom for the suspicion that May Fosburg
v killed by her favorite brother, whether
Intentionally or in a struggle with his ia
ther.
The Fosburg family retired the night
before the murder as devoted and affection
ate to one another as they had ever been.
About a quarter before 2 o'clock Mrs. Fos-
burg. the mother of the dead girl. was
aroused by the Pickering OF a light and the
noise of footsteps in a hail leading from q
spare bedroom past that occupied by her
self and her husband. She called to know
who was there. No response came. and
she called again. Her husband was awak-
oned and arose 10 look for the intruder. As
he stepped from the room he was seized by
two men masked with pillow slips and
forced to the floor. In the struggle that
followed his ribs were broken and his head
was badly bruised by blows dealt him with
. sandbag.
His cries and those OF his wife startled
The household. May Fosburg. the muir
dered girl. rushed from her room. directly
opposite the apartments Of her parents. She