Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1901-01-10
BETRAYER KILLED
Barry, a Milton Farmer, Kills Mel
len, the Betrayer of His
Sister.
Gave his Victim his Choice of Deaths
Either by Stabbing or Hang.
ing. ..
Melleu Allowed to Pray Five Minutes
And Then His Throat was
Cut.

One of the Strangest homlcldes
which has been committed in the
state of North Dakota was committed
Thursday near Milton, n. d., when
William Barry: a prosperous farmer
avenged his sisters wrongs. AS re-
suit of the crime Andrew Mellen, her
betrayer, lies dead with a ghastly
knife wound in his throat.
tt appears that Mellen has been
working for Barry on the formers
farm four miles south OF Milton, and
has been making love to Barry sister,
a woman some thirty-tive years OF age.
That he had promised to marry her
there appears to be no doubt, but after
accomplishing her ruin he refused to
save her from the disgrace. The tirst
that Barry knew of anything wrong
between the two was Wednesday
afternoon, when he came in the house
and fo,Ind her in tears. He asked her
TO tell him of her trouble and she in
formed her brother that she had been
intimate with Mellen and was then in
a delicate condition. She stated that
Mellon had refused TO marry her and
this enraged Barry to such an extent
that he at once sought him at the
barn, but, at that time did not find
him. When Barry returned TO the
house his sister was nowhere to be
found, and a search for her was I'M
mediately begun. She was found late
at night on the prairie alone and with
her feet and hands badly frozen. She
was taken home and cared for, and
Thursday morning Barry went to the
barn where MeIlen was working and
announced that he had come TO XIII
him.
Barry is a large man and weighs
over 275 pounds and it is said that
there is not man in Cavalier county
who can match him for strength and
skill in fighting. There was nothing of
excitement in Barry manner when ne
told Mellen that he had only twenty
minutes to live and advised him to
spend it in prayer. There was strug-
gle in which Barry overcome his an
tagonist and held him helpless in his
powerful grip. With a GOODNESS that
must have been terrible to witness he
tied rope about Mellen's neck and
attempted to hang him to a beam in
the barn. Failing in this and being
somewhat exhausted from the deSper-
ate struggle, Barry paused and in
formed his victim that he would allow
him his choice of deaths-either by
hanging or being stabbed with knife.
Mellen said that if he must die he pre-
ferred the knife. -, Barry allowed him
to pray five minutes and promptly at
the expiration of the time plunged the
knife into: his throat, severing the
iugular vein, and death resulted in a
few minutes. In speaking of this part
of the tragedy to the sheriff, Barry
said:
II held him with the rope about his
neck and pulling out my watch [ told
him that would give him just five
more minutes to live. He spent the
last minutes in prayer and when the
time was up l; stabbed him in the
throat and severed his Jugular vein.
1t was just 9:10a. m. when L struck
the blow and so far as could see at
9:12 he was::dead.;'
After committing the deed, Barry
went to Langdon and gave himself up
to the sheriff and told the whole story
in all of it's terrible details. The Of
ticers went out to Barry's farm and
\ found the dead man just as they had
been told they would. The remains
were taken in charge by the coroner
and an inquest will be held.
Miss Barry, whose statement to her
brother William, brought about the
killing Of William Mellem of Milton,
was brought to the asylum Sunday
evening by Sheriff Robertson OF Ca
Waller. He was assisted in looking
after the patient as she is violent at
times. She is tall, dark and unat-
tractiye. Her face has the usual look
of maniac, with eyes staring
straight ahead, and her general ap-
pearance is that of an old maid OF
thirty-fve whose pleasures in life have
been few. She,was assisted from the
train into carriage in waiting and
taken directly to the asylum. There
her case was defined as agitated mel