The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-07-08
THE FosBURGH MYSTERY.
Trial of the PittsfeId Man soon to
Commence.

%pAsA sAAS sASNs
PITTSFIELD. Mass. July S.-When the
berkshire County Court. which opened
here today. has disposed of a number of
jail cases, 1t viii take up the trial Of Rob
ert s. FosbUrgh, who Is charged with
killing his sister It is expected that
FoS5urgh's trial viii begin next Monday.
The alleged crime occurred in August Of
last year
The police Of PittsfeId. Mass. were no.
tilted on the morning Of August -. 1880.
that burglars had broken into the home
of Mr. Fosburgh, and that his daughter,
May / Fcsbursh, twenty-four years old,
had been'shot through the heart. 1t was
reported that she had been killed in a
struggle between three masked men and
ncr father and brother Mr. Fosburgh
said that he had been awakened by a
light flashing in the hall about l o'clock
/ in the morning, and that two men wear
ing masks appeared at his bed at TIE
time He grappIed with one OF them. and
another man appearing. q lively fight en-
sued Mr. Fosburgh said that during the
struggle he heard two shots fred in the
hallway
Mr. Fosburghs son said that he had
| been awakened by the noise Of the tussIe,
and as he hurried along the corridor from
his room tc the hall two shots were fired.
and as he turned the ccrLcr his sister fell
! into his arms, The upshot Of all the sto-
ries told was that the marauders got
away and that the young woman was
dead
There was great excitement in the
neighborhood for weeks following the oc-
! currence, and hundreds Of armed men
secured the country rounding up tramps
and suspicious characters, but nothing
came Of it.
The excitement died down and apparent
1 ~ nothing was being done afterEard sx-
! Cept by the chief Of police and by the Fos-
/ buTghs. Early II January the younger
/ FOsburgh was arrested. accused of killing
! his sister The Indictment charged man
slaughter A few days later he was re-
! leased on bail furnished by his father
! From its original position the defence IN
| this remarkable case has not receded a
step Robert Fosburgh asserts that his
sister was the victim Of numerous bur
glars and that he is the victim Of the ex-
! cessiye zeal of the police. In both con
/ teutions he has the hearty support Of MS
! entire family. His father and mother. his
! wife, his sisters. his brothers. more re
mote relatives. and a host Of friends as
well all stand BY him with q Loyal devO-
ton that has made his burden less heavy.
John Nicholson. chief Of police of Pitts
/ field, has continued to build his case
against Robert Fosburgh on the lines that
he established before the Indictment was
/ found, last January. Chief Nicholson SAYS
he believes tha- Robert Fosburgh quar-
relied with his father that night last AyI-
gust: that the son discharged q revolver
with the intention of frightening his IA
Their and that the bullet found its way TO
Nays heart The chief Of police believes
that the story Of burglary was coucCcted
for the purpose Of protecting the boy. who
/ had no thought Of taking his sisters life
Nj NichOlsCn's most striking charac-
teristiC Is his tenacity Of purpose Be
! lieviuS that the Observation-Disclosures and
sOr-quarreled the night that May was
killed. he set OUT TO prove that previ-
Ously they had not been on good terms
Nj FCsburgh has said that he and his
son never passed an angry word An
agent Of Nicholson has just returned
from Troy, y I. where the F'OSburghS
once lived and this agent Processes 10
have found witnesses who viii testify
( that the two men often engaged in
physical COmbats- Nicholson has other
Witnesses who viii testify, that the
young man at times INDUCED too freely
in intUEiCauts- ether witnesses are on
hand. but. so far as Is known, the chief
Of police has no one who viii give d.
rect evidence against Mr. FOsbursh-
one thing thar Is most frequently men
toned IL Pittsfcid is the fact that in
fiueDces seem to be at work here at all
times creating sentiment against Rob
Srt F0sbursh. His friends say that the
same influence that has been DTejudicing
the public mind VIII bring into court men
who may testify 10 uutrUths- They Say.
too, that the story Of the quarrel in
Troy Is absolutely without founda ton.
II IS assured that the trial viii be nued
with Incidents Of a sensational nature
Remind Robert E'.GlrTfTgn = mil
with an uublemished reputation. He has
been reared by mother who knows
whether her s0E Is guilty or innocent.
and she declares his innocence on her
hope Of again seeing neT daughter whose
death brought about the coming trial
It IS not too much TO say that limtless
money defends Robert Fosburgh. He has
"A large income Of his own, his father is
wealthy, and his uDcles. who are de
Tending him. are millionaires-