The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-06-28
DREAMS AND CRIMES.
THRILLING MURDER TALES RECORDED
IN OLD LAWsooKS.

THRILLING MURDER TALES RECORDED
IN OLD LAWsooKs.
A Dream That Anticipated q Crime
A Mothers Tragic VIsIon-The Re.
markable Performance of q DIsin-
TERED Corpse.
Law reports of the sixteenth and seven.
teenth centuries contain numerous refer
ences to supernatural occurrences in court
and ON the scaffold. One Of the most re.
markable records of this kind is connect
ed with q murder trial which took place
in England early in the reign of the first
Charles. Sir John Maynard, one of the
greatest lawyers. Is the authority for the
supernatural events of the trial. and in
his quaint preface to his notes he says he
Thought good to report the evidence
which was given, which many did hear,
that the memory thereof might not be
lost by miscarriage of papers or other.
wise"
One Johan Norkett, a farmers wife,
had died, and at the coroner's inquest evil
dence was given proving that the wom-
ans throat had been cut from ear to ear.
At first the jury favored a verdict Of felo
de Sc, and the body was inferred, but ru-
mOrs became general pointing to foul
play, and the body was exhumed. Thir-
ty days after the death the jury assem-
bled before the body and four suspected
persons were brought in. The only evil
dence against the prisoners was that they
slept in an adjoining room and that no
one had passed that room; therefore, il
she did not murder herself, they must be
the murderers."
What took place at the remarkable post
norton inquiry may best be described in
the words Of a witness at the subsequent
trial. who was described as IAN ancient
and grave person, minister to the parish
where this murder was committed" This
estimable gentleman said: "They (the
prisoners) did touch the dead body. where
upon the brow Of the dead, which was be-
fore a livid and carrion color, began to
have a dew or gentle sweat arise upon 1t,
which increased by degrees till the sweat
ran down in drops upon the face. the
brow turned and changed to lively col
or, and the dead opened one Of her eyes
and shut II again. which she did three
several times. She likewise thrust out
the ring or marriage finger three times
and pulled II In again, and the finger
dropped blood on the floor"
dence as this was received with some sus-
picion by the court. although the witness,
to again quote Sir John Maynard, twas
a reverend person about 60 years Of age,
as could be guessed. His testimony was
delivered gravely and temporarily. but to
the great admiration Of the auditory"
Ample confirmation Of an obviously Inn
pnrtiaI character was. however. forth
oming. and the Admiration" turned to
horror, so much so that the prisoners
were convicted. and two of them suffered
death at the hand of the common hang
man. Neither of the victims. one Of
whom was an aged woman. could ever be
prevailed upon to confess any completely
In the crime.
In 1851 an Irish murderer was convict
ed largely upon dream evidence. A Wa
terford publican named Rogers dreamed
one night that he saw a man murder an
other man on a green spot on the summit
of an adjoining mountain. He was able
next day to describe both men with per-
feet accuracy. and did so to many of his
friends. One of the men was exception
ally strong. the other weak and puny: hut
1t was the latter who in the vision com
mitted the murder. Rogers persuaded the
parish priest to accompany him to the
spot, which he found without difficulty,
but where there seemed to be no traces Of
a murder or q struggle; hence Rogers got
rather laughed at. Next day, however,
two men entered the public house, and
AIRS. Rogers at once recognized them
from her husbands description of the
heroes in the vision. Much alarmed. she
fetched her husband, who was also GER
tain they were the two men.
When they rose to leave. Rogers begged
the one he expected to be murdered to re-
main. but without avail. He nearly
tainted with fright after the men had gone
and finally persuaded a neighbor to &C
company him to the green spot on the
hill, where. sure enough. the tragedy Of
the dream had taken place In reality.
The murderer was tracked and caught,
and Rogers was the principal witness.
His recital OF his dream was SO vivid that
the prisoner at once confessed. adding
that he killed his companion exactly as
foretold in the dream. The weapon used
was a knife. and as eight stabs were seen
by Rogers In his dream. so the murderer
admitted that he drove his knife up to the
handle In his companions body exactly
that number of times.
In 1901 a woman named Kraeme ap-
peared before a Frankfort justice and
asked to be sworn. as she had valuable
information about a crime committed in
a remote village In Russia. many days
journey from her German home. The
story she told the justice was this: Ten
years before her only son had left home.
She heard nothing of him and bad no
idea at all where he was living until the
night before. when his spirit appeared to
her and told her what she now hastened
to relate. The revelation was that after
leaving home the young man had wan
dered about Europe till he had finally
found permanent work In the village OF
Kiaf, In Russia. Here he had fallen in
love with a serf's daughter who had
Russian beau. On the preceding night
this latter had inveiged the young Teu-
ton into the country. where he had slab
bed him and then concealed the body in
Il cave of the highway.
The justice knew that his informant
was poor and had never been outside Of
her native town. and he was so struck
with the vividness of her description Of
victim. assailant and location that he for
warded 1t to a notary In Kiaf.
Meantime Carl Kraeme had been miss
ed, and on the receipt of the dream story
the police hunted for the cave. found it
exactly ls located and also the body.
with a wound corresponding with that de-
scribed in the vision. The murderer was
at once arrested. and the Widow Kraeme
undertook the long journey to avenge her
sons death. Her recital In court was
vivid IN the extreme. and she screamed
with fright when she first saw the pris-
oner. whom she identified and picked out
from among crowd Of men In q dimly
lighted cell. She also identified the wom-
On who was at the bottom of the trouble.
Never to BE Forgiven.