The Savannah morning news., 1902-08-08
SNEERED AT DEATH
ABE COHEN GRINNED AS HE
HEARD HIS SENTENCE.
TO HANG FOR BRUTAL MURDER
DREW HIS FINGER ACROSS HIS
THROAT

Room TO Sherfff's Offce-ktlled SUI
sic Rogers in Yamacraw July 3.
The Murder Done without n
shadow of PrOvOcatiOn and with
Every Brutal Circumstance At
tending It-COhen Spurned the
Dead Body as 1t Lny on the Floor.
81 Killed Her Because Wanted to
and I'm Glad Did IT." He Said.
Were No witnesses in His Behalf.
on Friday, Sept. 5, almost beyond
doubt, Abe Cohen will pay with his
guilty life the laws extreme penalty
for a causeless and brutal murder. In
forty minutes from the time the case
was called yesterday morning the pris-
oner's doom had been pronounced.
Every incident Of the tragedy of
Susie Rogers death. described in all
its cruel details from the stand, every
comment the man had made on his
own fearful deed, every action of his
daily life since the crime was commit
ted, his carelessly brutal statement, his
jocular reception of the verdict and
sentence of the court--all mark him as
what yesterday the universal verdict
pronounced himr-a savage lustful,
bestial and untamed Not a tiger of
the jungles, fresh from slaughter.
could lick his bloody chops with more
satisfaction than Cohen evinced when
he had completed his deed of death; no
Eastern Thug, assured that murder
was a religious duty. rewarded by an
eternity with the hours in paradise.
could have accepted a death sentence
with more resignation or content.
Two witnesses FOR the state.
There were but three witnesses for
the state at the trial and none for the
prisoner, who contented himself with
making a statement in his own defense
"a statement that served to strength
en- instead of weaken the position and
contentious of the prosecution. In it
self it was sufficient to show that
Cohen ought to die.
The only eyewitness of the homicide
was Mary Marion, who was the prin-
cipal witness for the state. The dead
her house, at SOS Olive street, in which
Susie Rogers had taken refuge, that
the murder was committed She said
Cohen had lived with the Rogers
woman for some years, but that during
this period he had treated her with
constant brutality and at last had de-
serted her and gone to Fernandina.
The women were together in the house
when in the affprnnnra Of T,rlt 10
there came a knock at the door and
Cohen entered.
he gave them a surly greeting and
then. turning to his former mistress,
asked her if she intended to go home
with him.
Woman Refused TO Go with Him.
Il didn't know I had home" the
woman had answered, until 1 rented
myself a room"
Are you coming home with me p"
Cohen repeated. with increasing en-
phasis and anger.
Again his intended victim had re-
fused. She recalled to him the man
ner in which he had treated her-his
blows, his kicks, his abuse, his neglect,
his constant Jealous rage.
No, l am not going home with you,"
she concluded.
NtAAIAA A4e1 lASAcHcu W 1ltT WIN the
sullen anger that was gnawing at his
heart finding expression in the gray
palior of his face. His is not an ex-
pressive countenance. and it's color
forbade extreme paleness, but from his
glaring, bloodshot eyes, all the cruel
passions of his soul found their out
let.
Il told you not to come to this
house, he said, and drawing his pis-
tol, fired.
SDurned the Dead Body.
The bullet struck the woman in the
breast and she dropped, with a dying
moan, to the floor 1t was her death
wound she had received, but to infiict
this did not content Cohen. Kneeling
by her side he emptied the remaining
chambers of his revolver into her
body; then, rising, he spurned the still
quiVering flesh with his foot.
Meantime Mary Marion crouched in
wild terror in one corner of the room.
Cohen paid her no attention, but with
a final kick for the body of the wo-
man he had killed. turned and left the
house
r The arrest, which was made by Pa
trolman Knox, was described by the
officer at the trial He was off duty
and at his house, which is near the
place where the crime was committed
Hearing the report of the shots Knox
mad picked up his own weapon and
rushed in their direction.
passer-by told him the murderer
was escaping and indicated the direc-
ton and Knox, jumping a fence, saw
Cohen coming towards him, the pistol
with which death had just been in
f1icted still clasped in his hand and
hanging at his side. The surprise was
too complete to give Cohen a. chance
TO think of escape. and in a trice he
was covered by the policemen's re-
YolVer and found himself under ar
rest.
''i'm Glad 1 Done IT."
Knox took his prisoner first to the
house where the body of his victim was
still lying, and in that dead presence
asked him why he had committed the
murder.
Il heard she was gettin' gay with
other men," said Cohen. Il came from
Fernandina to kill her and I'm glad l
done it,
Recorder Shelby Myrick was placed
on the stand to repeat a statement Co
hen had made to him at the Police
Court investigation The defendant
had INDUCED in a long and rambling
account of the homicide, that described
nothing and the recorder, struck with
its causeless brutality. had also asked
Cohen why he had killed the woman.
I done it," he had answered, be
cause | wanted to-"
This was the states case. In effect
the statement of the defendant was
that he had lived with the woman for
a considerable length of time, and
I'd to l,