The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-04-12
IN The JURY'S HANDS
THE FATE OF JAMES DUPREE
HANGS IN THE BALANCE.
TRIED FOR WlFE-MURDER.
THE PRISONERS THEORY TRANS
FERS GUILT TO ANOTHER MAN.


state Contends That Dupree Killed
His Wife in n Fit of JeaIOusy-The
Only Man Who witnessed the
Fatal Blows Could Not Identify
the Man Who Inflicted Them-The
Woman Killed with "A Knife Near
Bruton HiII-Robert Anderson the
Man the Defense Says Is Guilty OF
the Crime-The Jury, RecharEed
by Judge Barrow, still Unable to
Agree.
The fate of James Dupree, on trial in
the Superior Court yesterday for the
murder of his wife, hangs upon the
verdict of the twelve men who sat as
a jury in the case. The jury has been
cut since $3.50 o'clock yesterday after
noon and early this morning there was
little prospect of an agreement
Sadie Dupree was killed on the rail-
road track near Bruton Hill, east of
the city, on Nov s, last. The murderous
assault was committed with a knife
and the wounds the woman received in
the struggle with her assailant were
almost instantly fatal. Save one man,
no one even claims to have seen the
wounds inflicted, and he was at a
point so far distant he could not dis
tinguished the identity of the muir
derer, did not see he held a knife in
his hand and believed the woman had
been struck with the fist. He had no
idea she had been killed until he saw
her bleeding body lying by the side of
the track.
The Prosecutions Theory.
1t was the theory of the state that
Dupree, a jealous and Infatuated hus-
band already informed that his wife
was talking to another man and has
tening in their direction, had come sud
denly upon her and Robert Anderson.
He had spoken angrily to the woman
and Anderson had gone away and left
them together. A few minutes after
wards she was dead, and it was urged
by Solicitor General Osborne, who APP
peared for the state, that she had been
killed by her husband in a fit of jeal-
Gus rage.
To support this theory the evidence
of Anderson, of John Green, the negro
who had seen the woman struck from
the top of the building on which he
was working, and of Deputy Sheriff
Thomas ]. Sweeney, to whom Dupree
had made a confession, was given to
the jury. All of it tended to show
that the woman had met her death at
the hands of her husbands.
The theory of the defense was that
Eha hoe haaV1 lrillaH Robert mr.
son. Although other witnesses were
introduced by Messrs. Remer Denmark
and D. E. McCuen, who represented
Dupree, the statement Of the defend
ant, decidedly weak and unsatisfac-
tory production, furnished about the
only basis for the theory that as
cribed the killing to Anderson.
Said Anderson Stole His Wife.
In this statement Dupree said he
had come upon his wife and Anderson,
and that angry words between him and
the man had at once ensued. He had
charged Anderson with stealing away
the affections of his wife, and Ander-
son and retorted.
Dupree said Andersen had rushed
at him with a knife and that he had
used his own knife in the hilt to hilt
combat that followed. The prisoner
claimed that in this struggle he had
been cut twice in the stomach and
that finally he had rushed away in
fear of his life, leaving his wife alone
with Anderson. The inference from
this was supposed to be that Ander-
son had killed her. The defendant
made no explanation whatever of the
confession he made to Deputy Sweeny:
he did not even deny it.
Arguments for the defense were made
by Mr.. McCuen and Mr.. Denmark. and
far. he gtatn htrf h. oil nf 4r,. .aI
and at o'clock Judge Barrow charged
the jury.
The Jury RecharGed.
From the time the jury retired until
1890 O'Clock in the evening nothing
was heard from it. Then it sent in a
note asking that it be recharged on
the law of voluntary manslaughter.
The request was acceded to by Judge
Barrow and the jury was brought into
the court room and recharged. Appar-
emily the additional exposition of the
law made by the court did not serve
at once to resolve whatever doubts
any of the jury entertained, for no
verdict was rendered. 1t may be that
by this morning an agreement will be
reached and a verdict returned
The defense exhausted all it's strikes
in the selection of a jury. Those
finally chosen to try the case and now
engaged in the effort to decide it are
as follows: Joseph N. McDonough,
Jr., John A. Moncrief, Simon p. Ke-
hoe, John w. Howard, Arthur l..
Starr, John w. Shivers, Robert G:
Tunno, Hunter Wynn, William H.
Ray, Henry Fl. Aveilhe, David r.
Cesar and James S. Beytagh. To
obtain these fifty jurymen were placed
on the voir dire, all but the twelve be-
ing stricken by the state or the de-
tense or excused for cause.