The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-01-01
BLAMES IT ON A MAN
MAMIE DECRIs' SENSATIONAL con-
FESSION.
ADMITS SHAMMING LUNACY.
skYs THAT HER ACCOMPLICE TOLD
HER TO DO II.


Deny Her MOthe--Threntene 10
Blow Her Brains out If She Told.
'Diamond Queen VIII Plead
Guilty and DecIares That Wht
She Serves out Her Sentence She
VIII Return and XIII Man who
Prompted Her 10 Pass Forged Let
ters-Made the Confession First on
Saturday.
Unblushingly admitting that she has
been shamming insanity since shortly
after her arrest by Detective Murphy
at the Kimball House in Atlanta, Ma
mie DeCris, the woman who secured
nearly $4,000 worth of diamonds
from Theus Bros. and Desbouil-
Ions on forged notes. has made
a sensational confession in
which she duplicates well-known
young Savannah man.
The woman persisently asserts that
the scheme was engineered by her al
legged accomplice, that the trip to At
lanta was made at his suggestion and
that he shared in the profits of the
theft. She declares that since her ar
rest he threatened to blow her brains
out if she confessed, and swears that
she will kill him when she has served
her term. Mamie determined yes
terday morning to enter a formal plea
of guilty and says that she will be re-
venged after she has been given her
freedom.
The confession is a remarkable one
and was first made on Saturday to
representative of the Morning News
who was present when she was arrest
ed in Atlanta. In response to letter
from the" Diamond Queen" the newspa-
per man visited her in the county
Jail Saturday. She said that she
was undecided what to do and that she
thought she would tell the physicians
who mad been examining her that she
had been shamming insanity. She had
told them that she could remember
nothing of her visit to Atlanta and did
not know why she had committed the
crime, or where she had forged the
notes. She slammed insanity ana nov
claims that she was told to dc sc by
her alleged accomplice.
Planning Diamond SwindIe.
The Diamond Queen" started at the
beginning and unfolded the sensational
confession that she has repeated daily
since. She stated that the diamond
robbery was inspired by the young man
and that the letters were written by
him the night before the jewelry was
secured. She claims that she copied
them in his presence at that time. On
the following afternoon, she says, he
waited in front of Connors' Book Store
until she came out of Theus with the
jewelry. He took the packages from
her and she went into Desbouillons,
After the second theft had been COM
mitted the woman tells she again met
her accomplice waiting outside and
delivered the diamonds into his keep
ing.
According to the Diamond Queens"
statement it was at the suggestion of
this man that she went Immediately
to the Office of Solicitor General w.
w. Osborne and attempted to negotiate
a loan. They would never look for
you in the solicitors Office" her COM
panion is alleged to have remarked.
Miss DeCris says that her accomplice
remained in the neghborhood when she
pawned some of the diamonds and that
he got share of the cash. He had
agreed to go West with her and
l., 4
says.
He told me to go to Atlanta and
that he would meet me there Just as
soon as he could settle his business
affairs" related the woman. when
l told him that ] couldn't go to At
lanta without making some good ex-
cuse to Mrs. Thonnesen he said that
/ could say that 1 was going to attend
a marriage, or something of the sort
He was to join me in a few days and
we were then to go to New Orleans.
Later he wrcte me in Atlanta that he
couldn't arrange his business satisfac-
torily and advised that / have some
thing happen to DR.. Hayward.
Murder of Phantoms.
1T was then that l decided to in
vent a runaway and kill off two or
three imaginary persons. OF course,
oVerdid the thing and my arrest fol-
lowed. Unfortunately l destroyed the
letters he wrote me. but ii seems to
me that my word would be as good as
his. Anyhow that is how the robbery
occurred and if it wasn't for him l
wouldn't be here now. / know that
by telling on him my punishment will
be no lighter, but l can't see why |
should suffer alone.
After l was brought back to Savan-
nan he saw me and advised me to
pretend that l was crazy. He said il
would all come out right and | did as
he suggested l have known all along
that Mrs DeChrist at Thunderbolt is
my mother and only pretended not to
believe it because l was advised to do
so by the man who is responsible for
my presence here. l realized that
those who knew me would think
strange of my denials and l guess that
was the reason he got me to deny my
own mother.
THE reason that I couldn't remem-
Der the place where l had pawned the
last ring found was because l didn't
know 1 couldn't tell the detective
where ii was until saw the man who
was waiting for me when l went into
the pawnshop. He told me where il
had been pawned and then l told Mr.
Wall where it was. This man threat
ened to blow my brains out II told on
him, and then said that even if I did
no one would believe my story. be-
cause had told so many different ones
ms made me angry; to think that 7