Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-05-25
HER MOTHERS CRIME
Daughter Told of Lafayette
 Taylor's Death.
UNCLE CHARGED AS GUILTY PARTNER
Ida May De Kay Testified to Seeing the Murder Committed = Victim First Shot and Then Chopped
 Up With am AK.

Up With am AK.
 MONTICELLO, N. Y, May 25.-In the trial for murder of Mrs. Kate Tay- Tor, Ida May De Kay, Mrs. Taylor's daughter, charged her uncle, Peter Yerkins, with being at the Taylor. house on the night that Lafayette Tay- Tor was murdered. She was asked by District Attorney Anderson to tell what she saw She said: T was in bed and was awakened by a shot. I got up and went into the next room and saw Lafe Taylor holding the door leading to the kitchen with one hand and trying to pull on his boots with the other. I Rent through the door into the kitchen and saw my mother trying to get the door open and get at Lafe. I went out on the stoop for few minutes. When I returned I heard second shot in the kitchen and went in and saw my fa- thers body on the floor, with my moth CT standing over it, with a revolver i'll her hand, trying to fire it again.
 Mrs. Taylor took some old coats, put them under. Taylor's head and grabbed an ax and cut the head off and put 1t in the stove. Kate Taylor then rushed to the stoop, grabbed lighted lantern and swung it around three times and came back into the house.
 Peter Yerkins then came into the house and asked if Lafe was dead?"
 Mrs. Taylor answered, "Yes."
 Mrs. Taylor again took the ax and tried to cut off one of Taylor's legs, then laid the ax down before she had succeeded. Yerkins then took the ax and finished cutting off the leg.
 Ida May went to bed and left Yer kins and her mother together with the body. When she awakened the next morning Yerkins had disappeared, and her mother was still burning the body. She did not think her mother had slept.
 Mrs. Taylor broke down and wept when her fifteen-year-old daughter took the witness stand to testify against her.
 'Who did you first tell that Peter Yerkins was at your home on the night Lafe Taylor was killed?" asked Attorney Smith.
 T told Mrs. James Taylor at her home, and she told me to tell the dis trict attorney" answered the witness.
 "Why didn't you tell that story on the former trial instead of waiting for year to tell 1t?'
 II was afraid to tell, because Peter Yerkins told mamma and myself if we told any one he was there and he got arrested when he got out he would kill us both.r
 Miss Dekay, who was oh the wit ness stand five hours, was followed by Deputy Sheriff John R, Rice. He re- lated the confession Mrs. Taylor made to him in her cell at the time of Peter Yerkins's arrest.
 q heard a rap on her cell door and responded to it." he said
 |" Have you arrested Peter SYerkins? P Mrs. Taylor inquired, and replied, 'Yes.' What was he arrested for?' she asked. He is charged with murder in the first degree for the murder of Lafe Taylor replied. Mrs. Taylor was furious and said: Why, Yerkins is innocent. He doesn't know anything about the killing of Taylor. Ida and I were the only ones there How did you do the deed?' asked. T shot him and then cut off his head and arms and burned them in the kitchen stove. The remainder of the body I chopped up and put in sack and slowed away in the pantry, It took me two or three days to burn all the body. The large bones burned to a char, cracked them up fine with the head of the ax, and fed them to the chickens with cracked corn,' said Mrs l TavlOr1