The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-10-18
MYSTERY SURROUNDS.
THE TRIAL
CONTINUED from First Pageo

/. b =
AM Two people outside of the family are
M hllawed within the cell, McCue's pastor
and his loading attorney.
t 81 bs dcnd wife the accused man
enenks occasionally, and always tender
~ Bo dreamed OF her Saturday night,
bo snys. THIS murdered woman,s photo...
graph Is In the alleged murderer cen
81 n,ong with those of their ch'i .o
aInte this afternoon a small party ar
t,ve. M The jajl and passed quickly In.
There we're three women. all relatives
az The nccussed. and four children, some
snalj. some large. Popular Interest dis
regarded the elder members OF the group
&1,,it lowered around the others TheS
rerc The McCue children. 1nystcrously
sptfsted away, nysteriously recovered by
mysterious means. Three OF them were
brought here at noon to-day from west
Virginia Until they walked INTO Inc
cell. McCue did not know that they hao
been discovered.
He vent bitterly. and what passed be-
tween them no man outside knows or
would at,cmpt to know. The party stayed
one hour and left.
The Defense.
Nunsatisfactory as this glimpse Of McCue
on the eve OF Ills trial. it is Infinitely more
than can be said with any degree Of posi-
tiveness about the plea that he Will pre-
sent 10 the accusing court tomorrow. HIS
life behind the cell wall must be gathered
bit by BIT from q half dozen sources
some questionable: these contectures OF
a hundred men are all that will throw
light upon the line OF defense Tho at
torneys on both sides are utterly uncoin-
municable.
CAPTAIN Micajah Woods. of the prosecu-
ton. said to-day that the Commonwealth
was ready to proceed and expected TO
ID go into the case tomorrow, but the gen
tlcmen Of the defense said nothing.
Sphinx-like taciturnity prevails at every
hand. Despite this difficulty at gaining
even m inklins of what the defense will
put forward. It is generally regarded as
probable, that the defendant will. as a
general plea, answer mot guilty to the
charge trusting In the one case TO the
Il failure Of the Commonwealth to hold UP
Its end and in the other to the later spe-
cial plea Of temporary insanity.
In other words, the dt,fense, II IS con-.
}3@icctured. will proceed taking advantage
OF every slip Of the Commonwealth {
55 the evidence proves weak. and, since 1t
must be practically entirely circumstan-
tial. 1t will have to be very strong to
convict, the matter will be at an end IT,
on the contrary, the prosecution presents
strong and convincing array OF cyl
dence, the defense will then fall back upon
the plea Of temporary insanity. The
blanket plea mot guilty. covering pos
sible later and special plea of the charac-
tor Indicated would thus offer a double
chance OF escape. The first would carry
no admission Of guilt; the latter would be
IA fairly promising loop-hole Tor des-
perate man. Certainly at this time there
IS no claim that NTcCue is anything but
y a sane man, HIS life in Jail offers no
evidence that might support CLAIM, or
alteration. His previous testimony in
this case would be a point against him
hero. There are other things that would
stand in the way and block the easy ac-
complishnent of such a task as that Of
proving temporary, total or any; other
kind of insanity of J. Samuel McCuc,
The Wornan in the Case.
65s A consideration OF the list OF witnesses
3 is Of practically no assistance toward de
terminng the present status of affairs.
The mysterious woman In the case has
not appeared--that is. not definitely and
positvely She is always lowering near
by, but is a mystic and immaterial sub
stance in the broad light of day.
There are a thousand rumors. some
Whispered others uttered aloud with
defiance apparently born of long knowl !:
"a edge But no woman of the character.
convened to the mind by the subtle and
suggestive illusions made to their affair
has been summoned by the Common
wealth. There are number OF lndles
among the witnesses. but they are of the
highest and most stainless reputation.
What they will have to say Will concern
matters with which personally they had
nothing 10 do-with the murder itself
and things which, as near ne!ghbors they
IS observed in connection with the McCue
household.
The woman in the case" Is stu un r
vcaled. Z
n N,,1i rainier
startling bit of information reached my
hands to-day. It's importance will appear
lIpon its face Were the informant not
SO positive and so obviously possessed OF
facts a reasonable hesitation might cause
the incident to be passed ovtS without
Letters From Women.
tits this: Since Mccuc has been locked
up In jail on the charge Of brEtnlly MUIR
dering his own wife he has received ar,
fectionate letters from women supposed
to be those or some Of those about whom
there is so much conjecture. They are
not fake letters. They We're brought to
the Jail by the women themselves and
delivered by their own hands into those
Of an officer. by whom. after the usual
inspection. they were passed to McCuc.
1t is asserted that there was more than
one letter; that more than one woman
wrote to the prisoner, and that the wo-
men are Charlottesville women
Whether this phase of the case-McCue's
relations with other womcn-will figure
largely in the trial cannot now be said.
The public is apparently eager to delve
into the dregs of a absolute life but
whether accused can be shown in open
cnnrt to be OF this sort Is another matter.
Every street corner secs some man or
group OF men expressing for the hun
dredth time his opinion Of the affair in
general. and of this feature Of 1t in par
81 1icnlar, and like as not names are not
called. but the great eye of the law
which takes no notice Of rumors except
an possible clues to hidden facts, seems
to have been unable as yet TO ferret out
anvthine
Detectives have been at work npor
the matter constantly, shrewd and quick
moving men, but If they know anything
they have not letlit out, silence is then
part and silence elsewhere recognized a:
the summit of wisdom Is taken by many
to mean In this instance the lack Of
ability to speak for reasons more notcn