The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-04-30
SCRAP OF PAPER AS EVIDENCE
SUFFICIENT OFTEN TO PUT ROPE
ROUND CRIMINALS NECK.
fragment In an internal Machine That
Convicted MOtmtfOFd-Gun Wad as
Proof Of CTlme-TOrn sheet OF Note
Paper That Led 10 Discovery Of q
MURDERER Burglars Fatal Oversight.

"uFutToT-bshsiars fatal oversight
And this, gentlemen, Is what YOU are
asked to hang a man on!" said Sergeant Bal.
lantine, addressing jury at the Central
Criminal Court He held up in his fingers
a little piece Of paper. only a few inches
big. You arc asked TO return a verdict
which will send that man standing there
before you TO the gdllows, on the strength
Of a scrap Of paPer!'
The scrap Of paper was enough, fays
London AHspcrs. Ballantine's client was
condemned. have known numberless
cases in which a scrap Of paper has suficed
TO place the halter round the criminals
neck.
In a case tried at Leeds some years back
aprisoner named Mountford was charged
with a peculiarly diabolical ofense Hav-
ing conceived a murderou5 hatred OF a man
who he imagined had done him an injury,
Mountford set to work to plot his death.
few weeks later a parcel was delivered
at the intended victims house. The parcel,
which looked innocent enough was a tin
case holding several pounds Of gunpowder
30 packed as TO explode when opened. Be
tween two pieces Of paper was some de-
tonating powder, connected with ingeni-
ously arranged matches at the top and
bottom Of the box.
The attempt failed, the internal machine
did not claim its victim. and the police
were called in 10 discover the would be a.
sassin. Underneath the brown paper in
which the box was wrapped the detectives
found q scrap Of newspaper-a portion Of
the Leeds Intellioencer Of July S. Other
circumstances led them to suspect Mount
ford, and on their visiting his house and
searching it they found a Leeds Intelli-
osncer Of that date with a piece missing.
The scrap In the Internal machine fitted it
exactly. Mountford was found guilty.
Newspaper used az a wad in firearms has
over and over again suffiCed to convict a
murderer. youth named John Toms
was charged at Lancaster Assize5 with the
murder OF a man named Culshaw. Culshaw
had been killed by pistol shot, and the
weapon had evidently been discharged
from close quarters, The evidence against
Toms was meager and unsatisfactory
until there was produced in court a terribly
blOodstained piece OF paper. II was
handed to the jury and examined by them.
and on it were still plainly discernibe the
words Of a north country comic song.
The piece Of paper had been recovered
from the fatal wound in the dead mans
head and had been the wad for the
assassin's pistol A songbook was found
in Toms's pocket and part Of one page Of
II vas missing. The piece found in the
dead mans wound correspondent with the
lost part exactly. Toms was, OF course,
found guilty and hanged.
Franz Muller. the murderer Of Mr. Briggs
IN a railway carriage on the North London
line. made on with his victims top hat.
When caught several months later, a top
hat, declared to he Mr.. Briggs. was found
in his possession. Its shape. however,.
had BEEN considerably altered. and Muller
declared that the hat had been bought by
him4eh Was II Mr.. Briggs hat?
If 1t is Mr. Briggs hat, said the halter
who supplied HIM, you may find scrap
hat was too large for him, so put paper
in 70 make II ht
When the lining was turned down, a scrap
Of the paper, which had adhered to the
leather was discovered. Muller had a
bigger head than Mr. Briggs, and had,
He left that little bit. however sufficient
10 establish the identity Of the hat beyond
all question as that Mr.. Briggs was wearing
when he was murdered
Never was a murder more deliberately
planned 70 bafiie suspicion than that Of
Percy Malcolm by DR.. hanson. Lamson,
II viii be remembered, paid a visit to NAL
colin At his school at Wimbledon and muir
dered him with aconitln. put In the place
Of sugar in a soluble capsule. A soon as
son set on by that nights mail 20 Paris,
whence he returned to give himself up
when he heard that he was suspected OF
the crime.
Lamson imagined that his return Of his
own free will from abroad would prepos-
sess people immensely In his favor. The
whole affair was Cleverly planned, but the
murderer was In one respect strangely
forgetful. When his clothes we're taken
from him and searched, the police found
in one Of his pockets piece OF soiled and
cr1mpled paper on which were some notes .
made In Lamson's handwriting. They
we're notes on the effects and symptoms
Of vegetable irritant poisons. Among them |
was aconitin. Lamson had forgotten that |
fatal note.
In a Scotch oase. in which a Young lady
was charged with the murder OF her father .
by poisoning him at the instigation Of her .
lover, scrap Of paper played a most i'm I
portant part. The old gentleman had most
emphatioally refused his consent TO his .
daughter marrying her lover and had .
threatened TO disinherit her II she did so.
His wealth was considerable. and the young
te ow, after some time, succeeded in per-
suading the infatuated girl TO administer
arsenic TO her parent In slowly increasing .
doses. One day a servant surprised the /
vretched girl while she was preparing some /
food for the old man.
The girl seemed dismayed by the serv-
ants sudden appearance, hastily threw
Piece Of paper which she had crushed .
into ball in her hand upon the fire, and then
disappeared with the little tray In which
the food was standing The servant, as
soon as her mistress had left the room,
rescued the paper from the FIRE. Il had
been crushed together so tightly that only
the outside portion was consumed by the
flames, and In the creases Of IL the servant
detected a kind Of white dust She kent
the paper. and when her master died and
her mistress was arrested and charged with
HE murder, Il was produced in court The
analyst had no difficulty in ascertaining
that the white dust was arsenic, and the
murderess Was condemned TO death and
was executed.
Who was the murderer Of Mary Webberl
vas question which some years ago sorely
DerpleEed the Lancashire police authorities.
Weber was a servant, and left her mis-
Nesss house one evening 90 keep an APP
Pointment With respect TO which she had,
her mistress subsequently, remembered,
appeared peculiarly anxious Mary Weber
never returned homo. Her dead body
Fas discovered the next day in a lonely
spot near wood. There was no doubt
she had been murdered-strangled by some
person with large, powerful hands, the
thnsermarks Of which were TO be seen upon
No one could say who Il was she had gone
70 meet, but IL was generally suspected
mat che must have had an appointment