The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-05-23
GIRL AELLS AWFUL STORY
  sae Trial of Josephine Terranova. WAS COMMANDED TO KILL In Vision She Was Told to Stay
 Her Uncle. During Recital Of Tale Of Horror, wo- man Paints Tn New York Court
 Room And Confusion rs
 The Result.

New York, May 22.--Josephine Ter ranova took the stand today in her own behalf at her trial on the charge of having murdered her aunt.
 The defendant said that she came to this country when 3 years old. going to live with her uncle and aunt. the Reg gios.
 T did not go to church or school" she said, for seven years after I came to America. My uncle and aunt would not let me. I wanted to go. I did everything, washing. scrubbing, every thing, and sometimes there were ten, eleven and sixteen boarders In the house."
 Do you remember one winter morn ing when you were about Il 1-2 years old?" she was asked.
 The girl replied that she did; that her aunt had taken her to the uncle's room that day.
 ! That Is what I am on trial here about" she added.
 As the girl told of her uncle's treat ment. woman spectator fainted and the court proceedings were interrupted by the resulting commotion. The girl hesitated in giving her testimony, say ing that she was ashamed to speak of 1t.
 oIlG Solu tAdh lcf AOtt HhQ lOECGQ nCt to obey her uncle and had beaten her, breaking stick during one of the whippines and making the witness so sick she went to bed.
 The girl said that she was never per- mitted to play with other children, and was forbidden to talk English or asso- ciate with the boarders in the house. She said she wanted to go to her moth CT but was not permitted to.
 AGistreated For Yeara.
 The witness said that her husband was led to suspect what her relations with her uncle had been because of a remark which the latter made. She de- clared that her uncle's mistreatment covered a period of about six years and that 1t continued up to and including the night after her civil marriage to Terranoya.
 She told of the circumstances which led her to kill her uncle and her aunt. She said that her husband. after listen ing to her confession told her that she was no longer his. wife and left her. She remained alone during the following ten days subject, she said. to the influence of hallueinations in which her uncle appeared. When he appeared a voice said, XII him" Each night she would dream that she was m the presence of God and would hear the words Kill your uncle"
 At the end of ten days the girl said she went to her mothers house and was turned away Then the mysterious voices became more insistent and their directions more pointed, telling her to buy a knife and a revolver and kill. When armed and on her way to their house for this purpose she said she had crossed herself three times and prayed to know whether she was doing right. She confronted her uncle, calling him traitor and he replied: You are an outcast."
 She remembered little of her attack but asserted that she began to stab when her aunt came between her and her Uncle Gaetano. She did not re- member which one she struck first.
 Under cross examination by Assis- tant District Attorney Ely the witness said that she had been unable to run away from her uncle's treatment as she desired to- Her aunt, she said, had told her that there was no harm in her relations with Gaetano. Justice Scott. who is trying the case, questioned the girl about the voices she claimed to have heard and she told him that they came like a ringing in the ears.
 The trial was adjourned until to- morrow.