The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-05-30
Her Cruel Uncle in a Dream Says
Woman
On. WITNESS STAND.
She Said That She Was Subj .ct to Hal.
Inclination, a Voice Commanding
Her to Kill Him" Dreamed
She was In the Presence
of God.

LII N9H OlA 1aSG WSSA oOzsOkA2AS
Terranova took the witness stand 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 eight years old,
going to live with her uncle and aunt
the Rsggious. Sne Is an Italian girl
who told one of them awful tales,
OF depravity and the part Of her uu-,
Gle and aunt, whom she finally killed
for the great wrong they had done
her.
II didn't go to church OF to school.
she said, fer seven years after T
came to America. MY aunt and un-
Gle would not let me. I wanted to
20. I did everything, washing, scrub.
bing, everything and som ettnes there
were ten, eleven, sixteen boarders In
The house.
'.Do you remember one winter
morning when you we're about eleven
and talf years old?' she was asked.
The girl replied that she did; that
her aunt lad taken her to the uncle's
room that day. 'That-is what / am
on trial here about she added. AS
the girl told of her uncle's treat
ment a woman spectator tainted. The
girl hesitated In giving her testimony
saying that she was ashamed to ospeak
1T.
Sle said that her acnt had forced
her to obey her uncle and Esd beat
her, breaking stick during one OF
the whippings, and making the Wit
ness so sick that she went to bed.
Che girl said she was never permitted
20 play with other children and was
forbidden to talk English OF associate
with the bea1ders in the house. She
said she wanted to 60 to her mother
out was Iot permitted to. :
The witness said that her husband
was led to suspect what her relations
With her uncle had been, because ola
remark which the latter made. She
declared that her uncle's mistreat-
nent covered a period Of about six
years and that it continued up to and
Including the night after her civil
to TerranoVa. She told OF
the circumstances which led her to
kil the uncle, Gaetano, and her aunt,
Concetta. S Re said that her husband
after listening tc her confession told
her that she was no longer his wife
and thereppon left her. She remain
ed alone during the following ten
days, sui ct, she said to the Influence
Of hallucinations 10 which her uncle
appealed. Whenever he appeared a
voice said Skill him. Each night,
the witness continued, she would
dream or imagine that she was in the
presence OF God and there again she
soald hear the words ''ktll your On.
cle."
At the end OF ten days, the girl
said she went to her mother's house
and was turned away. Then the mys-
terious voices became more insistent
and their directions more pointed,
ceiling her to buy knife and revol-
yer and kill. When armed 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
ae. uncle, calling him traitor" and
ne replied: You are an outcast.''
IS % remembe bered little Of her at.
tack, but asserted that she began to
stab when her aunt came between her
and Gaetano. Sae did not remem.
ber which one struck first. Under
cross examination the witness: said
she had been unable to run away from
ner uncle's ,reatnens. as she desired
to. Her aunt, she said, had told her
that there was no harm In her rela.
tions with her uncle. Justice Scott,
who Is hearing the csse, questioned
the girl ab' ut the voices she claim.
ed to have heard, and she told him
that they came Ike ringing in the
ears.