The Detroit times., 1908-01-29
B0YNE SAYS GUILTY
BUT He WILL
Be TRIED
YOUTH coNFEssEs TO KILLING
MRS. WEIGH. BUT INSISTS He
DIDN'T INTEND TO. aossgRv
BEING HIS AIM.

i am guilty, but / didn't kiln her
wnfully and wickedly, as charged IL
THIS paper" said Percy Rowin, alias
boyne, self-confessed slayer OF Mrs
Cornelia Welch. when asked to plead
70 an information charging murder.
before Judge Phelan, in the recorders
court, Wednesday morning. Less
than five minutes before he had plead
ed guilty before Police Justice SteiF
and was Immediately bound over to
the higher court News that he was
the murderer of Mrs. WEIGH preceded
him upstairs, and hundreds OF curious
eyes followed him To the prisoners
dock, where he sat with bowed head.
awaiting the judges arrival.
A fine specimen OF physical man
hood. with his crimson cheeks. bis
wavy black hair, his large brown eyes
which looked frankly at one ami
seemed to tell OF innocence and pur-
| ity. Boyne Is not a youth who would
be associated In ones mind with such
q brutal crime as the murder OF Mrs.
Welch. whose body was found. with
! ieet and hands tied and every evil
dence OF struggle, In her rooms at
No rs Congress-st east, Jan. z, four
days after the murder. This fact
was noted by those who cav him Ia
the prisoners dock Wednesday morn
| ing and many were the expressions
OF surprise and pity expressed az
Boyne bowed his head and repeated:
II am guilty. but | didn't mean to
kill her.
Judge Phelan at once took Boyne
into his private Office, and after COT
ference lasting about 10 minutes.
again took the bench and accepted
the plea for the time being Tears
were rolling down the prisoners
cheeks in streams as he emerged
from the judges room.
Il deem II necessary for the proper
administration OF justice to appoint
counsel for this young man." said
Judge Phelan, and he named Attorney
Edward II. Kennedy.
Plea to Be Set Aside.
Attorney Kennedy at once repaired
to court and after a brief conferences
with the court and Assistant Prosecu-
tor Crosse asked that the matter he
held In allegiance until Thursday
morning. 10 give him an opportunity
TO consult with his client. The pre-
ability Is that he will ask that tAe
plea of guilty be set aside and thar
Boyne will be placed on trial. ~
view OF Boyne's statements 70 the
court and earlier to the police. tnnt
he did not mean TO kill Mrs. Weich.
IL may be necessary, as matter OF
law, to place him on trial to determines
the degree OF his guilt.
In the meantime Boyne had been
remanded to the county jail and Dep
uty Sheriff Jerome Mueller respected
the young prisoners appearance 10
the extent of assigning him to ward q,
which Is reserved for the cream OF
the prisoners, so to speak AS the
door clanked behind him. Boyne again
gave way to tears and sought solace
| in the pocket Bible his sweetheart had
brought him. at his own request, only
| Tuesday.
IT can only trust In God, now" said
| the Young man to The Times. 1T
| wouldn't be SO bad IL / had only my
self To think OF. but there's my mother
and the young woman and my brother.
only 10 years old--they will feel 1t al
most as keenly as | do myself. on,
God. | never thought II would come 90
this"
Had Christian Training.
Il was a Christian once he con-
tinued. observing that his visitor had
caught glimpse of the Bible In MS
hand. II was brought up Presbyte-
rian, went to church and Sunday
school regularly and when was work
ing In Oshawa. Ont. ! used to sing In
the choir could recite whole pas
sages OF the Bible by heart then. and
| | always went In pretty good company.
1T was in Oshawa that | met the
young woman who-well, who gave me
the Bible. ! will not reveal her name
because II would only bring disgrace
ON her and she belongs TO very re-
spectacle family. She is employed as
: strenographer in wholesale house
here. when she came TO Detroit fol-
lowed her. Otherwise / probably
would have gone to Buffalo or some
other city In the east and then this
thing never would have happened.
But IL was destined that I should
come to Detroit. secured position
In williams Bros. pickle factory and
all went well until | was laid on q
few weeks ago. along with several 9TH
err employees, on account OF the slack
times. Until a short time before left
there was good boy. One night. on
Congressst.. i met woman named
Marie Hall. She was drunk and asked
me To take her home. | did so and
that was the beginning OF an acquaint-
ance wish had never encouraged.
This woman was very good to ne
and frequently gave me money when
was broke, as | had been most or
the time since I was laid on was
getting money from another girl.
4 40. natt1Ar vho rs~ognpd af N Mrs