Bisbee daily review., 1909-03-31
WOMAN PAYS PENALTY -FOR
 AWFUL CRIME
Story of the Murder For Which Mrs. Mary Farmer Was EIectrOcuted Monday in New York

crime for wh'ch Mrs Mary Farmer
 was electrocuted Monday and for
 which her husband is under the death
 penalty was peculiarly brutal.
 Mrs. Farmer is the second woman
 to meet death in the electric chair The crime for which she was e.xecu-
 ted and for wh ch her husband, James
 ID. Farmer. is also under sentence of
 deat, was the murder of Mrs. Sara Brennan, a e.ghbor in the village of Brownsyi le, Jefferson county, about four m.les from the ty of Water town. on Thursday, April 9, 1908. ! The body of Mrs. Brennan was found on the following Monday in a trunk owned by Mrs. Farmer and in her 1 possession. Mrs. Farmer and her hus- band were given separate tria 8, and ! although the evidence was circumstan- tial both were convicted and sen fenced to be eleetrOcuted. Mrs. Far mer's counsel attempted at the trial to establish that she was insane ana Irresponsible for the CT me, but the l court of appeals declared that it was ] clearly Q del. beraJe and intentional act" and that there was no circum- stances tHat "mitgated aganist its heinuosness.
 Mrs. Farmeg came to th's country i from Ireland in 1900 and worked for | a time as a dOmsstic in Bnghamton. | going from there to Buffalo where l she. married James D. Farmer in 1904 | Early in 1905 they moved to Browns 1 vile. where they remained for a few ] months at one of Farmers relatives, ] after which they kept boarders in an adjoin ng village. In May 1907 they moved into a portion cf an o'd build ing formerly used as a hotel in a part of Brownsville known as Paddy Hill Mrs. Brennan and her husband, Pat rick Brennan, lived in a house near by, which they had occupied for | twenty years and which was owned by Mrs. Brennan. Mrs. Farmer be- came frequent caller at the BreR- i nan hcme and Mrs. Brennan oceas' 'on- l ally called on the Farmers. Mrs. Brennan kept the deed to her prop erJy, insurance papers and a savings bank book in a black oilcloth pocket book in tin case in her bedroom. Months before the homicide, in Oc- ] tober, 1907. Mrs. Farmer went to a lawyers office in Watertown, produce q deed of the Brennan property and, impersonating Mrs. Brennan, had the deed transferred to James D. Farmer, S gning the name Sarah Brennan" 1 The deed was returned from the clerks office to James D. Farmer. on November 26 and on January 2, 1908, Mrs. Farmer and her husband went | tO another lawyer in Watertown and ! had the deed drawn to Peter J. Far ner. a child who had been born to them the preceding September ?.
 On the day of tae crime Mrs. Bren- | mans husband left early for his work, his wife telling him she was going to visit a dentist in Wateftown. Be tween g and 10 o'clock she was seen to leave her home and enter the Far mer house. She was never seen alive aga n. Eary the same day Mrs. Farmer took her baby to the homo of a neighbor and left it, saying she was going up town. Between that time and the time Mrs. Brennan went to ! the Farmer house Mrs Farmer passed back and forth batween the two houses several times. Shortly after l noon she went for her babay and ar ranged for a young daughter of the ! neighbOr to assist her in caring for the child.
 The girl, upon arriving. found Far mer and h's wife at lunch and later he left for the home of his sister, where he was laying walk. Soon af- ] ter Mrs. Farmer went into the Bren- 1an house she returned and told the girl to go for her husband. but Far zner refused to return home. Mrs. Farmer then went to her sisters home With a package which proved to be the black oilclotn pocketbook Of Mrs. Brennan. containing the deeds, ! insurance and other papers, and said she wanted to-Aeaye 1t for awhile. Brennan upcn his return from work that afternoon, was unable 10 get into
 his house. Tae key, wnich his wife
 was in the habit of leaving, was not in its accustomed place. While he
 was trying to get in he saw Farmer
 standing near by. who remarked:
 Brennan, don't you know I bought
 tniR place2" Brennan finally secured
 a fddeT, entered a second story win
 dow>and 1. occupied tae house that night. Tbe next morning he went to
 work as usual.
 Mrs. Farmer that same morning
 went to the sisters house, took Mrs.
 Brennan's oilcloth pocketbook from
 where it had been hidden in a chair,
 and with her husband went to Water.
 town, where they had an attorney
 prepare papers ordering Brennan of
 ts-s- ,,.S1.-isss. which were served on him that night
 T Brennan went to WaOoDwn and
 made inquiries for hts wife but failed
 to find her and on o.tsrday morning left For ln's work as usual, after
 spending the night in the house. He
 returned home, however later and
 found Mrs. Farmer and her husband
 occupying the house. Mrs. Farmer
 told him that so long as he used the Farmers well he could stay. Brennan
 then reported the matter to the dis
 trict attorneys office and engaged a constable to search for his wife.
 In the meant me the Farmers, with others who were induced to. help by T free access to ale which was fur nished. commenced moving thesr goods to the Brennan house. Tn one of the
 back rooms was a large black trunk which Mrs. Farmer asked one of the
 men to tie with 8 rope. Mrs. Farmer
 lifted the ends of the trunk while the clothes line was being wrapped around it and tied securely. Mrs. Far mer said "sbe had stun in there she c'dn't want broken" and had two
 men carry it to the Brennan house while she walked along and directed room where other things were piled ! upon It. She then proceeded to do i some washing.