Arizona republican., 1909-11-05
POLICE NOT CONVINCED
Inclined to Believe That the Pretended Murderer is Crazy-Trial Brings Out the Name of a High Pc litical Parsonage"

Paris, Nov. 4.-Dramatic situations followed fast one upon another in court today where the trial of Nine Marguerite Steinheil. accused of hay ing murdered her husband and her stepmother. Mime. Japy. continued
 Mime. Steinheil was again on the stand. dressed in a mourning gown dramatic though pathetic figure lighting hard for her life. And in the midst of her inquisition by the presiding judge. her attorney. M. Au- bin, with melodramatic effect, sudden ly pushed 10 the forefront a man, who said he wished to confess that he had taken part in the murders of which Mime. Steinheil is accused
 M Aubin read a letter signed Jean Lefevre." asking that he be permitted to confess. and then he pointed al the man and said: This is Jean Le- fevre''
 Mme. Steinheil gazed at him wear fly and after he had made ram bling statement. in which he said. disguised as a woman and wearing a wig of red hair, he helped commit the murders. she declared that she could not identify him as one of her murderers whom she had previously described
 The presiding judge promptly or sered Lefevre's arrest, and an inves- tigation of his statements. A search of the man disclosed two photographs, one of Mme. SteinheiI and the other of the house where the crime was committed. Lefevre was locked up as d vagabond.
 The police thus far are inclined to believe that the mans self-accusa- ton belongs in the category of incl dents well known to criminologists. where an individual. half demented by reading of the case and possibly fancying himself in love with the prisoner. has resolved to sacrifice himself for a fascinating woman.A Le fevre's description of the crime coin cided with the original version on which Mime. Steinheil now insists.
 As the proceedings were closing the first direct mention of the late Felix Faure. former president of France, was made. Much interest in the case lies in the friendship that existed between Mme. Steinheil and the late president. and several times the pris- oner made vague references to "a high political parsonage who had been my friend"
 Direct reference to the president was made in connection with a dis cussion of the incident of finding an invitation at the Steinheil home. to- gether with pieces of a visiting card of Mme Maseline. with the name of a customer written, which Mime Steinheil asserts was droDped by the fleeing assassins. Responding to ouestion as to whether it was at the home of Mime. Maseline at Havre that she met President Faure. the pris- oner replied. No. it was during a trip to the Alps
 A summary of the evidence shows that the judge failed to shake Mime Steinheirs original version of the crime She admitted an intrigue. but heatedly denied that she had sent her mother to solicit from her lovers and she insisted that her husband had .nev- CT profited by her own immoral llfe Admitting doing wrong she besought the jury to pardon her faults. She de- fended herself by saying that since she did not live with her husband as his wife. she longed for sympathy and love. When confronted with inconsis- tencies in her stories she justified them by saying that she lost her head when harrassed by the journalists and detectives and thus had been led to believe that those whom she had ae- ct,sad ,Uere nprhaDs guilty.