New-York tribune., 1910-11-26

Rachael Sears. negro "oiiie-. -.
| him to go and alarm the ho, :,
| there had been murder and ropoerS ~
| fhe house o,d ne went over TO Dennl-
son.s leavtno +ba bag of bananas WHICH
he had brought back
| New Brunswick on the paOi>
Nesros Mother Arrested
Tho or,,, ,.. -ot touched upon by
| Jack was the whereaoo''
mother at the time of the sllooltS
has told the county ofhcials 'iAd
heard the shots some time between ana
o o'clock on Wednesday night. ana oe-
came so frightened that she hid herself
in her room and awaited the return OF
her son hu4 Mr. CrossIey was unsatis-
| fed with this explanation, anu Iie
to-day, with William R. Piper MS a'
sistant, and Detectives hirhan ana
Clancy, to the home of Enoch CoIiips'
where she had been kept unoer SUI
veillance since Wednesday hIs"''
question her again.
BY direction of Prosecutor CIoSsieS
Mrs Sears was taken into custouS 70
night and brought to the county '"'-
here where she was placed IN tile nus
pitaI as a material witness. She mas
heart disease in bad form.
Her story to Mr.. Crossley is that sIie
went upstairs at o'clock AT thaI Iiiiie
her son was shaving before a looking
glass in the kitchen. He told her he
on her bed she says. fully dressed reAo--
ing, and heard the clock strike three
times BY that she means I O'CLOCK
I:30 and o'clock She then arose ana
went into her sons room. where she sat
looking out of a window While thus
engaged she heard a shot in the front
part of the house downstairs, and then
another She was frightened, and
crawled under her sons bed. where she
remained, she says. until she heard him
come.
According to this she must have re
mained under the bed about four hours
and a half. When she got downstairs
she saw John just inside the kitchen
door, and he had a gun in his hand.
Mr. Crossley explained that the New
Jersey law would not give a conviction
for murder in the first degree upon
confession alone, and that the only way
the state could accept the confession
would be on a lesser plea. From Mr..
Crossley's remarks, however, it appeared
that he was confident of securing a con-
viCtion for murder in the first degree
he oiI Of he nG
that he would exact the death penalty
without recourse to the alternative of ac-
cepting the confession which would al
low the mulatto to plead guilty to
crime of less degree and escape with
life or long term imprisonment.
Inquest on December 9.
A coroner's jury. sitting under Coroner
Daniel V Bower, of Mercer County.
went TO the Armstrong farm this morn
ing and viewed the bodies of the mur-
dered man and wife The jurors made
a thorough inspection Of the house, and
Coroner Bower fixed December 8 as the
cay for taking testimony. Sears will not
appear before this jury at all. as the
Coroner's duty ends with the establish
ment of the death by violence
Sears has been committed TO the Mer-
Ger County Jail in Trenton. without bail,
under a double charge of murder, and
will he arraigned on December >. when
he will be held TO the grand jury.
The neighbors of the Armstrong;
and the friends of the family in the little
village of Dutch Neck declared to-day
they believed Mrs. Sears was not impli-
Gated in the deed. Some of them ex-
pressed the belief that Jack" had locked
her in her room before committing the
double murder.
Those who have been frequent visitors
at the Armstrong home said that it was
evident that Sears had little liking for
his mother. who unwittingly made fully
apparent his negro blood. The mulatto
has studiously avoided other negroes, an
endeavor which was comparatively easy
Of accomplishment because of his light
yellow color.
The double funeral of Mr.. and Mrs
Armstrong will be held at noon to-day
at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church
by the Rev Thomas Brown. the pastor
who succeeded Mr.. Armstrong He will
be assisted by most of the prominent
Presbyterian clergymen OF Southern New
Jersey