New-York tribune., 1911-11-25
JURORS EYES GET MOIST
Mrs. 0'ShaughneSSy Breaks
Down at Trial, Causing Halt.
INSANITY EXPERT TESTIFIES
Saws Woman Who Killed Hus-
band Had Acute Attack OF
Melancholic Type.

Mrs. Frances O'Shaughnossy, who IS
being tried before Judge Foster and a jury
in General Sessions for shooting her nus
band. George O'Shaughnessy. on May D.
broke down and wept yesterday WhiIe she
was doing her best TO tell Assistant DIS
tr.ct Attorney Edwards the details OF the
shooting
What happened TO George when you
shot him?" he asked.
..I4e sort Of sank down on the bed, salo
Mrs. O'Shaughnessy softly ana tears
yelling up I'm her eyes she covered her
face with her black bordered nandherchltl
and Mr. Edwards quietly sat down. stop
ping the proceedings for several moments
uptl the witness regained her composure
After YOU had made up your nina 10
shoot George, il he had told you that Ne
would give up Tessie Hayes would lndI
have changed your determination H.
uuired the prosecutor.
L cannot tell you exactly as TO thal
she answered 'TIe would have had to say
that 10 me before I could tell you. lie
didn't say IL, so I don't know. / think II
ne had spoken one kind word TO me II
would have lifted . great load from my
heart"
Under direct examination Mrs. OShaugh-
messy spoke of her suicidal intentions after
4yhe discovered the Tessie Hayes letters
ainder her husbands pillow.
IT saw the revolver az Mrs. Ford's, where
worked. and II fascinated me- she salo.
s.T used TO pick II up very often. l pressed
e. n my breast ard thought now easy II
tyould be 10 end all my sorrow. TOOK IT
nome with me and 7 prayed a long uihe
for George II was after that that
made up my mind IT would be wrong TO XIII
tnvsslf and my unborn child SO l deter
iSnined 20 KIN George"
..What did you do after you shot
George asked Mr.. Rosalsky, her lawyer
"I kissed him"
What else?"
81 said a prayer for his soul Then I
went out into the hall and called TO Mrs
.I;pver told her that George had gone
she sa,d. What, already?' and 1 answered
Ayes gone foreverr Then 1 ran out and
.sked the policeman 20 arrest me-
did YOU tell him why you shot your
husband?" ,,
.SOb. yes: told him that he was unfaith-
sul and had planned 10 desert me for an
other woman
Mr.. Rosalsky asked Mrs ObhaushIleSsy
g. she still loved her husband.
"Oh, yes" she replied
The prosecution brought out that the de-
gepdant and her husband had disagree
lnents about starting in housekeepns' She
had saved Sl10 and he had saved SO from
his wages as a grocery clerk IN Heaey
store. She found that he owed bill al the
ID. IA
OF her own wages.
~ alv,avs reasoned with him that we did
not nave enough money for me TO come
and live with him, although ! was just as
.nzious to live with him then as he was
to live with me-" she said.
The testimony Of the undertaken who
buried 0'Shaughnossy showed that the bill
WIS paid by Mrs OShaughnessy. who
directed from the Tombs that her bank
book Doe used for that purpose.
The defence produced Or. Menes 5. Greg
cly as its insanity expert He is the chief
au,uist at Bellevue Hospital, where he has
examined about four thousand cases in
luuGcy.
pr Gregory examined Mrs. O'Shaugh-
messy while she was recovering from spon-
3aneous abortion in Bellevue on May y.
seven days after she shot her husband.
He said she presented the most eXtraordi-
nary case ever brought to his attention.
d Living on a cot in the alcoholic ward,
where all prisoners in Bellevue are con-
fined, she declared. with several patients
suffering from delirum tremens about her,
that she had 10 right 20 be kept in such
& comfortable place and asked that she be
sent TO the TOmbs or TO Sing Sing soon
as possible in order that she might make
an atonement for her crime.
Dr. Gregory described her gradual i'm
lprovenent at Bellevue, and then gave It
as his opinion that for perhaps four weeks
before the shooting she had been suf-
Scring from an attack Of acute insanity
% a 1nelaucholic type. CrOss-eXaminaion
showed thaG the alienist was an unpaid
witness for the defence and that he had
volunteered to testify from sense Of
'Iiuty."
The jury was Vsibly affected by Mrs.