The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1912-12-21
COURT ENDS WITH
MURDER TRIAL
State vs.. ,Teats, Removed From Tai
bot, Jury Finds Accused Not
Guilty

Marshall, isaac NJ. Dean, Henry Epple-
sheimer. E. Hurts Taylor, Benjamin
Payne, H. Eshelman and James p
Mccoy constituted the Cecil county jury
which, about o'clock Saturday even
ing, brought in verdict of mot guilty"
in the case of State VS. Oscar Teats,
oo!ored, removed to this county from
Talbot for trial. and which case occu-
pied the Court all day Friday and Sat
urday.
Teats was charged with killing John
r. Callahan, farmer of Talbot county,
on the night of September q Saturday,
a few miles below Easton on road te
Callahan's home, near Matthewstown.
The evidence developed that Callahan
team had collided with one driven by
Teats, crushing a wheel on the latter's
vehicle, just opposite the home of Lu-
ther Madden (colored). Callahan return
ed to scene of accident and said, you
boys run over me-" To which Teats re.
piled, mo, by God, you run over me
and broke me down and ought to give me
a new wheel or pay for it." Callahan
laughed and said, "All right; If / have
injured you l will settle for it; but
suppose you first come down the road
and see what damage you have done to
me-" Callahan then started down road,
Teats cursing him in a rage. Teats
picked up piece of 3x2 scantling about
feet long, and said, I'm going down
there and fix that s. OF a b." Mad
den tried to persuade him not to go, but
failed. When Teats started down road,
Madden went into his house. About 10
or Is minutes later heard a horse come
running by his house About half hour
after the collision c. NJ. Larrimore (store
keeper at foot of hill where eallahans
team had stopped) heard team como
down hill and apparently stop. After
waiting or minutes went to door OF
his store and heard a peculiar sound up
the road about 50 or 50 yarus, near a
pig pen, located there. Upon examina-
tion, found Mr.. Callahan lying fiat on
his back about dozen feet rrom the
pig pen in the road, with his skull
crushed and in a dying condition. With
the help of gentleman, who was in
the store with him, carried him Ito
porch and later Mr.. Parrot came along
with his carriage and they took Mr..
Callahan to his home, where he died the
next day. An examination of the scene
OF the tragedy showed a pool of blood
where the body had lain in the road, the
carriage nearby (the horse having brok-
en- from the carriage and gone to eating
grass up the road, the carriage whip
some distance up abe hill and to ono
side of the road near the fence, and the
piece of scantling lying along the road
some way up the hill. Physicians, at
tending Callahan, testified to his death
from blow on the head and that the
blow was caused by some such an in
strument as the club referred to.
The next day Sunday Teats, going
down to Madden's for his buggy, stop
ped at his sister n-law's and asked,
have you heard anything this morn
ing?' Upon being told that Mr.. Gala
han was bad hurt" Teats said the s.
Of b won't run over me again; the
next time he runs over anybody it will
be in hell" Upon reaching Madden's he
asked the same question and uttered
about the same remark as above. Com
ing back again to Madden's in the even
ing of that same day, after Callahans
death, he said, NOBODY won't know
nothin' about this if We don't say moth.
in about it,
After his arrest and lodgment in Eas-
ton Jail, Teats was confronted with
Madden and acknow edged the correct
ness Of Maddens testimony to above
facts, except denied picking up the club.
The defense contended that State had
not made out its case, tnai It mad not
sufficiently connected Teats with kill
ing, that nobody could tell how Gala
har met his death, that most likely his
team coming down the hill at rapid
rate threw Callahan out of the carriage
and against the pig pen, so as to crush
ais skull and cause his death, that
Teats' remarks the next day were only
the ''big talk" of rough darkey, that |
Teats couldn't have knocked Callahan
sense!ess and then loaded him into the
carriage and neither could he have dealt
him such blow had he been sitting in
the carriage, even though the tSp were |
crushed as had been testified.
The State contended that all the cir |
cumstances pointed so strongly to Teats'
guilt as to call for his conviction, that |
no other theory would account for Gala |
hans death, that his position in the road
eliminated the theory of his having been
thrown against the pig pen, that on
quiet Summer night Mr.. Larrmore, in
his store, only few yards away, would |
have heard the collision had Callahan |
been thrown agairst the pen with such
violence as to use the fracture of his |
skull, that the position of the whip in |
dicated its having been snatched from |
the socket and thrown to side of road, |
that the club lying part way down the |
hill was acusatory, that Teats' actions
and words the next day were evidences |
of guilt, as was his alleged confession"
in the Easton Jail.
After counsel had addressed the jury |
on the lines above, Chief Judge Con- |
stable defined to the jury the four YER
diets from which they were at liberty |
to select, and the jury brought in ver-
dict of mot guilty" after brief deli |
beration. States Attorney Butler, of
Talbot, was assisted in prosecuting the |
case by Henry Constable, Esq, States |
ATTORNEY for Cecil county. Messrs |
Henry and Sheehan, of Talbot, defended |
the PRISONER, associating with them |
Omar u. Crothers, Esq, of the local bar. !
q. L%H&rE&.L