Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-11-21
WOMAN ON TRIAL
AS GIRL RIVAL 8
MURDERER
Mrs. Elise Raymond Charged
with StrangIing Miss Matte
HaCkett 7 Years Ago.

READFIELD, MAINE, Nov. 21.-Mrs.
rlsis Hobbs Raymond is on trial for
r.~ life mere today. Mrs. Raymond is
.,.rged with having tied IL weaver's
,.,,+ around the throat of Matte Hack
80 which strangled her to death on the
night Of August Il, 1905.
The trial Of Mrs. Raymond has eX-
.++.d state wide interest because the
.arrder Of which she is accused is per
rang the most remarkable that ever oc-
cured in this state.
Although suspicion has rested on MIS-
RAYMOND almost from the first hour Of
,ba murder, it was not until April of
,,s present year that the grand jury
,-se able to find sufficient evidence to
fndict her.
The court room was crowded today
I,,. men and women eager to get look
W., fine woman on trial, although most
~ -aan have been friends and neigh
bore of both the murdered CIR! and til.
o,,,lsed woman since they We're chill
dren ...
Whole Country Divided.
<or in the courts, but in the homes
,f the people, on the farms, in the
stores and on the streets this remark
abI4 case has been under discussions for
..,.r wears. and while the majority Of
-he people in the district have ostra-
c;z4d Mrs Raymond on the assumption
that she was guilty, she has, never
rgeIess. many friends, at least MANY
advocates who are as stauuch in their
belief of her innocence as the others
.fe in her guilt.
However. a jury has already been
nrocured. and from the lips of Levi
HacNett. the slain girls father, caua~
I'll, first of the states accusation to
day.
Matte Hackett was the eighteen
veay-old daughter of Levi Hackett, a
farmer living at Kents Hill. near this
town. on the night of August II, 1905,
while talking with tramp who had
asked him for a nights lodging, the
farmer heard his daughter exclaim,
You wretch!" which was followed by
IL scream. Hackett ran 10 the house
aud found that his daughter was gone.
4 little later he discovered her lying on
her back in the road about 100 yards
from the house. A weaver's knot, made
of small cord. had been tied around her
neck and she had strangled to de- Il
after terrific struggle.
Accused by Suspicion.
Suspicion almost at once was direct
ed at Mrs Raymond on the ground
that she was insanely jealous OF her
husband, who had, prior TO his mar
r'age, paid court to the murdered girl.
The chief witness against the woman is
2 man whose name has not yet been
disclosed, but who, the states attorney
afirms, viii testify that he saw Mrs.
Raymond near the scene of the tragedy
on the night it occurred.
Mrs Raynnond's demeanor is conf
dent She has always maintained her
innocence and seems to be eager for the
trial to begin. Her husband. Bert Ray
mond sits Loyalty by her side. encour-
aging her.
Mrs. Simmons. a missing witness
wanted at the trial. for whom state de-
tectives have been searching, has been
located in Calais She will be arrested
and brought to this city Immediately.
Mrs. Simmons was the cook at the
Elmwood hotel, where Bert Raymond
was a hostler in 1905 at the time the
crime was committed. SO necessary
was her testimony considered by the
state that she was placed under bond
10 appear at the trial. She failed TO ap-
pear