Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-03-07
Nerve Deserts Woman
Convicted of Slay-
ing Husband.
BRAVE TILL INTERPRETER
SPEAKS WORD DEATH"
She Is First Woman to Get Life
Penalty Here in Thirty
four Years.

Ihe iron nerve OF MIS-. Madualena
Ciccone, convicted January 30 for the
murder of her husband, Leonardo
Ciccone, brcke today when Judge
William p. Martin sentenced her TO
death in the electric chair at the
Trenton State prison some time dur
ing the week beginning Sunday
April 2
AS Court Interpreter Joseph Fed
eric, reached the word death in re-
peatins the death sentence after
Judge Martin, Mrs. Ciccone gave one
shrek and almost crumpled up in
the arms of her guards. Miss Kelly
and Miss Bell. She was supported
by them, as Federico tried to con-
tinue the pronouncing of the SEN
tence. but his words were drowned
IN the cries of the woman, who, with
handkerchief covering her face
emitted shrek after Shrek
Frank Nj. McDermit, her counsel.
himself with tears streaming down
his face, tried to comfort her, but
she was rapidly becoming hysterical.
She was half carried up the stairs to
the prison pen by Miss Kelly and
ANis7o i'Niis W iIfll Nilt ICdtlltu liltlf
she went into a dead faint that lasted
for several minutes
On recovering. McDermlt, assisted
by William O, Azzol. his associate,
again tried to soothe Mrs Ciccone,
Azzoli explaining to her in Italian
that the death sentence was more in
the nature of a formality than any
thing else, as il will be commuted
to life Imprisonment after she has
given testimony against Antonio
Fiore, who she claims inspired the
murder. Fiore will be brought to
trial before Judge Martin next Mon
day and Mrs. Ciccone and her T.
year-old daughter Annie will be the
principal witnesses against him.
The efforts of the guards and Nc
Dermitt and Azzoli to quiet her were
of little avail, and for almost half an
hour her piercing shrieks rang
through the upper floor of the Court
House.
! The sudden breakdown of Mrs.
Clccone was a big surprise. All
through her trial she seemed abso-
lutely Indifferent to her fate and
heard the verdict of the Jury that
carried with it the death penalty alb
solutely nnmoved. She appeared Just
as stolid as ever as she came into
the courtroom today after Prosecu-
tor Wilbur A. Mott had made the
formal motion that sentence be pro-
nounced upon her
When asked by Judge Martin
whether she had anything to say
before sentence was pronounced she
pointed TO Mr.. McDermit and said
in Italian: Whatever my counsel
has TO say" Mr. McDermit shook
his head negatively and Judge Mar
tin then imposed sentence.
AS he finished Mrs Ciccone still
seemed unmoved, but the break
came when she heard the word
death" repeated to her in the Ttal-
ian tongue by Mr.. Federico.
Mrs. Ciccone was convicted for the
murder of her husband. Leonardo
Ciccone in their home in Garside
street on March last year, all but
one day from the date sentence of
death was imposed upon her.
Ciccone's death was caused by rat
poison which was given him in a cup
of coffee After her arrest Mrs. Cic-
cone confessed the crime and said
she was driven to kill her husband
through fear of Antonio Fiore, her
brother-in-law with whom she was
infatuated. and with whom she had
been intimate. Fiore was then in
the county Jail on a warrant sworn
out by the husband charging a stat
utory offense against him and Mrs
Ciccone. Airs. Ciccone had pleaded
guilty to this charge and was on bail
awaiting sentence at the time she
murdered her husband
Today is the first time the sentence
of death has been imposed on
woman in Essex county in thirty-four
years, the last one being Mrs. August
Meyerhoffer, wife of a West Orange
farmer. who. with Frank Lannon's,
a Farmland, were found guilty in
1879 of the murder of Meyerhoffer
Lannon's and Mrs. Meyerhoffer were
hanged in the jail yard of the old
county jail on January 6, 1880, Cyrus
Benedict, now an under-sheriff, be-
ing charge of the executions for S. V
r. Van Rensaaler. who was then
sheriff of the county.