St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1913-12-06
GIRL OF ROSES
FOOhDGU|LTY
Of KILLING
LOVER
PRETTY AND But A CHILD, MUST
SERVE HER TINE IN
{ PRISON WALLS.
TELLS STORY LEADING : |
Up TO tbs CKIME|
Shoots Her Lover After Refusal to
Blarry and Failure Of Attempt
to Commit Suicide.

Crowley, La, Dec. 2.-"Oh, ho'
awful 1t is; how terrible to awake
and realize the bitter truth"
Thus Dora Murff welcomed re
. porter to her cell tonight when sh
was aroused from the stupOr int
which she sank following the terribl
Z ordeal Of the last twenty four hours
which traced out its fun bitterness
in characters Of fre in the girl
young life. Dora is Just rallying from
the strain. the climax Of which cam'
this morning when she heard Judg'
Campbell read to q congested, wear,
courtroom the report of the jury tina
weighed the evidence in the charge
OF murder brought against her, hel
stepfather, James Duvall. and he1
stepbrother, Allie Duvall, of the slay-
ing OF J. III. Delhaye. the girls sweet
heart. whom she admitted shooting
after he had wronged and refused to
marry her.
The jury found the girl guilty OF
manslaughter, carrying with the YER
dict sentence OF from one to twen-
Of not more than $1,000; James Du-
vail was found guilty of murder with
out capital punishment, which pro-
vides life Imprisonment; the boy,
Allie, was found not guilty.
The girl collapsed when the re-
port was read. She buried her face
deep in 4 bunch of half-withered ros-
a. which during the trying afternoon
and evening lay on the table In front
OF her. The pain Of the thorns that
pierced her face was unheeded, and
long convulsive sobs shook her frame.
James Duvall, big JIM" as he is
better known. gathered the sleep ing
form Of his three-year-old babe a
triflo closer In his arms, and for q
moment sObbed aloud into the curly
golden head that rested against his
breast. The embrace caused the
child to partly arouse from her
slumber, and tiny hand reached out
careasing the grief-marked face Of
her parent, and the man was seen
to kiss the tiny hand again and again.
Az the fateful words dropped one
BY one from Judge Campbells lips
the bent form Of the gray-ha;red wo-
man, whose presence has lent much
courage to the sOrrOw-burdened girl
and the husband whom the court
holds guilty Of murder, rose, looked
long ct the twelve men. who follow
ing the dictates Of their conscience
convicted those most dear to her,
shifted her gaze to the presiding
Judge. tnen to the body of her little
son, stretched on the lawyers table.
asleep, and then the thread snapped.
"You might as well complete the
work tonight" The words were
low, tense, wrung from lips long dry.
but they reached every corner of
that crowded courtroom freighted
with their message of hope that
Nas shattered.
Don't send me back to that cell.
Hang me now oh, end tn S bitter
agony. I cannot liye!n' was the
heart cry of the girl when she heard
her doom.
"Oh, suppose am reconclled. .
she answered the reporters hes
ing question as to her frame OF mind,
''but it is hard, ch, So harl. to feel
the scorn of an unfeeling world uoon
you, and God knows am innocent.
have prayed to God to help me.
''Of course, last night, as l sat
there feeling absolutely confident of
acquittal, it was terrible shock, like
a fash OF lightning from clear sky,
when the Judge read the fatal words
that VII send me to a woman's Sward
OF the State Penitentiary. But wat.
I yet have hope. l believe Cod has
already answered my prayers rs I
knelt en- this cold floor this morning.
after return ing from the courtroom,
and fervently asked Him to help NE
in this hour of despair.
Word has already reached me
that my friends are contemplating
petition to- be presented before the
Board OF Pardons in my behalf.
God knows l have already suf-
fered for any sins / may have COM
mitted without heaping addit 'onal
punishment upon me-
The spark of hope loomed in the
eyes OF the poor girl as the reporter
told her that her attorneys were then
On the train speeding to New Orleans |
to present her case and that Of her
stepfather before the Supreme Court. |
Dora was not aware Of this, and she |
was still asleep when her attorneys
decided on the step early in the day.
Judge 2. S. Pugh and Percy T. Og- /
len left to-day for New orleans,
.heTe they have cases before the I
supreme Court. and while there -
$ stated VII take steps to start ha-
'eas corpus proceedin in the case.
ne attorneys state, however, they +
Continued on page 81