The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-05-03
SECOND TRIAL
IN CARMAN.
MURDER CASE
BEGAN today
MRS. CARMAN IS CHARGED WITH
THE DEATH OF MRS. BAILEY
WHO WAS KILLED IN DR.. CAR
MANS OFFICE LAST JUNE

New York. May 3-For the second
time within six months Mrs. Florence
Conklin Carman, wife of DR.. Edwin
Carman of Freeport, L. l., is about
TO be tried on first degree murder
Indictment growing out of the kill
ing of Mrs. Louise Bailey in the
Carman home on the evening of
June 30 last. The trial takes place
at an extraordinary session of the
Nassau county court which convened
at Mineola today, with Justice
Abel E. Blackmar presiding. The
nrst trial of Mrs. Carman, which al
so took place at Mineola, ended in a
jury disagreement last October.
outside of the tragic features of
the murder, the killing of Mrs.
Bailey caused the most intense ex.
citement throughout large section
of Long Island on account of the go
clsl prominence and wealth of DR..
Carman and his family. Mrs. Car
man. the accused woman. is the
daughter of Frank Clapp Conklin.
one of the wealthiest residents of III.
south shore of Long Island. Mrs.
Bailey. the murdered woman, was
thirty-six years old and the wife of
William Bailey. hat manufacturer
IN Brooklyn. Mrs. Bailey left two
children. daughter seventeen years
old and son twelve years old.
According to DR.. Carman. Mrs.
Bailey arrived at his office, which
is In his home at Freeport, at 1880
on the evening Of the tragedy. The
physician testified that he never he
fore had met the woman. An hour
after her arrival. he said. she was
preparing to leave when a window
pane was broken. a mans hand hold
ing revolver thrust in and the shot
fired that ended her life.
Suspicion first pointed to Mrs.
Carman when 1t was learned from
servants and members of the house,
hold that she was insanely jealous
OF her husband. On one occasion.
according to these statements, Mrs
Carman had slapped a nurse who
she found in company with her hus-
band. II was because of this affair
with the nurse, according to Mrs.
Carman's own admission, that she
had dictagraph installed in DR..
Carman's office. which enabled her
to listen to all her husbands conyer-
sations with his woman patients.
A week after the murder the
grand jury returned an indictment
charging Mrs. Carman with man.
slaughter. Later, however, the
same grand jurys returned super-
seding indictment charging Mrs.
Carman with murder in the first
degree. 1t was on this indictment
that she was tried last October.
The most damaging testimony
against Mrs. Carman at the first
trial was that of Celia Coleman, the
negro maid in the Carman house,
hold, \and the chief witness for the
state. The maid testified that after
she heard the report Of a pistol.
Mrs. Carman, dressed in a kimona.
dashed through the kitchen on her
way to her room on the second floor
OF the physicians house. As she
passed Celia said Mrs. Carman
showed the maid pistol. Celia
quoted Mrs. Carman as saying:
See, I have shot him!"
This testimony was in direct con-
tradiction to that Of members Of
the family. who stated that Mrs.
Carman was lying down In her room
when the shot was fred and did mot
go down stairs until several minutea
later.
when the first trial ended in a
Jury disagreement it was generaux
believed that the case would never
be brought into court again. al.
though Mrs. Carman insisted at the
time that she be given another trial
IN order that she might be cleared
OF all suspicion.
The decision of District Attorney
smith to bring the case to trial
again is accepted as an indication
tnat ne has discovered new evidence
Wnlch he regards as imnortont
enough to justify a new trial. The
nature Of the new evidence has not
oeen disclosed. 1t is rumored, how
ever, that five new witnesses, a wom-
an and four men, will be on hand
70 testify for the State. The new
evidence it is said. will be of almost
equal Importance to that of Celia
Coleman, the negro maid.