The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-04-14
An Avoided
Judicial Murder
BY RICHARD MARKLN


entered pawnshop and offered dia-
mond ring as security for a loan. The
orokef' after examining the stone. look
ed on the inside OF the ring and saw
tue initials +. A. Il. toJS
What is your name?" asked the
broker.
Julia Amory"
!. ;. might mean Jane Severance. n
willow Tor whose murder Andrew Row.
ers was TO be hanged the next dav
The pawlbroker informed the police
ana the woman was arrested.
1uiia Amory upon examination broke
uown and confessed that she had muir
aered Jane Severance. She said that
sue mad been seamstress in Mrs. Sew.
erahces home. had seen the ring in A
Dox OF silver articles and Jewels and
nau coveted it. She had gone into Mrs.
seVerance's room TO possess herself of
the jewels and. being discovered. had
been obliged either 10 kill the owner
or spend a term Of years in prison.
Tie culprit's story was probable
enough, but there was one flaw in IL
Why did she offer the rim. for pawn
in the very town where the murder
mad been committed and on the day
before the supposed criminal was TO
he executed for the murder? Being
questioned as to her motive, she con
iesSed that her main object was TO
visit the scene of her crime
Andrew Bowers was young man
about twenty-five years of age. He
had become acquainted with the wild.
ow, who was thirty years his senior.
and she made ward of him. One
day she showed him a box in which
she told him there were articles that
concerned him. In case of her death
he was to possess himself of it, She
, kept 1t on the top of the stone founda-
tion to the house between two joists
supporting the floor above
Bowers was seen with Mrs. Sever.
ance just before bedtime on the night
OF the murder. He claimed to have
left her at IL O'Clock. She was found
dead the next morning. One Of the
prosecutions witnesses at Bowers trial
swore that Mrs. Severance had told
her that she intended to leave all her
property to Bowers This was a strong
point against him. No will was found.
and Bowers, fearing one might turn up
in his favor in the box. kept his knowl-
edge Of 1t a secret.
As soon as the authorities were con-
vinced that Julia Amory's confession
was true they released Andrew Bow
ers, but not before they had confront
ed him and her. They took him to the
prison where she was confined and left
him with her for few minutes, the
detectives keeping within hearing
at least nothing was overheard-an
after he had been permitted to look at
her for a few minutes he withdrew
from her. On rejoining his keepers
he told them that he had never seen
her in Mrs. Severance's home, but that
didn't prove that she had never been
employed there. for he had never lived
at the house, and there were times
when he had not been there for
months.
After his release Bowers went to the
house where Mrs. Severance had lived
and possessed himself Of the box she
had told him contained articles that
concerned him. Hidden under some
old silver tableware he found a will
leaving all her property to him. There
was second paper. which read as fol
lows:
"Ten years ago was obliged to send
Susan Dugan, my cook, to the peni'
Tertiary for stealing a valuable brooch
from me- She was very bitter against
me and said to me. When | get out
I'll fix you | have since lived in the
fear that she would keep her word
II anything happens to me she VIII
have caused il
Shortly after finding this paper Bow
ers appeared in the district attorneys
office and showed 1t to him. But De
fore telling where he got 1t he asked
the attorney to telephone the penlten
tiary for information concerning Susan
Dugan. A reply came that Susan Du
gan had been discharged from tho
peritentiary on certain date tha
was found TO be eight days before th'
murder was committed Her arres
was ordered. and Julia Amory was re
leased.
The morning after Julia Amory ha'
left the prison she appeared at the dis
trict attorneys Office in company VIII
Andrew Bowers. She told the follow
ing story:
Several years ago this man LETT TN
olace where he lived to seek his TOT
time. We were betrcthed. and l prom
ised TO wait for him. When heard o
his arrest for murder it was a grea
shock TO me. Being convinced OF ni
innocence. | laid a plan to cheat tn
state out OF a victim. He had giVel
me an engagement ring without an.
marking. had the initials put In IL
the last two letters being those o
| I nIQTp