The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1919-01-22

seen Mrs. Barnard IN re vicinity Of
the Curtiss home shortly before the
fire was discovered. TINS with other
discoveries made by The authorities
led to the arrest Of Mr.. Barnard.
charged with the murder of Mrs. Cur.
tiss. The first trial was had In
,Geenville, where the parties all lived
and where the feeling was strong
against the accused. The theory Of
the prosecution was that Mrs. Barn
ard had become infatuated with the
aged minister and determined to have
him all to herself, she had visited the
Curtiss home while Mr.. Curtiss was
away attening to church duties, had
emptied the oil from the lamp over
the clothes of his aged wife, applied
a match and left her TO burn.
Witnesses swore to the appearance
and action of Mrs. Barnard following
the discovery of the fire, which COUP
led with the knowledge Of the "spir-
itual" intimacy between her and the
pastor, strengthened the belief in her
guilt and the jury pnvicted kr. An
appeal and a new Trial was secured
and the case was sent to Eaton coun-
ty. In dreary court room in the
little city of Charlotte, the second
legal battle was fDugbt. Judge
Hooker, now a member of the state
supreme court, was the presiding
Judge and Associate Justice Joseph
B. Moore, also Of the supreme court
who wrote the opinion in the Coed
speed divorce case, recently handed
down, was one of the attorneys en-
ployed by the defense. In order to
secure a conviction it was necessary
tc convince an Eaton county jury that
in the nature of sex it would be rea-
sonable to believe that healthy.
strong and robust young matron, with
husband of her kind, would become
enamored with an aged man to an ex-
tent that would induce her to commit
murder in order to secure monopoly
of his companionship. 1t was neces-
sary to show a motive for the act.
The Greenville witnesses in the
first trial went down tc Charlotte and
repeated their stories of the intimate
relations which they declared existed
between the venerable clergyman and
| the rather youthful sister of his flock.
The proofs of the prosecution were
strong, circumstantial, but direct and
positive in their nature, still the the
DRY CT the prosecution stuck in the
throats of the manly men on the
Eaton county jury and it would not
go down. They could not reconcile
the contention CT the state, with men
and women as they knew them. 1t
was unreasonable to accept such
theory, these IL men felt, So they vot-
ed to acquit Mrs. Barnard Pastor
Curtiss was in tn court roof when
the verdict was Nldrned. he had
testified against the accused. He
believed her to be guilty of the awful
crime charged against her. Mr.. Bar
nard, husband Of the woman charged
with the cruel burning to death Of
Mrs. Curtiss. stood Loyalty by his wife
through both trials. He provided
the best legal talent that could be had
to defend her and nothing was left
unone to clear her of the murder
charge. His expenses in the two trials
were very heavy. Immediately fol-
lowing the acqul.tal, Mr.. Barnard
separated from his wife. Whether he
believed her guilty or not, it is not
known. This the reader must decide
for himself. The jury in Eaton
county did not, though perhaps Mr..
Barnard may have looked upon the
affair from a different angle. His
action showed that he was a loyal
husband. If his wife was not equal
| ly loyal, the sin is upon her. A
change of venue saved her from pris-
on.