The Ocala banner., 1922-12-15
/ MURDER MORE MYSTERIOUS
THAN THE HALL-MILLS
MURDER


with charge of murder and made
notable by the Aact that counsel for
the defense once denied that prison.
er might have been guilty of the
crime for which he was being tried,
the legal aspect of the case against
Albert ]. TirrelI is one of the most
unusual ever recorded in the annals
Of American law. The verdict reached
by the jury, after Rufus Choate,
counsel for the defense, had exploded
his totally unexpected bombshen,
to add further air of mystery to the
entire affair.
1t was on November 2S, 1916, that
Tirrell was arrested on the steamer
Sultana, off New Orleans, charged
with the murder of Mrs. Maria Ann
Bickford. who kept boarding house
in New Bedford, Conn, where Tir-
rell had formerly lodged The youth
of the prisoner-he was only % years
of age-and the wealth which he had
inherited, together with the circum-
stances surrounding the crime itself.
made the case into a sensation which
aroused the greater part of New Eng
land, for the Tirrell family was well
:. and favorably known in Boston as
wen as in other parts of Massachu-
setts and Connecticut
The death of Mrs Bickford had
occurred on October 81. Hearing
groans from her room, one CT the
other lodgers had opened the door
and had discovered the unfortunate
woman in dying condition, with
blood yelling from a deep wound in
the side of her throat. She attempt
ed to speak, but the effort only
caused her to choke and gasp, and
she expired before medical assistance
could be obtained.
AS all the doors Of the house were
locked and nothing appeared to have
been disturbed, the police. turned
their attention to the people who re-
sided there. All of these, with the
exception of Tirrell, who occupied
the entire floor above Mrs. Bickford's
room, were able to give a good ac-
count of themselves. Tirren. how
ever, appeared to be dazed and, be-
fore the police could do more than
question him informally, he disappear
ed from the city. But his trail was
not difficult to follow and his arrest
on board the Sultana followed when
that vessel reached New Orleans.
When he returned to New Bedford
he found the entire community con-
Vinced of his guilt, in spite of the fact
that no motive was apparent. His
flight, coupled with the discovery Of
a blood-stained knife in his room.
was considered indisputable evidence
OF the fact that he had committed the
murder.
= The trial, which commenced early
in the following March. was character
lzed by strange lack of interest on
the part of Rufus Choate and Annia
Merriell, who had charge of the case
for the defense. 1t appeared almost
as if counsel for the prisoner had
come to the conclusion that their
client was guilty, for they offered no
opposition to the introduction of eyi-
dence, interposed no objections and
challenged no witnesses AS a result.
the prosecution closed with an over
whelming weight of testimony in
their favor-testimony which. while
mainly circumstantial, appeared GER
tain to result in the conviction of
Tirrell
The first witness called for the de-
fense, to the amazement of every
one in the courtroom, was one of the
officers of the Sultana. He testified
to having been awakened one night
by an unusual noise. just outside his
cabin. Getting up, he found Tirrell
,cstanding in the ~companion-way, with
his razor in his hand, waving the
blade as if he were slashing some
thing in front of him. His eyes were
open, but he was staring ahead OF
him in a fixed, dazed manner. Real
izing that he was walking in his sleep,
the ships officer awakened him care
fully and Tirrell thanked him for his