The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1927-02-04
MISERLY MOTHER
KILLS SONS WIFE.
Shoots Young Woman for
Having Heir to Fortune
She Hoarded.

New York-AlmOst on the very
day that Mrs. Frances Stevens
Hall, gray-haired, wealthy and So
ciaHy prominent, appeared before
II jury III Somerville, y. j., charged
with the killing of her husband
Mme. Guillaume Lefebvre, gray
haired, a millionaire and Il mem
her of one of the most prominent
{ families in northern France, ap-
1 peared before the Assize court in
/ the city of Doual, charged with the
j murder Of her young and beautiful
daughter-in-iaw, says the New
! York World.
The trials were conducted stimuli
/ taneously for some days. and.
while in this country ii puzzled
public was following the grim de-
tails of the Hall Mills murder
mystery, all France was stirred by
/ the most sensational "affalre ce-
Iebre" since the trial Of Landra,
the French "Rluebeard," five years
ago.
The parallel between the two
cases is impressive. IN both in
stances the principals were women
of sixty, who, because of the dig
nifty of their age and the prestige
of the large fortunes they com
manded, seemed secure against
any misadyenture with the law.
Both We're charged with a. capital
crime against one of their kin by
marriage. And in both trials there
WAS the spectacle of two men,
brothers in the case of Mrs. Hail.
husband and son in the case of
Nine. Lefebvre, defending their
women kin against accusation of a
heinouS and indefensihle crime.
Both cases presented q battling
mystery; the Hall case a mystery
of fact, in which the issue was the
identity Of the murderer; The Le-
febyre case psychological myS-
terry, in which the motive for he
Frenchwoman confessed crime
bafiied the best legal brains OF
France.
Al Amazing Character.
But here the parallel between
the Hall -Lefebvre eases ends. For
when, finally the aged FrauchWom-
ans motive was unraNeicd there
was revealed to The world an amdZ-
ing pSychopathic character such as
only Il Balzac could have created.
The Iefebyre murder could have
been committed only in Latin
country.
And the Hall trial, muftied in
the silence of the defendants. was
a duh show indeed compared with |
the Lefebyre trial. enliyened con
tinualiy by Latin emotionaliSm, |
Latin outbursts of passion ia both |
the principals ana the audience !
and repeated and frantic efforts /
by the judges Ia control the un-
conrollable exhibitions Of French !
temperament throughout The trial. !
Ii was in the late fail OF 1928 |
that Nine. Guillaume Letebvre I
learned from her son Il secret that !
he had kept for 1--WE months: that /
his wife. Antoinette Mule l.efeb- +
vre, was soon 10 give birth to an
heir 10 the combined LeftbNre-
Mule fortunes. On that very day /
Nine. Lefebyre bought revolver
and. soon after. writing to her son. (
asked him To call Oh her, bring his
wife with him and take them both
for a drive in his car.
The son. obedient To his moth
er's wishes, appeared several days
later ut the paternal home with
his young Wife, and The three set
out for ii. drive Andre LefebVre
occupied the front seat alone. Ills
wife and his mother sat together !
in The rear. When they passed
the city gates and emerged /
into the suburbs. Nine LefebNre
requested that her son drive along
he path known as SOLITUDE road /
Andre, without inquirng into the 7
reasons for this strange WISH still !
In his manhood as plant before The
commanding will of his mother as
he was when a child. complied
But when he had reached Soil ]
Iude road and the car was hum /
ming along the deserted lane. he !
heard an cutlery from his
mother. Andre lurued, and what