Blandford Weekly News. — 1886-04-03 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

MURDERER ENTRAPPED.  Mrs. Marion Motley, of Keytesville, Missouri, died in October last suddenly and (according to a correspondent of the St. Louis Republican) in.der SWpicious circumstances. Her husband took his three children and joined his father-in-law in the !Alan territory. After he had gone the body of the dead woman was disinterred, and it was fund by the three doctors at the post-mortem that the woman's neck was broken in two places. The result of the inquest was a verdict against Mosley for murder. He was brought back and incarcerated in the county gaol at Keyteeville, and put in company with a young man named Burton, who had been committed for :Xi days for some slight offence. Sheriff Moore told Burton the circumstances of Moxley's guilt, and asked him to elicit whatever acknowledgments he could. Burton shrewdly pretended to be a medium, and to while away time proposed to his fellow. prisoner to make some tests. The proposal being accepted, a loose-jointed chair that responded intelligently to adroit pressure was used in place of a table. A system of signal. being agreed upon between the medium and the supposed spirits, the question was put : "is any spirit present acquainted with either party in the flesh ?" The answer was three raps for "yea." Burton then arranged the questions so as to elicit the fact that the wife of the murdei er was present. "Did you die recently ?" "Yes." " Have you any recollection of dying?" Three raps fee "yes," very decidedly. "Will you try to relate to us your experience by means of direct questions from us ?" rhree raps lively. " Were you willing to die?' Two raps. "No." "bid you die suddenly r Three raps. At this point of the investigation Mosley was in a cold sweat, and declared his convictions clear and his curiosity gratified ; but Burton's zeal was growing as he found himself increasing in ability to delicately manipulate his subject, and he continued to press questions upon the "spirits," and watched the effect upon the culprit. The questions were put so as to establish the identity of Mrs. Mexley most thoroughly, and then the query, "Since your death was attended by in h ippy experiences, please state if you died what is called a natural death ?" The chair, responding to the intelligence of Burton, gave two raps. "No." "Did you die by accident 9" "No." "By foul means r " you, "At the hands of an unknown assassin 9" "Were you killed by a relative?" Three loud raps for "Yes" made Moxley quail afresh and gasp. In this manner the interrogations were continued until the facts of the case, as they had been previously given to Burton, were substantially brought out, and the trembling culprit, unable to deny anything, gave Burton all the money he had to let him sleep with him that night, for he dared not face his own conscience in the dark. Singular as it may seem, this novel method in the end made Burton full possessor of Moxley's horrible secret, that he bad killed his wife by breaking her neck, so that he might be free to marry her younger sister. All these facts have since been fully established, and Mosley is likely `..0 hang through the strategy of a bogus mrditun.