Year: 1878

The trial of Jesse Billings, Jr., at Ballston,
New York, for the murder of his wife, which
has Just come to conclusion after more than
month of hearing evidence and arguments,
is one of the most remarkable and interest
ing criminal trials of recent times.


On the evening Of June 4, Mrs. Billings,
while seated near window in her own home,
in the town of Northumberland, was shot
through the head and instantly killed, the
bullet coming through, the Window i9lasa- In
the room with her at the time was her daugh-
ter, Jennie, and in the house was female SER
want. The fatal act was committed about
quarter before o'clock! Mr.. Billings had
gone out after supper to attend some cattle
in field, and returned home about half an
hour after the shooting. having been told at q
neighbors that his wife was hurt. Entering
his house he threw himself on the floor beside
his wife, and appeared to be greatly affected.
After some expression of grief he became ap-
parantly unconscious, and in few moments
was taken to his own room. He made no
effort himself to discover the assassin, but
when it was suggested that an officer should
be employed he assented, and offered to fur.
nish money for the expenses. w


The next day Billings was arrested, charg'
ed with the murder of his wife. The circum-
stances which fastened suspicion upon him,
and which were subsequently developed in
the the evidence on the trial, may be briefly
summed up. For many years he and bis
wife had been estranged, not occupying the
same room or eating at the same table; and,
lastly his wife had been extremely jealous on
account of his attentions to Mrs. Curtis, who
occupied rooms over a bank which Billings
owned, and took care of it, Mrs. Billings
had publicly proclaimed her opinion that her
husbands relations with this woman were
improper, and on account of this the Curtis
woman had instituted against her suit for
slander. 1t appears that Billings and his
wife have constantly quarrelled for years,
and that she accused him of having twice at
tempted to kill her, once by means of chloro-
form, and once by saturating her room and
the adjoining one with kerosene and setting


fire to the house. On the day before the
murder, Billings had visited his wife's moth
er and attempted to induce her to interfere
to prevent the trial for scandal that was
threatened, but she had taken sides with her
daughter, accused Billings of adultery, and
sent him off angry. 1t appears, also, that on
Sunday two days before the murder, Billings
asked one of the men employed by him where
his guns we're, saying he could not find them.
The man told him that one Of the guns,
Ballard carbine, which was in an unused
storeroom, was useless, as the bore was Of
peculiar calibre which he had never been
able to find cartridge to fit. After the
murder this gun was found in an old well
in a field, and in the barrel was an exploded
cartridge shell which the bullet taken from
Mrs. Billings head fitted. The night of
the murder was stormy, and tracks we're
found about the yard and in the vicinity of
an office building near by, from which it was
thought that the shot was fred, and also
leading to the well where the gun was found,
which were fitted by the rubber boots worn
by Billings that night. t...


The defence was an alibi Billings story
was that he went out that night after supper
to salt some cattle in a field; that finding it
so stormy he went back and got horse and
wagon that he then went to the field, at
tended to the CATTLE after which he went to
the house of neighbor, Justice Washburne,
where he expected to get some legal papers;
that while there talking with Mrs. Washburne,
Justice Washburne came in, and, calling bis
wife aside, told her something; that he in
quired what it was, and was Informed that
bis wife had been hurt. He Immediately
rushed out to his team, followed by Wash.
burne's boy, who found him fallen under the
wagon, helped him in and drove him home.
From consideration of the time when the
shot was fred, of the time it would take to
20 to Washburne's over the route Billings
said he took, and of the time he remained
at Washburne's according to the story of
Mrs. Washburne, whose husband said he
wound up his watch as it was two minutes
past 9, just as Billings left for home, it would
have been impossible for him to have fred
the fatal bullet within five or ten minutes Of
the time when it was said to have been fired.
The weakness of this defence was the posi-
BILE disagreement of timepieces at the two
houses, and liability to mistake as to the
length of time Billings was at Washburne's
house.


Some testimony was introduced to show