210

VILE CONFESSION OF CRIME.

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Monday McFarland Story of the Sheedy
Case Read in Court.

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TOO REVOLTING FOR PUPLIC EAR .
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Not Base Enough to Cause the Woman
to Blush-Starting Evidence
Brought Out-Number of
Witnesese Examined.
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LINCOLN, Neb: May 14.---[Special to THE BEE.]----Monday McFarland's confession was read in open court this morning, the first time that it has been made public in its entirety. The recital was full of revolting circumstances and vile phrases. The only females present were Mrs. Sheedy and her three sisters and Monday McFarland's sister.
The great crowd of sepectators was composed exclusively of men. The confession was read by Myron Wheeler, the short-hand reporter who was hid behind the curtain the time that the confession was made and had taken it down in full. Mr. Wheeler did not sit in the chair usually occupied by witneses, but sat directly in front of the jury so that the he could eread sumutty passages to them in a subdued tone of voice. At these places the great crowd of spectators craned their necks to catch what was said, but in vain. The reading of the confession consumed over an hour and was listened to by the jury with profound attention.
The confession detailed at length how Mrs. Sheedy, by gaining an influence over McFarland through alleged favors and promises of a present of $ 5,000 induced him to consent to murder Mr. Sheedy. A portion of the confession was as follows:
" I was employed by Mr. Sheedy to treat his wife's hair, which I have been doing forever since she has been here. During this time she would talk to me and act unbecomingly in differnt ways. Still I never said a word out of the way to her. One day she told me how she had got hold of Mr, Sheedy and how she plyed it and won him, and she said she did it for the simple reason of getting his money. This was after the trip to Buffalo last October. She said she lived with him two years before she was married to him and that they took a trip to New Orleans. She had
$200 of his money and after they had been there a while he wanted to come home.
She then said: 'No, if you do not marry me I will not go.' So after waiting a couple of weeks he turned in and married her."
The manner in which Mrs. Sheedy approched McFarland was related at lenght and the criminal relations sustained between them was recounted in full.
After this retctal McFarland goes on the relate how Mrs. Sheedy came to ask him this question:
" What would you do for $ 5,000!"
McFarland replied: "I don't know what I would do."
Mrs. Sheedy then said: "Do you love me!"
"I told her, Yes, I do; I am completely stuck on you."
She said : "I want my freedom; I want you to help me get it. I will you if you tell this."
She said that there was "another man she dearly loved and it wouldn' be long before he would be here. Sometimes between then and Christams."
The negro then relates the full particulars of the plot. How Mrs. Sheey urged him to kill her husband, offering him not only the money, but a diamond ring, a diamond pin, a fine suit of clothes, a fine horse and buggy, would set the negro up in business and give him all the whisky he wished to drink. He related how he bought the cane at Mrs. Sheedy's instigation, showed it to her for her approval, which was given, and then how after his courge failed each time Mrs. Sheedy urged him on. How on the evening of the assault he met her on the back porch and when his courage again failed she poured out a glass of whisky and urged him to assault Mr. Sheedy with the cane, saying thta if they could only get him to bed she would finsih the job; that she would raise the curtainin the front room as a singnal for the negro to strike Mr. Sheedy. He carried out his instruction to the letter and when Sheedy commenced tiring he stumbled and fell, but finally got away.
At the close of the confession McFarland approched Dennis Sheedy, asked him if he was brother of John Sheedy, and on receiving an affrimative answer said:
"Mr. Sheedy, I killed your brother, but I am very sorry for it."
During this terible recital Mrs. Sheedy was the cynosure of hundreds of eyes, but no trace of shame or concern was noticeable upon her face. Only once the expression changed to a book of annoyance and that was when the negro related the circumstances connected with one of his amours with her. The eyes of Mrs. Sheedy's sisters were fastened on the floor during almost the entire recital. An occasional flush of shame was seen manthing their faces.
Monday McFarland's sister evinced the most emotion of any of the women and at times there were moist evidence in her eyes of the great grief she she was sturggling to conceal.
Officer William Splain was the next witness. He testified as follows: "I had a brief conversation with Monday McFarland on the evening preceding. and the one following the confession. I was detalled to guard him those two evening. The second evening Monday said to me: 'Had you come in last night when I called for you I would have given it all up to you.' On the proceding evening he had send for me. About 1:15 a. m. that night I was taken from my beat and detailed to guard the prisoner. I remained there in the corridor until about 6 a. m. After I had been in the corridor some time McFarland showed sign of uneasiness. I asked him what was the matter.
He said:
" 'I'm afraid.'
"I said: 'You dont need to be afraid. We will look after you.'
"Late in the morning Monday called to me to come in. He said he had something to tell me. I went in. He said he wanted to give the whole thing up to me. I then went out.
The next conversation I had with Monday was the evening following the confession.
He then said: That's what I wanted to tell you last night.' On the preceding evening Jim Malone did not say anything about a mob while I was on duty. If he had I should have heard him. On Saturday night, sometime between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning.
W. W. Carder came in. He was the only person who was in there besides Malone and myself. Monday was more cool, calm and collected on Sunday evening than he was on Saturday evening.
He was very nervous Sunday morning. He said between 6 and 7 o'clock a. m that his head felt as thought it was burning up." The witness was the excused.
Marshal Melick was put on the witenss stand. He related the circumstances in connection with [?] through the various pawn shops for soup clue as to whom the cane had been sold. He found that Goldwater had sold the cane to McFarland. The witness then told of the fairy tale related by Monday about buying the cane for some stranger from Black Hills.
The stranger then produced the cane with which Sheedy was struck. It was a tapering iron rod covered with leather disks. About a foot from the top it was bent, showing what a terrific blow had been given when Sheedy was struck.
Witness continued: " I showed the can to Monday McFarland and he identifed it as one her had bought for a man who went to the Black Hills. Malone was present. We scouted the story about the stranger and I told Monday that we had proof enough to convict him and he he had better tell
whether any other persons were implicated."
Officer Kinney was put on the stapd and testifed:
" I was on duty near Burr block, just south of the Sheedy residence the night that Sheedy was assulted. I heard five shorts fired, and I ran to that place. I there learned of the assault. I got a lantern, and while searching for tracks of the man who made the assault I found a cane on the porch on the east side of the house."
Here the bent can was handed to the witness and he identifed it as the one which he found. Stearus objected, but his objection was overruled.
The witness continued: " When I went into the house Mrs. Sheedy rubbed up against me. She was near the door leading into the bedroom where Mr. Sheedy was lying. She was not crying or making any demonstation."
Philpot, attorney for McFarland, broke in at this juncture:
" Do you expect she would holler all night!"
"Lambertson retorted: "We don't know what to expect in this case"
On cross-examination Kinney was asked two or three times where he found the cane, and his answer invariably was: " I found the cane upon the porch."
Lamberston said he was through with the witness, and then Philpot commencenced to fire questions at Kinney, not about the finding of the cane, but what occured at the jail early the Sunday morning following the arrest of McFarland.
Lamberston objected to this procedure and declared that such questions were not proper cross examination. The court sustained the objection and Philpot got mad. Shaking his bony fist almost under Lamberston's nose her dared that attorney to ask that witness such questions as would submit him to cross-examination on the points concerning which he Philpot had been questioning him.
"It was not our intention to out Mr. Kinney on the satnd for that purpose," replied Mr. Lamberston in his usual quiet manner.
"No, of course you didn't," said Philpot, " I just dare you to put that man on the stand and have him testify as to what occurred on the morning preceding the confession." and Philpot put on the air of a man who held four aces in his hand and three kings up his sleeve.
" Very well, I shall accommodate you," said Lamberston.
Meanwhile Officer Kinny had bee excused from the witness stand and was leaving the room. Mr. Lamberston called him back and told him to take his place back on the witness stand. There was something in Laberston's manner in accepting Philpot's bluff that led the crowd to believe that something wa up and the sectators bent forward i an eager expecatnt manner.
They were not disappointed.
When Kinney took his place again on the stand Mr. Lamberston said:
" Now Mr. Kinney tell everything that ocurred between you and Monday McFarland on the Sunday morning following the arrest."
Philpot gathered up enough courage to object and insisted that the witness be drawn out by questions. The objection was sustained.
The witness continued: " I went on guard at the jail about 6: 45 a. m. the Sunday follwing McFarland arrest. I relived Officer Splain. McFarland said to me: Come in here. I want to tell you something.' I went into the office and found Carder and Malone there. Carder refused to let me have the keys. He said that there was an emphatic order that no one should go iin to see that prisoner. Later, Malone and I took the key and I went in. McFarland said that her had been offered some money from Mrs. Sheedy.
He said: ' The end is with me either way. I believe I will tell it all.'
" I said: 'It is best to make a clean brest of it.' "
" McFarland then said that he had been induced to commit the crime by Mrs. Sheedy.
She asked him what he would do for $ 5, 000.
He said that was a large amount for a poor man and he would be almost anything. Mrs. Sheedy said she wanted him to help her get her freedom. He siad that Mrs. Sheedy made a proposal to him to kill her husband.
She wanted him to commit the murder about Christmas. He promised to do so. At that time his courage failled and she got angry, said he was getting her money for nothing, and then called him a balck - - - - -
and threatend to shoot him. She then made him hold up his hands and swear that he would not reveal anything. He then told how he had criminal relations with Mrs. Sheedy. I think I disputed his word. He then told me to get the key to his barber shop and in a certain drawer I would find certain evidences of his intimacy with her.
I went to the shop and there found the evidences he mentioned. While Monday was making his confesion that morning I was interrupted a number of times by Captain Carder. The captain said to the negro:
' Wht don't you keep your mouth shut.
You've said enough already to hang you.
Youre a fool.' After the confession, it was about 8 o'clock, I believe, Monday said some thing about not wishing to be hung by a mob.
I said: ' There is no danger of a mob. If one comes it will have to walk over my dead body.' He didn;t seem very scared. He was only a little nervous. He wanted me to get his banjo."
After a few questions of little importance by Colonel Philpot the witness was excused.
Mr. Goldwater, the pawnbroker, was the first wintess called in the afternoon. He testifed that Monday McFarland bought a cane at his place of business about a week before the murder of John Sheedy. The cane in the custody of the court was shown to the witness and he identifed it as the one he sold to McFarland.
Mrs. Charles Coll, the next witness testifed that on a number of occusions she had noticed Monday McFarland standing near the Sheedy residence after night.
He always attempted to evade her.
Henry Garner was called. Strode objected to Garner testifying on the grounds that his name was not endorsed as a witness on the back of the information and claimed that his name had been surreptuniously placed on the list. The objection as overruled and the witness proceded to testify, becouse his name had been endorsed three days before the trail began. He testifed:
" I was just across the street from the Sheedy residence the night Mr. Sheedy was assulted. Saw Mr. Sheedy fire at some body a number of times. I thought that the curtain of the window looking out on the porch was open at the time the shots were fired becouse it was o light."
On cross examination the witness said:
" Mr. Sheedy stood in the open door firing the last two shots. Someboday had evidently opened the door, I live just acorss the street."
Charles Tindall was the next witness. He testfied that he was on the north side of P between Nignth and Tenth streets on he night of tthe shooting. He reached the Sheedy residence inside of ten minutes. The curtain on the east side of the house was up.
He saw a cane on the porch and called officer Kinney's attention to it. The witness then identifed the cane as the one he found.
He further testifed:
" The cane was found near the window just south of the door. When I went into the house I did not notice that Mrs. Sheedy manifested any emotion. She did not cry or make any other manifestaion. When the cane was showed her she looked indifferent. She was cool and collected as far as I could see."
Mike Mooney was called. He testifed that he was turnkey at the county jail. Had a conversation with Monday McFarland shortly after he had been brought to the jail.
Mooney was asked if Monday McFarland had made any confession in regard to the matter. He replied that none had been made to him.
On cross-examination: "Whenever McFarland commenced to talk to me I told him it was best not to say anything. The first day that McFarland was brought in he said he was not so much to blame as some folks thought; that if he was let alone he would tell it all. A number of days after wards he asked: ' How's Molliet'
When I told him that she was all right, he said: 'Don't tell anybody that I asked for her.' Two or three times afterwards Monday asked the same question."
P. J. Steppey, a colored man, was the next wintness. He testifed as follows:
" I am a relative of Monday McFarland. Was at Mrs. Botta' resdence the night of the assault. Saw Monday McFarland there that evening. He and I changed coates that night. My coat is a striped gray. It has heavy wool about the collar and sleeves.
After giving me my coat Monday asked me
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