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LINCOLN, LANCASTER COUNTY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 1891 NUMBER 86.

without exception they were intimate associates of Mrs. Sheedy and testified with the utmost reluctance. But Mrs. Hood did relate how angry Mrs. Sheedy was because Sheedy failed to meet her at the train upon her return from Buffalo, last September. She had telegraphed to him from Chicago that she would arrive next day, but he did not go to meet her. Does that imply affection and domestic harmony? Mrs. Hood also told you that Mrs. Sheedy did leave her husband because he had abused her. Mrs. Hood related to you that Mrs. Sheedy came to her house and asked permission to remain until she could affect arrangements for leaving Sheedy. She also told about Mrs. Sheedy saying she was preparing to leave her husband, having at the time packed her trunks and made arrangements for their transfer to the train. Does this constitute a picture of affectionate and serene home life?

Mrs. Swift has also told us that Mrs. Sheedy had said to her that she would much prefer to live with an ordinary laboring man who received only a weekly stipend, to remaining with John Sheedy. Johnny Clouser, who was an inmate of the family, told us Mrs. Sheedy wanted to get a divorce.

This trouble all arose after her return from Buffalo, and following the appearance of this man Walstrom upon the scene. What were her relations with Walstrom? She first met him in Buffalo in July or August. She returned to Lincoln in September. Prior to Walstrom's arrival, Mrs. Sheedy had told friends that she expected him to come to Lincoln. He did come, and going to the Windsor hotel, where Johnny Clousner was employed, called him out and introduced himself by saying he was the young man about whom Mrs. Sheedy had spoken. They secured a room together in the Heater block. What was the object of having Clausen room with Walstrom? The design of this scheming pair was to utilize Clausen as an errand boy to carry notes back and forward from one to the other. These notes did pass. They were always sealed and never addressed on the envelope. Who has these notes? They are in the hands of the defense in this case, and it does not show one of them. If they were harmless, as will be told you, why did they not have the least wrongful of these billet doux produced and submitted to prove this assertion. What else did Mrs. Sheedy send to Walstrom's room? Wine, fried chicken and other delicacies. She also sent him a ring pouch, bought him socks and night shirts and neck ties. They endeavored to impress the jury with the belief that these things were purchased for her husband. Unfortunately for this assertion, the ties, socks and shirts were found in Walstrom's trunk after Sheedy's death. Had they been bought for Sheedy they would have been found among his effects, but Walstrom claimed them and took them away with him. Why did she make the house of Mrs. Carpenter a rendezvous for herself and Walstrom? Because she knew that Sheedy had no use for him, and his presence at her home would have led to trouble. She, therefore, met him secretly at Carpenters.

Mrs. Sheedy was almost without doubt, maintaining a criminal intimacy with Walstrom. She had evidently transferred her affections from Sheedy to Walstrom.

She desired to get rid of Sheedy to marry Walstrom, and chose Monday McFarland as the instrument to bring about her husband's death. We have shown where Gleason and Williams, the gamblers, were that night. It could not have been them who assaulted Sheedy. It was McFarland."

Mr. Snell followed this up by critically reviewing the confession made by McFarland, and in a powerful argument indicated how its truth was verified and supported by corroborative testimony drawn out during the trial. He significantly asked how McFarland could have went into such intricate details unless he had been present at the shooting on the evening of December 9. His statement made months ago related how he had secreted himself in the yard, and fired off the pistol when Sheedy and his wife entered the yard. How, in running away he had stumbled and fallen down. The testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Hosmen, who were passing at the time, corroborated this.

The argument of Mr. Snell was replete with telling facts, presented with rare ability and pungent accuracy.

He was followed by Judge Wier of Boise, Idaho, on behalf of the defense, who was speaking when the News reporter left.

Sent Her to the Asylum.

Miss Mary Banghart, the maiden lady who created a sensation in the Sunday school at St. Paul M. E. church a week ago yesterday, by belaboring an innocent young man with her umbrella, was up before the insanity board Saturday evening, and after an examination ordered sent to the asylum. She is 45 years of age, a dressmaker by occupation, and during her residence in Lincoln, since 1876, she has by hard work accumulated considerable property. She has been living at 740 North Thirteenth street and neighbors testified that at midnight she would rouse them by shrill laughter and slugging, and when in her crazy moods would use very sulfurous and indecent language. She was possessed of a hallucination that everybody was talking about her, coupling her name with that of a former lover named Harry Mercer, back in Pennsylvania. Latterly she has evinced a belief that the families where she sewed were trying to poison her.

TUESDAY

Piling Ossa on Pelion.

The argument of Judge Weir in behalf of Mrs. Sheedy, before the district court yesterday afternoon, proved rather long drawn out, and the eminent advocate from Idaho did not conclude his remarks until about 4 o'clock, when he was followed by Counsel Woodward for Monday McFarland.

Judge Weir is gifted with a fluent and ready delivery that is not only interesting but also instructive. In his argument yesterday he confined himself largely to playing upon the sympathies of the jurors by portraying a pathetic word portrait of his "bereaved and brokenhearted client," whom he pictured as sitting in the shadow of a great and consuming sorrow, superinduced by the sudden and untimely death of her husband. The pathos of his theme appealed powerfully to the finer emotions, so much so indeed, that with one notable exception, that of Mrs. Sheedy herself, the ladies interested in the defense yielded to tears at frequent intervals. As for Mrs. Sheedy, there was but one time, and that only for a moment, that she manifested any feeling. Several times the learned and eloquent counsel, when soaring to the climax of a pathetic appeal, turned toward his client evidently expecting to find her in tears, hoping it to give added force to his appeal, but in each instance she disappointed him. She remained apparently unmoved, and so far as appearances went she was deaf, blind and dumb to all that passed in review. She appears to be an enigma which defies successful solution, and is no less and unsolved mystery to her own counsel than to the state and the audience. Her seeming indifference is an anomaly. She does not pose to the jury, but appears perfectly resigned to fate, indifferent to what that fate may be. When learned counsel portrayed the immortal soul of John Sheedy looking down from heaven, piercing the realms of infinite space and appealing to the persecuting spirit of Dennis Sheedy to cease its hounding of the "dear, beloved and refined client," the aforesaid client sat unmoved and seemingly oblivious to the affecting portrayal. The judge elaborated upon the diaphanous proposition that the death of Sheedy was the result of an attack upon him by two gamblers who were envious of his success in his profession. He denied that the confession of McFarland could be considered as militating in any manner against Mrs. Sheedy.

When we come to consider the guilt or innocence of Mrs. Sheedy we hold that the story extorted from the colored man is utterly and wholly untrue. I need only point out to you the improbable truth of that story. It is too revolting, too horrible to bear the semblance of truth. Look at her! She is a tender and loving woman, and as devoted to her husband as could be imagined. Considering this can you believe this awful statement? If it were possible to place its details where all the world could read and consider them, is there anyone who would give credence to the charges there made? It surpasses credulity that a refined and cultured lady like Mrs. Sheedy, surrounded with all the luxuries of life, could so far fall from female delicacy and innate purity as to submit to the embraces of a negro. It is false and should spurned by all impartial minds.

When Judge Wier had concluded Mr. Woodward for McFarland proceeded to argue in behlaf of his poor, ignorant and deceived client. His argument was consfined largely to a defense of Mrs. Sheedy and diatribes against Detective Jim Malone, who he pictured as a moral hourse thief and a conscienceless officer spurred on to persecute and malign this woman and the negro by the hope of a large reward.

Morning Session.

The court room was well filled with a large and interesting audience this morning when the sheriff announced that the judicial tribunal was ready for its diurnal business. It is noticeable that as the case drawn toward a close, the attendance is made up largely of ladies and the better class of male citizens, drawn to the court room doubtless to listen to and enjoy the concluding arguments of Colonel Lambertson, Frank Hall and Mr. Strode, the former for the prosecution and the latter for the defense. The above named counsel are looked upon as the heavy artillery in the case, and much is expected, as much will be realized of them in their arguments in this now famous case, destined to be accorded a leading place in the criminal annals of Lancaster county. So far as known, neither of these gentlemen had prepared any manuscript embodying their contemplated arguments, hence they were extemporaneous creation of the moment, save in so far as they were prompted by brief notes outling the thread of argument. It was noticed this morning that a rearrangement of the chairs occupied by Mrs. Sheedy and her relatives and friends had been made, and so placed as to bring them facing the jury, instead of the bar as heretofore.

Counsel Woodward proceeded with his argument, and for a dreary half hour devoted himself to a curious endeavor to convince the jury that Special Officer Krouse was concerned in the assault upon Sheedy, forsooth because he was found in the yard looking for the man who ran out of the back gate. Obviously forgetting this theory during the latter part of his address, Woodward advanced argument to show that the two men alleged to have been seen running up O street, were the parties who assaulted Sheedy. Speaking of the contradictory evidence given by the two boys, Hitchcock and Curry, relative to having seen two men fleeing south on O street, Woodward made the anomalous claim that the fact their evidence did not agree was to be regarded as especially strong for that singular reason.

It was generally understood that Mr. Woodward would close some time during the forenoon, and that he would be followed by Counsel Frank Hall, for the state, in an able argument in support of the prosecution. Acting upon this supposition, hundreds of people began coming into the court room about 10 o'clock, as it was generally believed that the effort of Mr. Hall would be of a character to command attention and elicit attention. And none were disappointed in even their highest expectations, for his address was not only logical, forceful and replete with telling points, but was furnished with captivating flights of eloquence, gems of thought happily expressed, all supplemented with an intense earnest of manner that led the audience in bonds of willin captivity. Even the jurors, several of whom had previously manifested symptoms of approaching somnolence awakened, and adjusting themselves too comfortable positions, prepared to be entertained. Ten minutes after Mr. Hall began talking every juror had forgotten the man in the orator, and as he warmed to his subject and grew impassioned, they leaned forward, listening earnestly and eagerly to every word that dropped from his lips. The court room was densely crowded, hundreds of chairs inside the railing being occupied. The ladies were out in force, and were treated to a rare intellectual fest of powerful reason brilliantly expressed. Even Judge Field lost interest in a book he had been reading and gave his undivided attention to the gifted counsel pleading in the forum. Mr. Hall said in substance:

May it please the court and jury:

It is with some embarrassment and reluctance that I shall attempt to address you upon this eventful occasion. It is one upon which I am little accustomed to appear, this being the first time I have taken part in a case where the charge was murder in the first degree, I regret that counsel who preceded me should have added to my embarrassment by charging that my connection with the case is for the purpose of extorting "blood money." as he terms it. I doubt not that you are destined to hear more in this same line from counsel for defense, some of who are yet to address you. You will hear that myself and Mr. Lambertson have been brought into the case to wring a conviction from you regardless of the law and facts. I have no desire to ask a conviction on that ground. Just why counsel for defense should elect to resort such tacts surpasses my comprehension and eludes reasonable solution. However I can surmise their motive and so can you. Personality I entertain no feeling of hostility against either of the prisoners, and would not raise my finger to do them an injury. But I have a duty to perform, and you, gentlemen of the jury have the same. It is true I have been earnest and zealous in the prosecution of this case but only in a professional way. If they object to that I answer that I have been actuated by none other than an honest motive. I appear because I believe the parties before you are guilty of the crime charged. The defense would have you believe we have fixed up a conspiracy to jeopardize the lives of Mary Sheedy and Monday McFarland solely to enhance the coffers of Dennis Sheedy. They complain because a reward has been offered for the apprehension and conviction of the party of parties responsible for the death of John Sheedy. They carp because associate counsel has been employed to assist the prosecuting attorney. Is there anything wrong in offering a reward and employing all legitimate means to punish murder? Was not Mr. Strode, leading counsel for the defense in this case, employed as associate counsel in a similar manner in the Bohanan.

When Woodward arose yesterday to address you I felt a presentment that Col. Lambertson and Myself had been eliminated from this case, the same as Judge Weir sought to eliminate Mrs. Sheedy yesterday, forsooth because no poison had been found in the stomach of her dead husband.

This is an important case and it has been our endeavor to spread the evidence out before you for careful inspection and mature consideration. The drifts and trend of the evidence adduced is, in my mind, decidedly in the direction of showing the conviction of these defendants with the murder of John Sheedy. I would have you, in the jury room, carefully weigh the evidence presented. We ask no conviction in the case unless we shall have convinced you beyond a reasonable doubt of the guilt of the prisoners now trial. If we succeed in doing this, then we ask you to do your duty to discharge the responsibility imposed upon you. It is true that two lives are at stake, but that is not all. The lives of the people cry out for protection against murder. It does not seem to me that the defendants have any reason to complain because the state has earnestly sought to procure evidence against them. They have told you that detectives have been employed and rewards offered. Is this not always done? Did not Mrs. Sheedy herself at first offer a reward, and afterward, when the coils began to close around her as an accessory to her husband's death, did she not withdraw it? Complaints from her counsel upon this score come with exceeding poor grace in the light of her own action. Are we to be maligned and grossly abused because we decline to stand around like dumb cattle and make no effort to hunt down the murderers of John Sheedy?

We now come down to an examination of the connection of these defendants with the murder of John Sheedy. We believe the crime was inspired by a woman who used the negro as a means for carrying out her infamous designs, which her malevolent brain formulated in the silent hours of the night while lying beside the man she despised and abhorred. We believe this woman was Mary Sheedy and that this poor, deluded negro was no more than a pliant tool used by her because the muscle nature had denied her. I believe Mrs. Sheedy had the nerve and the wickedness of heart to have stood outside that door and slugged Sheedy to death as he passed out, but she lacked the strength and employed McFarland. If you think she has not the desperate nerve to perpetrate such an act, you do not know the woman. If ever a criminal claimed my sympathies it is a man who has yielded to such baleful influences as a woman of her kind can exert, and rendered him powerless of self-control. And that was the position in which this deceived negro was placed. He had no murder in his heart until the poison of assassination was put there by this woman. His motive was not malice nor revenge. The deed was committed as a pure matter of dollars and cents weighed against human life. If you can find any mitigating circumstance surrounding murder of this character, then, in the name of God, lean to the side of mercy and apply them to Monday McFarland.

It seems to me that the attitude of Mrs. Sheedy in connection with the murder is enough to break the strongest heart. Look at the desolation it has wrought. Who was McFarland? He was a barber earning an honest living for a loved family. What will be the result? He will be hung leaving a widowed wife and an orphan children to mourn his loss and bear the undying infamy of the crime, and all that this strony hearted, brazen woman might satisfy the cravings of guilty love. Here was the evil genius that conceived the crime, and her evil brain planned the details. It surpasses my comprehension how a man can review the awful facts in this case and reach any other conclusion. You can not for a moment conceive that McFarland went there voluntarily and murdered the man who above all others had been his friend and benefactor. Ah, there was a propelling force behind him. He had gone so fat that he could not back out of fear of vengeance from Mrs. Sheedy on the one hand and apprehension of detection and punishment on the other. He halted in this position and struck the blow that killed John Sheedy. It was only when she was able to inject into his heart the murderous poison of her own depraved nature and steeled his arm by her own nerve that he consented and committed the awful crime.

Murder is not natural; it is unnatural; human nature revolts at it and shrinks from its contemplation. When we look at some people charged with a grave crime and view their faces we shrink from accusing them. It almost exceeds human belief that a woman could plan such a crime, but when you analyze this case see, the hostility and repugnance for her husband, discern her love for Walstrom and behold the iron nerve shown by her during this trial, I cannot but agree that the face is not always an accurate index to the soul. What was the motive in this case? when you charge Monday McFarland with murder you begin to look for the motive that actuated him. He was a barber, and so far as we know had never committed any serious offense before. Now what do we find him? We find him a murderer. I think every man on this jury believes he struck John Sheedy. What was it that caused him to do it? Why she appeared before him in more alluring shape than did Satan to our Savior on the mountain. She pilled silver against blood. He did not take kindly to the scheme, and bent upon her purpose and determined to accomplish it at all hazards, she dazzled his eyes with the glitter of diamonds. Still he hesitated. Her next step was to enfold to him her abandoned condition and appealed to his sympathies for a woman in distress. What else did she do? After all her blandishments had failed she volunteered to submit to his embraces and unblushingly bartered away her chastity and her womanhood.

If I did not believe this I would not say it: But look at the confession and you will see how probable it is. Tell me that a woman who has murder in her heart will not sacrifice her virtue! It is nonsense. It was then his manhood and self-possession departed. From this time he was as dough in the hands of this scheming and evil minded woman. He has disclosed in his confession that he was trying to break away from the terrible influence. But he had gone so far that he could not retreat. His heart was not in his work and his arm was paralyzed. His nerve forsook him at the critical moment and the cane fell from his palsied hand after striking his friend. He was urged on by the boundless nerve of the woman.

But what was her motive? We are not required to seek far to find it. It was Walstrom. With her acquaintance with him she transferred her affections, and domestic inharmony entered the family. If others could tell their story they would tell you that Mrs. Sheedy loathed her husband after this. After becoming acquainted with Walstrom at Buffalo he soon appeared in Lincoln. What did she tell Johnny Clansman? That a man would be here from Buffalo to take her away. Do you think for a moment that it was a harmless friendship between Mrs. Sheedy and Walstrom? Did she send edible delicacies to Johnny Clausman before Walstrom Came? No. Did she buy neckties, socks, and night shirts for anyone but Walstrom? Not that the evidence has doc;passed/

At the time the News report closed Mr. Hall was still addressing the jury, and making an appeal whose powerful logic and splendid brilliance held an audience limited only by the capacity of the court room, spellbound and delighted.

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