Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, March 22, 1886, Page 9

| LAUER FOUND GUILTY. Prisoner Declared a Murderer by a Jury of His Peors. B ' THE DEGREE IS MANSLAUGHTER “Pablic Opinion Says He is Even Cuiltier 3 Than He is Announced. FHOW ALL THE BALLOTS STOOD Remarkable Fluctuation in tho Figuros of the Voting. THE CHANGES MADE SLOWLY The Verdiot Agreed Upon as a Compro- mise Measure, Interviews With Counsel For Defense and Prosccution—What Judge Neville Says—Lauer in the Dungeon © After nearly forty-cight honrs of anxi ous waiting, the feeling of suspense shared alike by the accused, his friends and the ublic, was terminated Saturday morn- ing by the verdict of the men empanelled to try the By that verdict John W. Lauer has been adjudged guilty of the murder of his wife, thongh under such circum “stances as would make the erime one of the third degree, or manslaughter. THE CLOSING HOURS, On Fkriday night, when the jury retited to their room for further deliberation, for three hours they discussed and redisenssed the case in all its bearings. At 11 o’clock, almost 1o the turn of the minute, they decided upon the verdict, and according to their instructions, retired for the night, ready to make formal return of their action to the judge in the morning. They slept soundly all night. At a few minutes be- foresix o'clock, Foreman Chas. J. Ryan woke up and pounded upon the door to summon Deputy Grebe. He was allowed to go out and wash and make his toilet, and in a few minutes his colleagues on the jury were preparing themsel for their appearance before the judge. Breakfast ‘was soon over, and the jury returned to the court room. At a few moments after 8 o'clock they filed slowly into the judge's chamber, which was filled with a breathless crowd of those cager to hear the result. The most solemn silence pervaded the court room as the jurymen greeted Judge Ne- ville. The prisone been sent for a few moments before, and shortly made his his appearance, followed by~ his two sis- tors, Minerva Lauer and Mrs Tiedeman. betokened but little emotion, however much he may have felt. The look of keen anxiety on the contrary plainly noticeable on the countenances of the twoladies, who eagerly scanned the faces of the twelve, hoping to read the verdict. Judge Savage sat by the ac- cused, Judge Thurston being too ill to be present. The supreme moment had come, and Judqe Neville, turning to the jury said: “Gentlemen, have you agreed upon a verdict?” ““We have, sir,” rephed the foreman, Chas. J, Ryan, advancing to the desk and handing up the verdict. Judge Neville took it, and voice read: ¢ Verdict. Jony W, l4.u ER. In District Court, THE STATE ul \'1 BRASKA vel “We, the jury, duly empannelled and sworn to try the issue joined in the above entitled cause, do find the defend- ant, John W. Lauer, guilty of man- slaughter, Cuas. J. Ryax Foreman.” __ During the reading of the verdiet Lauer’s face did not betray the move- ment of amuscle. The same calm ex- pression of stolidity that r] i demennor during the tria Even when the final word, manslang hter was pronounced, he remained immovable a8 a statue. d the last word been spoken when Lauer turned towards her convicted brother and gazed long and appealingly at him. She did not weep, though it was plainly noticable that she had hard work to control her emotions. Mrs, Tiedeman, the marricd sister, too was visibly agitated. The judge turned to the jury and quict 1y said: “Gentlemen: You have had a siege of it in this trial, and you cer L bave borne your burden well charged yourduty. You are dis Judge Savage e the us n.\l notice that he would present a motion for a new trinl, and the jury filed ont, repairving to their respective homes. Latier was taken ck to prison, his sister, Tiedeman, faccompanying him to cell in the ~ county jail. WL Judge a clear lnll" s his T HIS COUNSEL SAY. ge was waitea upon in his porter for the Bek shortly after the announcement of the verdict, and questioned as to what cour counsel fc endant would pursye, “1 have not scen Judge Thurston to-day,” - said he; “he is too ill to consult with me, but I have no hesitancy in saying that we shall move for a new trial, and in case ~ that is deaied, as it probably will be, shall appeal the case to the supreme ~ eourt at incoln No, I can't say ~ when the motion will reach that tribunal, probably not before July, I must confess that I am disappointed at the verdict, for 1 hoped that it would be something difterent. In the supreme “eourt 1 hope that we shall have opportun- LAty to secure a Learing which shall not £ be affected in any way by the public feel- dngin and about Om Not that I “ntend to cast any reflections upon Judge *Neville. Nothing of the kind. 1 belieye that he has acted conscientiously- cording to the dictates of his convie tion: B In reply to unother question of the re- ter, Judge : uer was yery much disappointed at the verdict, though he did not appear, I will admit, to -h much affected. He has been buoyed p lately by the hope of an acquittal, BMiss Minerva Lauer feels por ps more terribly dissppointed at the psult of the trial than any one. Sho-has Ebhronghont boos contident that her broth B wouid Lo 1 3 76, tha s within the range of She did not seem possibility that her brother would be con- victed.”” THE PROSECUTION. “I did not expect that the jury would bring in a verdict of murder in the first degree,” said General Cowin to a re- porter who met him Satur- day afternoon. “To tell truth I did not want such a ver- dict—I did not want to see Lauer hung. But I did expect that the verdiet would be that of murder in the second de- gree. Still, T cannot say that the proseeution is d nted. We are in- clined to regard the result as a victory it was certainly better than acquittal. Lauer had the advantage of being ac- corded the best defense that any man could possibly secure, and the fight was on our side under certain great ges that I need not name.” e will be appealed?” ““Yes, so the counsel for defens lie But they ought to be sati well enough, not try to bett ' inclined to doubt that the case will ever be taken into the supreme court. In case a rehearing is had, new evidence is liable to come out, which may result in the con vietion of Laucr of murder in the first de- gree. Just as in the Bohannan case, the verdict was changed from one of murder L degree on the first trial to one of murder in the first degree on the second trial.’’ JUDGE NEVIL TALKS, “The verdictis o peeuliar one,' were the words of Judge Nevil ut- tered Saturday morning in re- sponse to a queston of a “More than that I don’t y at present. Until the ocase i finally settled I prefer toremain silent on the question of the propriety of the verdict.” “When will you sentence Laner?” “Not until the end of the present erim- ul term—probably not for five or six cording to this verdict,” concluded Neville, “the element of malice smeditation was not imputed to in the slaying of his wife. The jon was secured under section 5, pter 2, of the Criminal Code, which “If any person shall unlawfully kill another without malice, either upon & sudden quarrel, or unintentionally, while the slayer is in the commission of some unlawful act, every such person shall be deemed guilty of manslanghter, and upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not more than ten years or more than one “IN THE DUNGE A few moments before day a reporter for the B cured a permit from Sheriff Coburn, en- tered the county jail for the purpose of seeing Lauer. Notwithstanding the pro- tests of the assistant juilor that the pris- oner did not want to see the men and would not talk to seribe was finally ushered mto th of the convieted man. His cell i5 loc in the extreme eastern wing of the build- ing, stands on a solid stone picr, almost a separate prison by itself, and is known as the “Solitary.” It is reserved for oc- cupation by the most dang inals, and so completely sccure is it in itself and surroundings that escape in any manner whatsoever would be utt possible. One passes up a winding stairease to the second story of the jail on which the “‘sol y cell” is located, and past three heavy iron and stecl doors, before Lauer’s apartment is wched. The cell is really a a cell, the inner one being an iron cage, in which the prisoner is kept most of the time. The outer cell is spacious, and here it is that he is allowed to receive his friends. Here it was that the newspaper man found him sitting with his sister, Mrs. Tiedeman, As the Ber man entered the cell, the heayy iron door closing with a harsh, grating noise behind him, Lauer jumpml nervously to his feet, from the rocking- chair in which he was sitting,and greeted the intruder “Well,” he said inquiringly. “You want to talk about the verdic he con- tinued. prefer to say nothing about it at the present time. What will my law- yers do? Go and ask them, they can tell You everything. I believe they have inti- mated that they propose to push for a new trial.” “You desire to have that course pur- u?” querted the reporter uer did not answer this question, but he did remark that he thought the newspapers were partially responsible for the result of the trinl. “Though I must say,” he added “‘that during my trial, the newspapers o treated me better than 1 had anticipated. The Bit has done the square thing by me during the trial.” “Yes," interruptod Mrs. Tiedeman, the ““John has never spoken in a com- plaining manner of the way the papers have treated him during the trial.” “The fact is, neluded Mr, Lauer, “the prejudice against me has been ¢ ated not so much by the newspape by other means. 1t has been eaused in rother quarter altogether.”’ [What the Vother quarter” s he . Laner repeated that he did not wa |X|l lu talk, He turned to his scat The Bee man bowed himself out of the presence of brother and sister, the heavy door closed and the interview was at an end. auer's actions are not those of a brokep down man at all. He appears if anything le constrained—more at than during the trial or before. During the brief interview he smiled coolly us he gave utterance to his senti- ments on the prejudice that had been worked up against him. If he feels any deep coneern over the verdict of the jury he certainly succeeds admirably in pr venting his countenance from betraying his emotions THE FIGHT IN THE JURY ROOM The contest over the verdict, in the jury roow, according to all reports, must ha been one of the most bitter ever known in the history of the Nek ka bar. The body retired at a few moments before 4 o'clok Thursday afternoon; it came out for formal report to the judge at 8 Suturday morning. During the ing time, twenty-six ballots were 1. The first one was made without liscussion a few minutes after the rotired to the room, the last one at k #riday night. Sometimes a bal- lot \.mml be taken only after three or four lours of warm' diseusston; oceasionally, again, two ballots would be made within fiftecn minutes of each otuer, During case the | “n declined to | | preme court will interfore with the the discussion the utmost gond feeling prevailed, though the argnments over the various points of evidence and equity were long and earnest The BEE presents to its readers the voto of the jurymen at each ballot. It should be borne in mind that those who voted not guilty,” did so simply on the prop osition of “murder in the first degree'’; that many who so voted were in favor of returning a vordict of murder in the sce- ond degree or manslaughter, instead of a verdict for first degree. From the varying figures of the ballots, the reader can judge of what the contest in the jury room must have been FIRST BALLOT. Not guilty Guilty. Not guilty. Guilty Not guilty.... Guilty Not guilty.. Guilty..... Tt v The fifth, sixth and seventh were the same as the two preceding. Not guilty Guilty, Not guilty..... Guilty.. Manslaughter. 'l BALLOT. Not guilty.. Manslaughter T™W Not guilt Not guilty. Guilty... Manslaughter., ' BALLOT. Not zullt Guilty. Manslaughter NINETEENTH BALLOT. Not zullt Guilty 5 Manslaughter. TWENTIETH BALLOT. Murder second degr Manslaughter. ... 3 The record of the next five ballots was not preserved. On the twenty-sixth and final ballot the entire twelve cast their vote for a verdict of manslaughter. THE “‘PUBLIC OPINION.” All Saturday the theme of discussion in public s throughout the city was the verdict. The opinion had been gen- erally expressed that the jury would cither find the prisoner guilty of murder in the second degrec or would be unable to agree. It was a great surprise, there- fore, when the verdict of manslaughter was announced, and expressions of dis- appointment, and sometimes something decver were general. Hardly o man could be found who had expect- ed an acquittal, although when the trial commenced there were numbers of them. Long before its close, howerer, in fact shortly after the evi- dence was begun, “public opinion” be- lieved John Lauer guilty. The gr t excitement prevailed syhen it became known that the jury had agreed. All the papers issued extra editions, and in spite ot the bad state of the weather, they sold fast. Afte ad- ing all they contained, the greatest euri- osity was expressed us to the incidents when the verdict was announced. Every- body who was present in the court-room was questioned as to s looks and actions, how Miss Lauer received the verdiet, and questions of a similar char- acter. The opinion has been freely expressed that if Luuer and his counsel know what is best for them they will not push the motion for a new trial. It scems to be the general fecling that in e an acquittal an emergency would the result of which would be the vrisoner than the sentence from this trial. With the present verdict the severest penalty ‘of the law is ten years in the penitentia which can be shortened to about by good be- havior. ‘“‘Public opinion” considers this mild pumshment, but, marked to a BEE man, his risks of a new trial and, Iteli you, it will be o A LEGAL OPINION, Ex-Attorney General Dilworth, who has had extended experience in criminal [ other 5 is in the In conversation with a rter he said that had ¢ vd the evidence in the Lauer case and given it close considera- tion, and it indicated to him more feat- ures of premeditated murder than mur- der in the second degree. ‘“Howeve others may differ with me on this point suid he. “I hardly think the verdict was consistent with the evide It should have been murder in the first or second degi Still, I do not think that the su- ver- arise, worse for ulting can e diet for manslaught Jury Room, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska. The following resolutions, passed by the jury accompanied the verd Resolved, That this jury recognize the humane treatment received at the hands of the court, and also the conscientious and kind consideration of the sheriff and the faithful and prompt attendance of his deputies Resolved, That we desire to express to the court and its oflicers the sense of ob- ligation for many acts of kindness and attention. Resolved, That we are obligation to Sheriff Wm his deputies. Chas. J. Ryan, foreman; Frederi Lowe, John Steer, D. Mor Kammer, C. R. Croft, Ge Bird, Pat vick MeArdle, Wm. F. Wilson, Joseph Gibbons, H. H. Bushman, W, H. Me- Curdy, Coburn and kB run | he | under especial | | SPECIAL SALE OoOF Gents' Furnishing Goods. From the $40,000 810,000 worth of mens’ goods ho'd a special sale of them,aswe want to runthem off quick. The following prices wi'l convince that we are selling them bankrupt stock. 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ZEN Colored 800 DOZEN. Dress Shirts. 1 lot colored shirts with collars, 40¢ Ies, 15¢. 1 lot colored shirts, very fine, with 2 (8 separate collars and cufT: 1ot colo} double the price 2 separat col We have the sty In plaid: od. light or dark. and from two to four separate collars We guarantee eachi of the shiits to be worth double the price we ask. d shisis oxtrn good quality, with lars and cufls, . 1 lot coloted shirts with collrs attached or3 separate collars and cuffs, 95c. above shirts in all the new. check, striped and dotted, They are well made up attach- MATT, ORDERS FILLED. In ordering please state sizes and patterns wanted, with lars attach:d or separable. ODD FELLOW ANNIVERS Arrangements Perfected For the Cel- ebration in April. 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