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the announcement that William C. Udder-_ zook, the murderer, had been refused anew trial at Chester, Pa., and sentenced tcbe hung. As the preliminary remarks ol- the court in pronouncing sentence reviewthis remarkable case, we give them entire.Judge Butler said:nAn impartial trial, iu whieb you were prosecuted with fairness and liberality and c- defended with zeal and ability, has resulted, in your conviction of murder in the firstV • A n / I I U t1 _ * _ degree. And this result is just.d That the corpse found in Baer's woodswasthat ot VV infield Scott Goss is not open to doubt. From the building on the York is road, which was burned to cover the flight of this man, he is traced with unerring cer-j taiuty to the desolate grave in the woods.o , Changing his name, and seeking to hider | he yet left behind wherever heI went evidences of identity that preclude all danger of mistake. His striking peculiarity of person, his habit of intemperance,the remarkable ring he wore, his handwriting, parts of his dress left behind, his photograph, recognized wherever he went, and especially bis patent screw-driver, exhibited from time to time,his peculiar habit of addressing you by the title of “Doctor,” and your own graphic description of him to Rhodes, “as a man who had been lost1l.1tfor a long time, and was supposed to be , dead,” enabled us to identify Goss in the i man called Wilson with as much certainty 1 as if he had worn his proper name.“Traced from place to place, a few davsIj before the body was discovered, he was 1 seen in the vicinity of Baer's woods, go ing in that direction, and was not seen alive thereafter. You, who were therei with him, had informed Rhodes, only a few hours before, that the woods was his contemplated destination. When the gravewas opened the 6ame iernarkabie personal peculiarities of Goss were found in the corpse—the resemblance agreeing in everything, down to the color of the hair, the shape of the whiskers and the length of the unshaven beard. The ring was gone from the linger, but it was found in the vehicle in which you had been riding. All hisclothes save the shoes and shirt had beendestroyed; but these remaining articles resembled his so closelv that the shoes arevirtually identified as the same. Theywere not only similar in kind, but were pe culiarly marked in two respects as his had been. We repeat, with unerring certainty that Goss i9 traced to hi9 grave. And with the same certainty is hi9 murder traced to you. First, it is shown that you had a mo live to commit the crime— the success otyour schemes, as well as your personal safety, conseled if it did not demand it.—Second, it is shown that you expressed your purpose to do it—at first dimly, as in tbs letter of December, and afterwards distinctly, as in the conversation with Rhodes. And thirdly, it shows that yon did it. Five days preceding the event he left the William Penn Hotel in your company; three days later he is found* in this county still in your company, and manifestly under your influence* passing westward, and shunning observation. Iu the evening of the next day, as night cameon, he was again seen in your company— seated by your side in the vehicle procured at Peuningtonville now in the neighborhood of B'ltr'a icoodt, and going in tha direction. Thus vou were with him immediately preceding his death, near to, and approacuing the place where found; directly after you were alone, and he was no more seen alive; the vehicle in which you were riding together was broken, the carpeting torn from its floor, the blankets missing, and the tloor stained with blood. But a few bours previous you had express edyour purpose to commit the crime, and sought the aid of your brother iu law inits accomplishment.To the crushing weight of these terrible 1 facts you opposed nothing but an improbable, inconsistent statement, proved to be untrue in some respects, and supported by evidence in none. No rational mind with this knowledge can entertain a doubt of your guilt.“And it is not the guilt of an ordinary murder. With full average mind aod fairointelligence you entered upon a gigantic 1 ‘ scheme of fraud. An element in this) : scheme was the false assertion of Goss’sdeath, supported by fictitious appearances the creation of your acts—supplemented by your perjury. Possessed ol a strong will, you carried this -chctne almost towsuccessful accomplishment. When at length, threatened with discoveiy, your plans and your personal safety endangered, you resolved to secure your self by taking the life of your accomplice in this crime. You had known him longand intimate!v, and were closely connectedw ith him by marriage. You had obtained his confidense, and lie seemed to follow vour «uggestions with unquestioning trust. You dragged his weary feet from place to place, under pretense of seeking an tuj !uni where he might siill be secure. At length vou reached the neighborhood familiar to vour youth, where it might well have been| 90 90hoped the recollections of that better,pureri time in vour life would have awakened9flt;! some spark of tenderness and arrested your }cruel hand. But here, resolutely and fa- j tally bent on your w icked purpose, as evening faded into night you committed ; lt;this most horrible of crimes. Leaving your victim for a time you returned at the sol-ema hour of midnight, and with the peace- ; ’ fu! stars looking down upon you, and the i sad, appealing eyes gazing up, you carved lt;and quartered him as if he were a dog, j j spending the night in a futile effort to cov- j cr up the evidences of your guilt. Then, * visiting your aged mother, you returned lt;i to your wife and children, w ith as little j apparent concern as a man returns from a journey of pleasure. The long record of crime scarce furnishes a parallel to thiscase| The senteuce of the court therefore is that you be remanded to the custody of the sheriff until such dav as the Governor shall90appoint, and oe thence taken to the place of execution and hanged by the neck until you are dead.
Newspaper Details
Cumberland Mountain City Times
Cumberland, Maryland, US
Sat, Dec 20, 1873
Page 2
Full Page
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Anonymous
MD, USA 28 Apr 2021
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