Murder of William Druse, 1884 - Part 2

The Murder of William Druse

Part 2

Chenango Semi-Weekly Telegraph, October 7, 1885

Just as the clock was striking twelve, Saturday night, the Court House bell, at Herkimer rang announcing that the jury in the Druse trial had agreed.  Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, the court room was soon filled with men, women, and children.  Mrs. Druse and her daughter, Mary, were brought in and seated inside the bar.  The mother looked pale and haggard, but aside from that showed no emotion, when the verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree was announced.  The daughter wept bitterly.

The story of the killing was given in the columns of The Telegraph at the time it was done.  Daniel McDonald, one of the witnesses, gave the following version of it.

"I was at Eckler's January 15th.  Mary there told me that she saw her mother cut her father's head off.  She told me that she had a rope around his neck holding him down, and when he lay on the floor, her mother hit him on the head with an axe.  She said she was sitting in a chair.  She said that she was standing in the door when the first shot was fired.  She said that it was arranged on another occasion that she and Elwood should drown her father in McDonald's Pond.  She said that he was not there that day.  She wouldn't bring in an innocent man.  They had planned it to kill him, but no special time had been set. When Gates came and said so that would be the time, Gates came to the back door when her father was doing the chores that morning, he had a pint bottle of liquor, he told her and her mother to drink it and it would give them courage.  Her mother drank some, she mixed it with cider and they drank it. Her father then came in and sat down to the table.  Her mother shot him in the neck.  Gates was there standing in the parlor door.  He was so close to her that one shot burned his hair.  Gates helped her mother cut her father up.  She didn't know how long Gates stayed there, and didn't know what became of her father's body.  She supposed it was burned up or taken away"

The murder was one of the most diabolical in the annals of crime.  A large number of witnesses were sworn, all of whom testified substantially to the same facts.  The jury retired at 7:30 Saturday evening, but had little trouble in coming to an agreement.  The daughter, Mary, will be brought to trial, but probably not at the term fo court.