A SENSATIONAL TRIAL FOR MURDER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVI, Issue 193, 22 August 1885, Page 5

A SENSATIONAL TRIAL FOR MURDER.

Careor of the Aooused.

(Fkom Our London CoRiiEsroNMNT,)

London, July 3. j The " flash " French murderer Marchandon, aomo particulars of whose crime I sent you a few mails back, waß tried at Paris on Friday and Saturday, under circumstances of unusual interest. The best account of the affair I have seen so far come« from tho Paris correspondent of the " Daily News," who also supplies many novel dotails of tho accused's career. Writing on Friday ovening, he says:— Marchandon's trial hai drawn that motley sightseeing kind of auditory which attends first representations c-f plays. Tho severe dresses of tho judges' ana eminentadvocates1 wives ha,vo been mingled with the oxtravagantly elegant dresses of pretty actresses. Loading actora wore in full force, and ftig front bonehos were occupied by thoso of the Francois, their fair professional associates, and favourite pupils. Dressmakers of European farao wont to study the toilettes. Tho windows of tho Assize Court all looking south, ]and every spot being orowded, tho heat was suffocating. Tho dock facing tho window, the prieoner was in a strong sunlight for many hours. Tho roomy bench was crowdod with judgos of tho other tribunals who camo to Fpo Mnrchandon. As his guilt is clear, curiosity was only excited about his person and tho manner in which ho would try to get out of the charge of premeditation when being questioned by tho presiding judgo. The prisoner glided rapidly into tho dock, and was scatod with his hands boforo his face, before thoro was time for tho tinmannerly part of tho auditory to levol at him their opora glasses. On tho table beneath the Bench were his cano, umbrella, carbine, a puir of dogskin gloves, the black coat which ho had cut in two and thrown into tho latrino, a small leather satohol, and an opon portmanteau, containing a lioutonant's uniform, which lie had stolon. Tho indictmont was very long. Forty oight witnesses wero cited, among whom waa Jeanno Blin, his mistress. When hor namo was called nnd sho stood to answer, all oyes savo Marchandon's- wove fixed on her. Ilor reputation for beauty was oxaizgontcd. A harshor phyi-iognomy it h difficult to imagine Marchandon, on being told to stand up, still held his hands before his faco and went nn sobbing. When ho coasod and tho interrogatory bogan, ho lowered them. Ho looks young, is only 21, and has something in his face euggoetivo of horsey habits. In point ctf fuot, he bogan his career at tho ngo of 12 as a stable boy of tho Finance Minister, who paid him 30 francs a month. Everyone liked him, but lio lost his placo in consequeuco of tho dofoat of tho 16th of May Government, nnd in going from situation to situation beenmo perverted. Ticking up somo English with tho irrooaic, ho pasted off in 18S0 as tho eon of a rich London morchant This docoption was practised to mako a con quest of a girl of light inannors, for who?o fako ho etolo for the lirst time money and jowols. Ho was dotOftod and sentenced to three months' imprisonment. On leaving gaol ho obtained a goo'l place, but \va* soon dismissed, because his master thought him dangorous. His noxt situation was at Do la KochetU's. When there ho mado Joann* UUnS) acqvaintnnco, and persuaded hor that ho was tho natural eon of his employer, whom he robbed of money and a carbine. Ho noxt robbed tho Chateau do BuseieVo, whence ho took ;S,OOO francs, nnd much valuneU jewellery, which ho gave to Blin, telling her it was a present from a great lady who loved him passionately. He doaerteJ from the army after a short period of igrvioe, robbed a former omploycr of 13,000 frnncß, and then took tho villa atCompiegno undor the names of Monsieur and Madame de Hlainvillo. Thero was a mausoleum of a family named Marchandon at Mont Parnnwo, which ho represented as his father's. Money getting scarco, ho committed hit grcalo.-t burglary at Doctor LacharrioreV, after which ho robbed Lieutenant do la Kochctte of his uniform.

Tlio expenses of the Compii-giio establishment rapidly risinjj,ho endeavoured to obtain actuation at the rrincoss Ponistowßka'ii,

and, fuiliup-, <n!oredthat of Madame Cornet, whom lie murdered. Hor hui-b»nd «-as railed «s ft wit ness, and prored that Marchandon h«d taken off the tongue of tho boll communicating bctiycori his wife's room and the Uitchou. 110 must havo done ho with a tool. Marolmndon admitted thsi he had siloticed tho bell, but ?aid it was by wrenching tho tongue with his lingers. He did it before lis nttmnptcd tho robbery. This, was tho salient fact brought o:it today to establish i romeditation.

Tho piteous attitude of Marchandon, and tho circumstance ot his having wrenched tho clapper our of tho belt communicating with Madame Cornet's bedroom before ho set about robbing her.precluded th» expectation that tho jury would quaNfy their verdict by finding extenuating circumstanco?.

There had boon no mystery about the murder from the day of his arrest, when ho acknowledged his crims, but lie wa« vorv cunning in evndin^ questions the drift of n'Mch wa,s to got him to own premeditation. Hiswrittonaccountofhis crimaloftiiodoubt tint lis with great foresight made preparation tc kill Mftdamo C-nrnot if sho came upon him when he was robbing tho de»k in her salon, where fho kept her jewels and money. Hi* s'ory that he took a knifo from tho kitchen moroly to cut tho twine with which ho wantod to tie up parcels, and that being detected tie rushed without knowing what ho did on tho unfortunate lady and cut hor throat* was a plausible lie, was mad* to doTct.iil with other circumstances, nnd might have succeeded but for the wrenched boll clatter and his snivelling attitude. The boll at Madnmo Cornet's was not tho first ho had mutilated. Ho isolated an electrical alarm boll botween tho bedroom of Doctor 1 acharrMro and tho kitchon boforo ho besian to rob his study. M. Dnnot did all that was possible for him to obtain for himextonuatingcircumstancps, bringing tho murHcrw's worthy and honrtbroken mother into Court as a witness to got her to imploro for mercy, and making use himself of pathetic effects in epsaking of her.

Tho only thine that fcemod at all likely to causo any sort of reaction in his favour was tlio disgust excited by Joanne Bin's harsh ness in rotating her domestic Hfo for oightocn months with Marchandon and her pretentious vanity. Sho gavo her testimony glibly, wont into book-kooping details that wore not asked for to show sho had got from him in all 21,000 francs, and assumed picturosquo attitudes. Marchandon did not daro to look at hor, but hor bendy oyen i»hot ill-natured glanoos at him. Sho drew oft' her <;lovo coqucttiihly to h" aworn, and ofton looker! round as thr.-. ;

to geo tho efl'oct fiho produced. M. D.a.i mado a point of Marclmndon boing a professional thief,nnd «o used to succufe that ho was not likely to compass a murdor in order to csoipo detection. Ho could have rbbbod at his caso tho noxt day, whon Madame Cornot would havo gono as usual to spend an hour and a half in the vaults of tho Madeleine beside hor daughter's coffin. A murder ho would have calculated must mako the polino, who had him on their black lists, m jro eagojLJn catch him. After deliberating for half an hour, a verdict of guilty without extenuating circumstances was returned. On hearing tho sentence of death, tha convict fell down in an inort though not fainting state Ho was then carried out.

Mademoi?ella Blin, having been hooted on loaving the Palni? de Justice on Friday, did not come on Saturday, but remained at homo granting journalists interviews.

Marchandon is the nineteenth persen under capital f entenco in Franco. Of these six aro in tho Roquetto prison. The actors who wont to see Marchandon were gratoly disappointed. Ho was too ignoble a scoundoel to be imitated on the stage.