A Sensational French Murder Trial.

Evening Star, Issue 7308, 5 September 1887, Page 4

A Sensational French Murder Trial.

The trial of Pranziui for the triple murder in the Rue Montaigne in March last commenced on July 0 before the Assize Court, which was crowded. The prisoner persisted in denying the charge, but the contradictory and embarrassing nature of his replies was in no way calculated to exculpate him. The interest in the trial on July 11 was as great as ever. The day was devoted to tiro hearing of witnesses, and the doors of the Court were besieged at an early hour. The first part of the proceedings was taken up with the concluding portion of the examination of the prisoner. The attitude of Pranzini was even more confident than before. The first witness called was Dr Balatat, of Marseilles, whose evidence chiefly turned on the attempted suicide of Pranzini on the night of his arrest. This attempt the accused persists in denying, stating that the marks w'ere caused by a rush of blood to the head. Dr Hrouardel, the wellknown medical analyst, followed, and enlightened the Court on the subject of the scratches found on the thighs of the prisoner, on the strap left in the room where the murder was committed, and on the cut upon the left hand of Pranziui. Among the other witnesses called were M. Gobert, an expert, who identified the writing on the cuffs and in the celebrated letter signed “ Gaston ” as that of Pranzini. The evidence of the i;onrkr<je of the house in the Rue Montaigne was given in a confused way, and was of little service either for or against the prisoner. M. Cussat, a cutler, was very positive in his assertion that Pranzini was the man who bought the butcher’s knife at his shop. During the evidence of this last witness the prisoner lost his self-possession and turned pale, and finally broke out into invective. The witness, however, persisted in the truth of his assertions, and his evidence was corroborated by his shopman. A hairdresser named Cazeaux also proved that Pranzini visited his shop to buy a false moustache and whiskers, but finding that Cazeaux was a passing acquaintance he did not return. Some witnesses were also called to show that Pranzini lived by his wits, and that he had a suspicious habit of calling on the wives of his friends, when their husbands were absent, to borrow money. The proceedings were terribly against Pranzini, who towards the end looked haggard and discouraged. The chief feature of the proceedings on July 12 was necessarily the examination of Madame Sabatier, to whom Pranziui related the story of having seen the murder committed from a place of hiding in the room of Madame de Montille. The presiding Judge took advantage of the intimacy between the witness and the accused to ask her to implore her lover to acknowledge the truth of her testimony. For the first time since the trial began Pranzini burst into tears, and seemed really shaken ; but he soon recovered himself, and w r as directly after called to account by M, Onfroy dc Breville, the presiding Judge, who requested him not to endeavor to fascinate the witness. Pranzini replied cynically “1 am only looking fixedly at her.” Among the other witnesses were some girls from a house of ill-fame in Marseilles, who caused so much laughter in Court by their southern accent that the Judge had to intervene. Then followed a cabman from Marseilles, who drove the prisoner round the city, and the young woman who acted as attendant in the park at Longchamps. Pranzini turned ghastly pale when the woman Fabre was relating how the watch of the victim and the turquoise earrings came into her possession, Ho then angrily said that the witness was lying, and looked vindictively at her. The day’s trial was brought to a conclusion with the examination of a whole host of unimportant witnesses, after which the Judge again warned the prisoner, and the Court adjourned. The trial ended on March 13 in Pranzini being found guilty of murder, without extenuating circumstances, and he was sentenced to death. To the last he persisted in asserting his innocence, [To-day’s cablegrams state that Pranzini has been executed.]