ITALIAN MURDER CASE

Otago Witness, Issue 3216, 3 November 1915, Page 34

ITALIAN MURDER CASE

ROME, October 27. Porter Charlton, charged with the murder of his wife, whose body was found enclosed in a trunk in Lake Como in June, 1910, has been sentenced to six and twothirds years’ imprisonment; but, taking into account the time he has already been imprisoned, he will be liberated a month hence. Drawing their nets with the prospect of a huge haul, some fishermen on Lake Como brought to light a shocking crime. Instead of fish their nets contained an American rectangular trunk, to which a big stone was attached. Tlhe trunk was of very small dimensions and was secured by three strong locks, and doubly bound with ropes. When opened in the presence of the Mayor and the local police, the trunk contained the doubled-up body of a woman, clad from head to foot in a black vesture, covered over with a white sheet, drenched in blood and initialled “G-.L.” The body was identified as that of Mary Scott Castle Charlton, an actress of the New York dramatic stage, about 40 years of age. Police investigations showed that the woman, who was strikingly handsome, had been stunned by at least seven blows on the head with a wooden mallet, forced into the trunk in a state of unconsciousness, and afterwards thrown into the lake alive. Mrs Charlton and her husband, who was a well known American University athlete, had been staying at various places in Italy, and the latter, it was stated, had treated his wife cruelly on various occasions. There were evidences of a ghastly death agony in the trunk at the bottom of the lake when the water percolated in. The murdered woman proved to bo a cousin of ex-President Harrison, of the United States, and was closely related to Admiral Sampson. About three weeks after the tragedy Charlton was arrested on the Prinzess Irene when she arrived at Now York, whither ho had travelled under the name of Jack Coleman. Later Charlton made a full confession of the crime, m which ho stated that he and his wife lived happily together except for ungovernable outbursts of temper, to which they were both addicted. On the day of the murder, ho said, there was a violent scone, in which his wife cursed him, using most obscene language. This made him very angry, and ho warned her that if she said it again he would “fix"’ her. She repeated the expression with worse language than before, and he seized a mallet and beat her about the head with it. Ho then put the body in the trunk and dragged it to the pier and pushed it into the lake.