Search

This volume is a lawyer-retained copy of transcripts of the April 1891 murder trial of Edward F. Costello in Springfield, Massachusetts. Costello was found guilty of murdering his son William, despite his attorneys' attempts to win a plea of insanity.

This volume is attorney Charles H. Barrows's retained copy of transcripts of the "Trial of Edward F. Costello for the Murder of William A. Costello," held in Springfield, Massachusetts, in April 1891. The book begins with Costello's indictment, presented on September 24, 1890, which is followed by arguments and testimony from each of the trial's three days. Each day's transcript begins with an index, and the trial transcripts total 406 pages. The arguments of General Albert E. Pillsbury and District Attorney Charles E. Hibbard present the case against Costello, who shot and killed his son William on June 11, 1890. Costello's lawyers, Charles H. Barrows and Edwin F. Lyford, unsuccessfully attempted an insanity plea. Trial witnesses included Costello, his wife Adelaide, and several of his coworkers. The volume concludes with the closing arguments for the prosecution (Day 3: 13-51) and defense (Day 3: 52-86) and the judge's orders for the jury. The verdict is not recorded.

• A letter from Massachusetts Attorney General George Marston to Charles H. Barrows about Barrows's appointment as assistant attorney general (August 1, 1881)
• A letter form Dr. Walter Channing to Charles H. Barrows and Edwin F. Lyford about his belief that Edward F. Costello had been legally insane when he shot his son (March 30, 1891)
• 21 pages of manuscript notes that Charles H. Barrows used during the Costello trial, regarding the legal definition of insanity and its application to Costello's case ([1890-1891])
• A letter from Edward F. Costello to Charles H. Barrows after Costello's release from prison (March 10, 1913)

This collection contains seven copied documents, two letters, and two telegrams related to the trial of Frederick Crill of Vernon, New Jersey, for the murder of his daughter, Eliza Babcock. Items include copies of the formal complaint against Crill, initial witness statements, and correspondence related to Lewis Cochran, the prosecuting lawyer in the case.

This collection contains seven copied documents, two letters, and two telegrams related to the trial of Frederick Crill of Vernon, New Jersey, for the murder of his daughter, Eliza Babcock. The first item is a copy of several documents dated June 5, 1879, the day of the murder: a report of Judge J. B. Hendershott's inquisition against Crill; a statement by Elizabeth Crill, wife of the accused; and the formal charge against him by his son-in-law, William Babcock. It also includes the judge's report of Crill's statement and a document formally calling for Crill's apprehension. Other court documents are grand jury minutes (September 2-3, 1879), the closing arguments of prosecuting lawyer Lewis Cochran, a list of potential and final jurors, and additional court reports about the trial and about Crill's subsequent death sentence. Two items relating to Cochran are a list of witnesses providing statements to J. B. Hendershott (August 27, 1879), and Cochran's letter to New Jersey Governor George Brinton McClellan asking him to oppose the commutation of Crill's sentence. In the first of two telegrams written in March 1880, John A. Hall of the Court of Pardons requested evidence related to Crill's case; in the second, he reported their eventual refusal to commute the death sentence.