HILI, HUMIDIDE.
CONTAINING
A FAITH FUL AND THRILLING DESCRIPTION OF THE MURDER OF
M. R. S. M A R Y E. H. LL.
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| Correct Likeness of Mrs. Mary E. uin-Fron, a Photograph.
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PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHING COMPANY.,
No. 808 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA
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From a correct photograph.
GEORGE S. T.WITCHELL, JR.--
—From a coarect photograph.
CAMILLA. E. T.WITCHELL






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A FULL AND COMPLETE HISTORY
HILL HOMIC IDE,
A FAITIFUL AND THRILLING DESCRIPTION OF THE MURDER OF
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MRS. MARY E. HILL,
IN PHILADELPHIA.
WITH AN ACCURATE AND TRUTH FUL DESCRIPTION OF THE House AND ITS INTERIOR
THE POSITION OF THE BODY WHEN FOUND, A DESCRIPTION OF THE WOUNDS
on HER PERSON, THE ANTECEDENTS OF THE PARTIES, THE
PROBABLE CAUSE OF THE MURDER, WITH MANY
NEW FACTS NOT HERETO FORE
PUBLISHED.
Illustrated with a number of well-executed Wood Engravings, descriptive of the various acts in .
THIS FEARFUL TRAGEDY.
To which is subjoined Graphic Accounts of other Murders, and Reflections on the Present State of
Morals in the City of Philadelphia.
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PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHING COMPANY.,
No. 808 WALNUT STREET, PHILADELPHIA
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by A. M. HOPKINS & Co., in the Clerk's
Office of the District Court in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
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H IS TO ER Y
of THE
MURDER AT TENTH AND PINE STREET.
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[Murder most foul, as in the best it is, but this most ſoul, strange and mnnatural-Shakspeare.]
PREFACE.
The facts upon which the following narrative is based are reliable, and it
has been the writer's aim to present them for the candid examination of the
public. One fact is plain, a murder has been committed; a peaceful, unof-
fending old lady, whose character has always been fair, has been murdered
in her own house, and the deed was committed at a comparatively early hour
in the evening. Who has perpetrated this outrage, will perhaps be ascer-
tained in another tribunal; if not, the Great Disposer of events, will, in his
own time, punish the actor in this fearful tragedy.
The cuts and likenesses are true, and care has been taken to make the
diagrams explanatory of the whole accurate, and for that purpose an artist
has visited the house. -
The city of Philadelphia has been the scene of several brutal murders,
some of which have been attended with circumstances of particular atrocity.
The majority of our readers, certainly many who have not reached the half
century, can distinctly recollect the case of Arthur Spring, and how
promptly justice was awarded to him. Step by step he was led to the scaf-
fold, strange as it may seem, by the testimony of his own son, and promptly
paid the forfeit of his crime. There was a singular murder, which occurred
in Chestnut street, the perpetrator of which has never been discovered.
W. E. Burton, the famous tragedian, erected a theatre in Chestnut street,
(9)

10 THE MURDER OF MIRS, HILL.
between Eighth and Ninth streets, on the south side of the way, which he
opened with a promising company, numbering among its members Charlotte
Cushman, who was the leading lady. The enterprise did not prove success.
ful, and the theatre was eventually destroyed by fire. There were a few
stores in the lower part, one of which was occupied by a man whose name,
strange as it may appear, no one seemed to know. He was modest, in of-
fensive, and extremely courteous in his demeanor. This individual gained
an honest livelihood by the sale of stationery and sundry small wares, and
when absent locked the door and took the key with him. One day, as he
was going to his place of business, a person stopped him on the street they
exchanged a few words together, when the storekeeper stepping aside a little,
the individual with whom he had been conversing came up, drawing a knife
and stabbed him to the heart, and instantly effected his escape. This was
done in Chestnut street between the hours of twelve and three, in the middle
of the day; but no tidings have ever been heard of the ruthless perpetrator
from that time (at least twenty years ago, if not more,) to this. -
The case of the unfortunate little German girl who was so basely treated,
and then murdered, presents some analogy to the foregoing. In this case,
so far, the murderer has eluded the hands of justice. But one thing is cer-
tain, that if he do not repent, the retribution here and hereafter will be
terrible. God may for a moment defer the justice to be meted out to such
offenders, but the blow will descend, and that with the most unerring cer-
tainty, at the moment when it is least expected. Such cases do occur, but
they are rare. Thus while writing, we remember yet another, which, as it is
somewhat rare, we will put again before the public.
Miss Cunningham, a young lady of wealth, beauty and standing, residing
in Virginia, was walking one afternoon with a little sister, when they met a
stranger, who desired to have some private conversation with the young
lady. They retired a little apart, and finally walked about a quarter of a
mile away from the little girl, who, after remaining alone for two or three
hours, became frightened, returned home and gave the alarm that her sister
had “gone away with a strange man, and that she had not returned.” The
neighbors made a party and at once went in search of the missing damsel,
who was found dead, but otherwise uninjured.
The affair created a great sensation throughout the State, and the Gov-
ernor offered a large reward for the arrest, capture and detention of the
murderer. Nothing had been taken from the body but a curiously chased
ring of the purest guinea gold, which she always wore.
Four years elapsed, and Frank Harding, a cousin of the murdered lady,
had emigrated from Virginia to Natchez to seek his fortune. One evening
he went to play a game of billiards, and perceived at the table near him a
young man of about five and twenty. Harding raised his eyes and saw, or
thought he saw, the ornament of his dead cousin on the hand of the stranger.
He drew near, entered into conversation, turned the subject on rings, and

THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. - 11
finally asked to see the one on his companion's finger. His doubts were
ended; it was the trinket he had so often seen and admired, and for which,
half injest, half in earnest, he had so often begged his fair kinswoman.
Harding admired the ornament, chatted awhile longer, and withdrew.
The next morning, his companion of the previous night was exceedingly
astonished to hear a rapping at his room door, and on opening it, found
himself in the hands of the police, by whom he was carried before the nearest
magistrate, to whom he gave the following account of himself:
His name was Edward Campbell, and he lived in Arkansas; business
calling him to Natchez, he had left home and on his way to that city had
purchased the ring from a Jew peddler, who had a quantity of new and
second-hand jewelry. Fortunately, a cousin who had seen the whole trans-
action, confirmed the statement. Campbell was set at liberty, and the whole
transaction was shrouded in the same mystery as before.
The good people of Philadelphia had scarcely recovered from the excite-
ment in which they had been plunged by the murder and abduction of Mary
Mohrman, when the quiet of the city was again disturbed by another and,
if possible, still greater crime. -
A certain Mrs. M. E. Hill had resided for some time in rather an elegant
mansion with a pretty side-yard, at the corner of Tenth and Pine. The
family consisted of the lady whose name we have justmentioned, her daugh-
ter, a woman of about thirty-five, by a former marriage, and George S.
Twitchell, the husband of the latter, who is rather younger. Mrs. Hill has
been twice married, once to a person named Price, and the other time to
Mr. Hill, whom she survived, and who bequeathed her the income of his
real estate and a large part of his personal property.
Mrs. Hill is represented as a woman of fair sense, great benevolence, and
considerable business tact. On Sunday night the servant went out, leaving
Mrs. Hill and Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell, alone in the house, and when such
was the case, Mrs. Hill admitted any callers at the door. The domestic re-
turned at the usual hour, and when ringing at the door, she was admitted, to
her great surprise, by Mr. Twitchell, and not Mrs. Hill as was usually the
case. She simply thanked him and passed in ; went to the kitchen, threw
on some coals, and to her great surprise and astonishment, saw the dead
body of the mistress of the mansion laying in the yard, and instantly com-
municated the fact to Mr. Twitchell.
We will now place before our readers a diagram (as far as pen and ink
can make it) of the house where this fearful tragedy was committed; une-
qualled in horror by any, excepting alone the wholesale murder of the
Deering family by Probst, in the city of Philadelphia.
As we before stated, the mansion is situated at the corner of Tenth and
Pine, in a quiet, secluded, but aristocratic portion of the town. The main
house is divided into two rooms on each floor, and a back building is simi-
larly arranged, but the floors are rather lower than the other part. The

12 THE MURDER OF MRS, HILL.
front door opens on Tenth street, the hall is spacious, and there is a little
distance before the flight of stairs is reached which leads to the upper part
of the house. Passing around the stairs, a few steps go to the kitchen,
the door of which opened into a wash-house, partially composed of Venetian
blinds. Outside of this apartment the corpse of the ill-fated Mrs. Hill was
discovered.
The flight of stairs before mentioned leads to the back building, second
story, where there are two rooms separated by folding doors, the larger
of which is about twenty-five feet long and sixteen feet wide. Between the
windows facing Pine street there is an old fashioned and very shabby sofa
and common rocking-chair, in which, undoubtedly, the murderer sat when he
struck the first blow. The smaller apartment has a window opening on
Pine street, within a few feet of the main house.
The theory of the murder, and which the evidence so far as elicited will
support, is this: Mrs. Hill was reclining on the sofa asleep, as the pillows
showed marks of use. The assailant was in the rocking-chair, and after
awaking his victim, had some conversation, then went to the fire-place and
took up the poker, as when the room was examined after the murder, ashes
were found on the window seat. The poker (which was found in the room
covered with blood and hair) was then raised, and the tongue part forced
into the right temple, inflicting a frightful wound. Mrs. Hill must then
have rolled on the sofa, and the blows were repeated till life was extinct.
The window was then raised and the body thrown out in the yard, that the
contusions on the head would be imputed to the fall, and all suspicion
averted. The fell deed over, the murderer departed.
When Sarah Campbell (the servant) discovered the body, she at once
informed Mr. Twitchell, who came out and said “let’s take her in,” and af.
terwards, “she's dead.” When the body was brought into the house, Mr.
Twitchell called in water, and began to wash it. Sarah Campbell ran into
the street, and meeting Mr. Howard, the officer of the fifth district, told him
that Mrs. Hill had fallen from the window into the yard, and was dead.
This official at once suspected that there had been foul play somewhere,
placed Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell under arrest, sent some of the residents to
the Station-house at Fifteenth and Locust, where assistance was immedi-
ately despatched to the scene of the catastrophe, information given at the
central office, and detective Warnock, then on duty, repaired to the house,
and after a brief conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell ordered that the
former should go to the Station-house, and the latter be confined in her
apartment and strictly guarded.
The officials then commenced an examination of the furniture and sur-
roundings of the last room Mrs. Hill had ever occupied, and where she was
summoned to her last account, “unhouselled, disappointed, unanelled, no
reckoning made, but sent to her account with all her imperfections on her
head.” The assassin took her with all her crimes “broad blown, as flush
as May.”
View of the mansion at the north-east corner of Tenth and Pine, where Mrs. Mary E. Hill was murdered.




THE MURDER OF MBS. HILL. 23
Detective Warnock then proceeded to a careful scrutiny of the apartment,
the walls, windows and side-yard, and reports that the green pillow on the
sofa above mentioned, was a mass of blood. There was a pool of congealed
blood on the oil cloth covering on the floor, both the walls extending to
the ceiling are bespattered with blood, and huge spots of the same fluid can
be seen on the oil cloth through the folding doors reaching to the little
back room. There was also a large pool of blood on the pavement beneath
the window. - -
officer Warnock then had some conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell.
The latter said that her husband, mother and herself had been conversing
together in the dining-room till half-past eight, when she retired, leaving
her husband and mother together. She went to bed and read awhile. Mrs.
Hill then came into her room, and talked for a few minutes. As she went
out Mr. Twitchell came in, bid his mother-in-law good night, and went to
rest. She also stated that her mother had about $5,000 in cash, and a
$500 note. Shortly after the husband and wife were in bed, both were
awakened by a violent ringing at the bell, and Mr. Twitchell, partially
dressing himself, said he would answer the door.
When the policeman took Mr. Twitchell into custody, it was remarked
that his coat, shirt-front, sleeve and pantaloons were all bloody. After he
arrived at the Station-house, the soiled articles were replaced by others.
He also admitted that there was other strong evidence against him, but that
he could clear himself. The deportment of the prisoner at the Station-
house, was quiet. He paced his cell, and reiterated, what he had said
before.
His wife was not so calm. She incessantly asked about her husband, and
had an interview with Chief Lamon and Detective Warnock. Mrs.
Twitchell was in the house all Sunday night, and was removed the next day
to the Central Station. - - -
She is about thirty-five, the physique is good, the air commanding, and
dark hazel eyes exceedingly expressive. Mrs. Twitchell was accom-
modated in the office of Chief Lamon, where she was seen by one of the
attaches of the press, with a magazine in her lap. Her deportment,
the entire day, was calm, and she expressed no regret about her mother's
fate, but seemed anxious about her husband, fearing some fatal accident.
She said that when her husband read of the “murder of Mrs. Miller by Gott-
leib Williams, he declared that if he ever were placed in such a position,
he would commit suicide.” As night approached, Mrs. Twitchell became
nervous, and anxious about her husband, but was relieved when told that he
was as comfortable as circumstances would permit at the Seventh Ward
station-house. She then, for the first time, was affected. She did not wish
to be left alone, requested the Chief's company, and seemed to enjoy his
conversational powers. -
After the departure of Mr. Twitchell, and the confinement of his wife in

24 THE MURDER OF MRS, HILL.
the chamber assigned her, Lt. Connelly took charge of the house, which he
surrendered to Coroner Daniels, who arrived with Dr.
Shapleigh, at an
early hour.
We now lay before onr readers the evidence submitted to the coroner's
jury:
Sarah Campbell sworn and testified: I identified the body of Mrs. Hill
yesterday; there was no person in the house on Sunday afternoon but Mrs.
Hill; I went out at 3 o'clock in the afternoon; Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell
went out carriage-riding, calculating to return so that Mrs. Twitcheliconid
go to church ; I think I came in about half-past nine o'colck; I rang the
bell several times, when Mr. Twitchell came to the door and let me in ; he
said, “Is that you, Sarah?” I said, “Yes, sir,” and thanked him for open-
ing the door; he said, “Where do you think mother would be ºsmº ai.
ways came and let me in ; it was a strange affair for him to get up out of
bed and let me in ; I think he went up the front stairs and called “Mother tº
the kitchen door was open, and a candle burning on the table; I went into
the kitchen and put coal on the fire; I then went to close the outside kitchen
door before I did anything else; I saw something in the yard, and turned
back and got the candle, when I saw Mrs. Hill lying in the yard; I called
Mr. Twitchell; he came, and said, “My God, what is this ºn he said, “Will
some one assist me in carrying her in * Mrs. Twitchell came down in her
night clothes; I then came and assisted in carrying her in ; I don't know
whether he called for water first or not ; we carried her in and laid her
upon the settee in the kitchen ; I don't know if he called for the doctor or
water first; he applied water with a cloth to her head; I then ran across
the street for a doctor; I did not get one; I then went back home; I then
want to a shoe store opposite, out of the back gate; the gate was bolted,
but I unbolted it; Mrs. Twitchell said she would go with me; she asked
me up stairs until she got some clothing on ; I went up with her but had
no conversation ; when I first saw her she had on her linens and a red sack;
she had no stockings on.
Cross examined.—I rang the bell seven or eight times, and pounded un-
til Mr. Twitchell came down; he had on pants and a little short coat; I
don't know if he had a vest on or not; it was a short dark coat ; I have
never saw him dressed that way in the day time; I have seen that kind of
pants on him at home; I can't say if the coat was buttoned or not : he had
on a kind of gray shirt; I can't say if he had on any boots; can't say if he
had on a white shirt, [Pants exhibited.] Can't say if they are the pants
or not. [Coat exhibited.] Can't say, if that is the coat; after I came in
I went right to the kitchen; he came right after me; Mrs. Twitchell came
down when I called out; Mr. Twitchell never let me in before; I was em-
ployed there about twelve or fifteen weeks; I never, heard any words or
quarrelling; I believe they all lived friendly and kindly together; when I
came back from searching for a doctor Mrs. Twitchell was applying water
to Mrs. Hill's head, and when I went out again was doing the same ; I can't
say if the officer was there when we carried her in ; I took hold of her by
the feet and Mr Twitchell by the shoulders; he never had any conversation
with her about property that I know of: I have heard her say that her hus:
band had property; when I first saw the body it lay face upward; she did
not move; I cannot say if she was cold or warm as I did not touch the
flesh (poker exhibited); I can't say if I ever saw that before; we had one

THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. 25
that looks like it; I can't say where the poker was found; our poker was
generally used in the kitchen; we never used it in the sitting room to my
knowledge.
Dr. E. B. Shapleigh sworn.-I made a post-mortem examination of the
body of Mrs. M. E. Hill; there was a lacerated wound in right temple
two and a half inches long and one inch wide, made by some blunt, pene-
trating instrument; the bone beneath was comminuted, and the finger could
readily be passed to its full length into the brain; there was a small wound
half an inch below this, over the outer angle of the eye, three-fourths of an
inch long; another wound an inch long in upper part of forehead, over the
right ear; another on the top of the head, a little to the right of median
line, running crossways; also a triangular wound behind the latter over the
upper and back part of right parietal bone; there were six wounds on the
fºrehead; a confused wound on the upper part of the forehead over the
right eye-brow, about one inch and a quarter long ; this might have been
caused by the fall; the five other wounds were small, from half an inch to
three-fourths long in various directions, extending down to the bone; there
was another wound over the upper part of the left parietal bone; all of
these wounds were made by a blunt instrument; there were thirteen wounds
in all upon the head; the right hand was bruised about the knuckles; there
were bruises all over the back of left hand; the second finger had almost
been severed by a blow at the first joint, by some blunt instrument ; the
right eye was blackened, and the cheek-bone on the right side was fractured;
the right half of frontal bone and front portion of right parietal and tem-
poral bones were comminuted; there was a fracture extending entirely
across the head, behind the ears, quite twelve inches long ; another fracture
passed through the left parietal bone; death was caused by violence; a poker
would be likely to make such wounds.
Annie Campbell sworn and testified.—I live at No. 1227 Arch street; I
formerly lived at Mrs. Hill's house; while I lived there I never knew of
any quarrels; I never knew them talk of having property; I never saw any
disagreement; they always lived in harmony together.
John P. Montgomery sworn and testified.—I reside at No. 317 South
Tenth street; on Sunday evening last I was sitting and reading in my room
—the second story front room ; about half past nine o'clock—as near as I
can judge, as a short time before I commenced to read I looked at my
watch, and it was a few minutes past nine o'clock—I heard a knock at the
door, and opened the window and asked who was there; I could not per-
ceive who it was, but I heard a voice which I should suppose to be that of
Mrs. Twitchell; she requested me to come in, as there was murder there;
I at once went down to the door of Mrs. Hill, and rang the bell and was
admitted. The hall was dark. In the hall, about half way to the stairs,
was Mrs. Twitchell, half dressed; she had on a white sack, or something,
perhaps a night-gown; she said, “Oh, Mr. Montgomery, my poor mother is
murdered in the yard;” I followed along the hall into the kitchen, where I
saw the body of Mrs. Hill lying on the settee; Mr. Twitchell inquired who
was the nearest doctor; I said Dr. Merrit; Mrs. Twitchell then begged me
to go for him; I went at once ; he lived in Clinton street, near Eleventh ;
I returned with him to the house; the hall was dark, and Mrs. Twitchell
said she would guide me; I went with the doctor back to the kitchen; we
found the body in the same place, and an officer, Mr. Twitchell, Dr. Zant-
zinger, and several other gentlemen there; I remained there some time,
while some of the gentlemen were inquiring about things; several of us

26 THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL.
then went up to the dining-room, which is above the kitchen, and on the
floor, not far from the sofa, was a pool of blood of a circular appearance,
and about one foot in diameter; it seemed to be thick clotted blood; I did
not make a close examination; subsequently, when the officer determined to
arrest Mr. Twitchell, he suggested that some of us had better go with him,
so I went to the station-house, at Fifteenth and Locust streets; after we
left Twitchell there we returned to the house and I found several other
police officers there; I inquired if my presence was required any longer;
they said not, so I returned home. sº
Cross-examined.— Mr. Twitchell seemed to have a dark coat on buttoners
up high; I could hardly notice if he had on a white shirt; when I came
back he had on the same kind of a coat; I heard no unusual noise this night;
as we were going up to the station-house Mr. Twitchell said: “Mr. Mont-
gomery, you don’t believe I am guilty of this 7"
Dr. Alfred Zantzinger sworn and testified.—I live at No. 300 South
Tenth street; about twenty minutes before 10 o'clock I was standing in my
vestibule, talking with a gentleman, when the bell was violently pulled; I
opened the door and found a private officer, named Milo Lord, who asked
me to come quickly as possible to Tenth and Pine, as a woman had been
murdered; I went there and passed into the house; I found the murdered
lady lying on a settee in the kitchen ; I immediately went up to her and
found a great many clothes upon her chest, so I pulled them away to give
her breath if alive; I then took her wrist and found it cold and pulseless,
and that she was dead; Mr. Twitchell was standing at her head, close to
the corner of the settee; I remarked twice, “Dead : " he said “No ;” I
said she had been dead some time before I saw her; I then examined her
and found as has been stated by Dr. Shapleigh; I put my finger into the
wound as far as it would go without meeting any resistance; as I went
through the entry I heard some one say that the woman had fell out of the
window; when I examined her I was satisfied that it could not be produced
by a fall from a window; I asked for a candle to see the place, and asked
the officer to go with me; we went into the yard and found a large pool of
blood, several pieces of hair, and a piece of skull about one inch long ; I
looked at the window and could see blood on the paint below the window,
as if it had dropped there; I said we had better go up stairs, so we went
up and found blood on the window ledge, and droppings of blood on the oil
cloth close to the window; I traced blood to the sofa, where there was a
pool of blood, and the pillow saturated with it; I then came to the detec-
tives' office, and saw Mr. Warnock, and told him there had been a murder
committed; he and myself then went to the house, and a lady, whom I sup-
posed to be Mrs. Twitchell, said, “ Oh, my mother;” Mr. Morrell, Dr.
Merritt, and two or three others were there; Mr. Twitchell was standing
the most of the time at the head of Mrs. Hill, wiping her face, and watch-
ing her lips for signs of breathing, crying, “Oh, my God;” I don't know
if he had on a white shirt, but I think not ; his coat was buttoned up high :
he was in a rather undressed condition; ſpoker exhibited] the wounds
could be caused by a weapon like that ; this poker was picked up in the
ºard.
y W. H. G. Morrell sworn and testified.—I reside at No. 928 Pine street;
my wife and self passed the corner of Tenth and Pine streets about twenty
minutes past nine o'clock, and went into my residence; after remaining in a
few minutes I took a short walk, about three squares, and returned home
and retired; when nearly undressed, the bell rang, and when the door was

THE MURDER OF MBS. HILL. 27
opened, the girl that testified here said that Mrs. Hill had ser, over for
Mrs. Morrelſ to come over, as she had not been well in the afternoon; she
also wanted me to go for a doctor; my wife then went over to the gate,
and finding it locked returned; my son then went out, but soon came run-
ning back saying that Mrs. Hill had been murdered; I then went ºyer to
the house, where we met Mrs. Twitchell in the entry-way, saying, “Mother
has been killed !” I asked her how ; she said, “Fell out of the second-story
window;" I exclaimed, “How could she fall out of the window 2” I then
followed her to the kitchen; Mr. Twitchell was standing at the head of the
body washing it with a wet cloth; I said to him, “How could this be 2
how could she fall out of the window and injure herself so ** he said, “I
don't know;" while Dr. Zantzinger was making the examination Mr.
Twitchell was exclaiming “She is not dead;” I then examined the body and
found it cold, as if dead about an hour; my suspicions were aroused by the
wounds that I saw, which I thought could not be done by falling out of a
window. We then went up stairs and found on the centre table a candle
and coal oil lamp, both lit; as soon as I discovered blood I said, “This is
the place where the woman has been murdered ; I followed the blood to
the back room window, and found blood on the lower edge of the sash and
also on the sill; the gas was burning here as well as in the kitchen the
curtains of the windows were down; heretofore they were always up ; an
officer and myself noted blood down the back stairs as if some one had come
up or went down; afterwards I went down stairs and asked Mr. and Mrs.
Twitchell if there was any one in the house besides them ; they said “No,”
and I then said, “One of you two have committed the murder,” to which
charge neither one made any reply; I insisted on the officer taking them in
charge, which he did, taking them up stairs to get on some clothing ; I first
saw Mr. Twitchell dressed in pants, undershirt, which was dark gray, and a
coat buttoned across; he had no collar on ; he had on a light coat rather
longer than this [coat exhibited]; I staid in the room with the body, and
the officer went up stairs with him ; after they had gone to the station-house
I remained to take charge of Mrs. Twitchell and the girl; Twitchell had
no white shirt on when I saw him, it was a dark gray; after Mr. Twitchell
went to the station-house I had a conversation with Mrs. Twitchell ; I re-
lated the circumstances discovered, saying that it was not possible for any
outside person to get into the house, the gate being fast and they being the
only ones in the house; I said “I did not think it possible for a strange
foot to come inside without the dogs detecting it;" she said that her moth-
er was in the habit of carrying from $2,000 to $3,000 in her bosom, and
that she had been in the habit of telling people that she carried it there,
and that they had come and killed her for the sake of the money; I said to
her “No person came into the house to murder her for the sake of the
money, and expose themselves by carrying and throwing her out of the back
window;” I said again, that either she or him or both had committed that
murder; she said, “What reason would I have for killing my mother ſº I
said, “For the very reason that you named before, want of the money that
she had on her;” she attempted no explanation of any kind; she
seemed as little concerned as a stranger, manifesting no feeling ; when the
ºfficer came I went home; I think Twitchell had on a pair of dark pants,
like these Ipants exhibited; coat exhibited;] that is too dark; that is
merely my judgment; it might be them, but it strikes me that they were of
a different color; I never heard of any difficulty between the family; I often
heard the dogs bark even if any one touched the gate; I saw this poker
brought out of the yard.

28 THE MURDER OF MES. HILL.
F. A. Morrell sworn and testified.—I live at No. 928 Pine street; when
the girl rang the bell she said that a doctor was wanted; I said to father
that my brother would go for Dr. Van Dyke, but he came back in a few
minutes and said that Mrs. Hill had been murdered ; I then went over and
passed into the kitchen ; Mr. Twitchell was standing at the head, washing
the body with water; an officer said that Mrs. Hill had fallen out of the
window ; Mrs. Twitchell told me that they had retired, leaving mother up
to wait for the girl; the doctor put his finger in the wound over the right
temple; on picking up the poker I said, “This is what the deed has been
done with ;” the officer remarked that it might have been lying there, and
she might have fallen on it; I handed it to an officer and told him to take
care of it ; it was lying in the blood about a foot from the railing; the offi-
cer laid it down; I went up stairs and took a coal-oil lamp from the table,
and another man took the candle; we went up the back way to the sitting-
room; we found at the end of the sofa a large pool of clotted blood, also
some at the arm of the sofa and on the pillow; it was also spattered over
the wall; I picked up a pair of spectacles on the floor close to the sofa ;
I saw a set of false teeth on the centre table, which I thought belonged to
Mrs. Hill; I would also like to state that I had been watching a man at
the corner of Tenth and Pine streets; he would go down Tenth street and
come back to Pine street; I saw him in the morning; he was about five
feet eight inches high, red hair, and had a slouched hat then ; I saw him in
the afternoon, but he had gone when I came back from a walk.
George C. Leidy sworn and testified.—I reside at No. 314 Callowhill
street; as myself and a friend were walking down Tenth street a man came
up and said, “Are you acquainted with the neighborhood 7" I replied,
“Yes;” he said, “There is something going wrong at the corner house;”
I then saw a man standing on the step, with his slippers on, and I ascer-
tained it to be Mr. Montgomery; a lady came to the door and said, “Will
you not, for God's sake, go for a doctor º my mother is murdered in the
yard ſº I turned to my friend and said, “Dan, you go in the house, and I
will go for a doctor;” I ran down to Lombard street and asked the doctor
to come up ; he said that he could not go, as his clerk was not in, and told
me to send her to the hospital; I returned, and found a lady lying on the
settee in the kitchen, with a wound over the temple; I felt her pulse, and
said, “She is dead;” I then inserted my finger in the wound; Mrs. Twitch-
ell said: “Oh, my God, she breathes;” I said, “No, madam, the moan was
made by the gentleman at her head;” I asked her if she was not cognizant
of the murder; she said, “So help me God, I was not ;” she said that she
was in bed, and that Mr. Twitchell came soon afterwards; I asked her if
she heard no noises or struggles; she replied that she did not ; that the first
thing that she heard was the ring at the door bell; I believed the woman
to have been dead some time before she had been brought in, as she was
cold and stiff; Mr. Twitchell had on a short dark sack, buttoned up; he
was very red in the face; the daughter acted cool; [coat shown] it looks
like that ; he had no white shirt on ; he had only an undershirt; I was
present when the officer took him away; I was in the rear and could not
see what kind of shirt he had on ; I think she had been dead at least an
hour and a half; I think that she had been carried out by two persons, as
one would have been clotted over with blood; I saw blood on the side of
the house; we went up stairs and found that alongside of the sofa the car:
pet was turned up, and there we found the spectacles; I found a portion of
a comb in the yard in the blood; [spectacles shown and identified].
-
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(37)





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THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. 39
Daniel Doster sworn and testified.—I reside at No. 517 St. John street;
I walked back into the kitchen and found Mrs. Hill lying on the settee;
standing at her head was Mrs. Twitchell, bathing her; I said, “This is an
awful thing; how did it happen?” Mr. Twitchell said, “We carried her
in ſº Twitchell said, “For God's sake, go to that back gate and see if a
doctor or somebody is there;” I started out of the hall, put my hand on
the knob of the front door, and a woman ran up stairs and said, “ Oh, my
God ſº I opened the door and an officer came in ; I saw Mr. Leidy coming
along; he said he could not get a doctor, and to take her to the hospital;
some one took a candle, and we went out and discovered blood; we went up
stairs and discovered blood on the sofa ; we then came down, and the officer
arrested Mr. Twitchell; he had a sack coat on, an undershirt, and no col-
lar; they took him up stairs to get some clothes on [coat shown, and wit-
ness said it looked like it...]
Officer Geo. W. Howard sworn and testified.—On Sunday evening, about
quarter to ten o'clock, at Tenth and Pine, three ladies and a gentleman were
standing opposite the house, and two ladies at the door; I halted, and got
behind a tree; a lady came up, and said, “Are you an officer " I said
“Yes;” she said “There is something wrong in the house;” I went to
the door, and a lady said that an old lady was dead in the yard; I went into
the house, and to the kitchen, and saw Mrs. Hill lying on the settee, and
Mr. Twitchell bathing her head; I asked the cause, and he said she had
been murdered in the yard; I asked the girl if any of the windows were
up; she said she did not know, and went up stairs; came back, and said
there was; I went into the yard, and saw blood on the pavement under the
window; came back into the house, and Mr. Twitchell said, “For God's
sake go for a doctor;” told him that she did not need a doctor, as she was
dead; I said so when I first went into the house; two or three gentlemen
went into the yard with me; one of the witnesses picked up the poker ; I
asked him to give it to me, and he did so; I remarked it was possible that
she fell out of the window; we then started and went up stairs; when we
got near the second-story back window I took a candle and tracked blood
to the sofa ; there was a little pool of blood there; a pair of spectacles
were lying on the floor about the centre of the sofa ; some of the gentlemen
suggested to have the parties in the house arrested; I asked Mr. Twitchell
if he was the only man in the house; he said that he was ; so I then ar-
rested him ; he put his cap on, and said he wanted to change his clothes;
I then went up with him to the bed chamber; he then put on a white shirt,
vest, and coat [shirt exhibited]; that is the shirt; I asked him where he
got the blood, and he said by carrying the old lady in from the yard; I told
him that could not be ; I then brought him down stairs and took him to the
station-house [pants and vest exhibited]; these are the pants he had on;
that is the vest; he put on an overcoat out of a closet; ſpoker exhibited];
that is the poker and that is a piece of comb picked up in the yard; "|
asked him what time he retired; he said about half-past eight o'clock, and
his wife a little after seven o'clock; he said he generally retired about that
time; I asked him if he never saw the old lady lying on the sofa; he said
no ; I asked if she practiced lying on the sofa, and he said once in a while;
when I said it could not be possible to get blood on the shirt, he said it
was done by carrying her in from the yard; when I saw him he had on a
dark gray undershirt and short coat; I did not see any vest on, but he put
on the same coat; the rocking chair had blood on it; there was also blood
on the walls and floor; there were cigar ashes on the window; the rocking

40 THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL.
-
chair stood at the end of the sofa; there were traces of blood from the sofa
to the window; there did not appear to have been any struggle; there were
two dogs in Mr. Twitchell's room; I went in the station-house a little be-
fore 12 o'clock, and asked him to take off his clothes; he said, on his way
to the station-house, that he was an innocent man, but did not blame ine
for doing my duty; he might have had a vest on, but I did not see it; I don't
think, though, that he had.
Detective William Warnock sworn and testified.--On Sunday evening
about half past ten o'clock, I was informed by Dr. Zantzinger and another
gentleman that a murder had been committed at Tenth and Pine streets; I
immediately went with them; it was then about twenty-five minutes of
eleven o'clock; rang the bell and the girl came and let him in ; Mrs. Mor-
rell was standing in the centre of the stairs; another lady was at the head
of the stairs; she did not appear to be fully dressed ; I went in the back
room and saw the lady lying on the settee; I examined and found her dead
and cold; I went up stairs and found a room used as a dining room, with a
kind of extension back of it, with folding doors between the i. ; there are
two windows in the main room; between these two windows, on the south
side, stood an old-fashioned sofa ; there was a pillow of some kind of queer
stuff on it, covered with blood, which also had run down on the floor; I
examined further, and found blood, which I traced on the floor to a chair;
it there stopped, and I saw blood on the chair; it then went on to the small
extension of the dining-room, and to the window, which was raised almost
to the full extent; the blinds were disarranged queerly; on the lower part
of the window frame there was a smear of blood; I could also see it on the
paint outside, and found blood there; I asked where the parties of the house
were, and was told that Mr. Twitchell had been taken to the station-house;
Mrs. Twitchell was in her room ; at the head of a sofa was a rocking chair,
where some one evidently had been smoking; two stumps of cigars were
there, one about one and a half inches long and the other one-half inch long ;
I examined from the sofa to the door leading to the entry, and found some
small specks of blood leading to the door ; I found some on the wall, and
one apparently large drop of blood on the oil cloth, about the feet, partly
dried up; I followed up the stairs, but found no blood; there had been no
water used in the bath-room for some time; I asked to see Mrs. Twitchell,
and asked her what she could tell me about the matter; she said she did not
know anything about it; I then told her to tell me everything that
happened during the evening; she said that she went to bed about half past
seven o'clock, and left her mother and George in the dining-room; a few
minutes afterwards her mother came into the room, and sat down, and com-
menced talking to her; she then left, and bade her good night; she was in
bed when her mother left the room ; then she read awhile, and finally went
to sleep; some time afterwards her husband came in, undressed, and got
into bed; very soon they both fell asleep; she was awakened by a violent
ringing of the bell, and her first thought was of fire, and she got up ºut of
bed, and went to the door of the chamber, and called, “Mother, mother !”
her husband told her to come to bed as it was cold, and he would go down;
he then got up, and pulled on his pants and coat; I asked her then if she
was positive about dressing himself, and she said yes; she said he had on
coat and pants, but could not say if he had boots or not; he then went
down and let the girl in ; the girl went back as usual in the kitchen ; she
heard her call Mr. Twitchell almost immediately; she went down stairs
then; I asked her if she could assign any cause for the death of her mother;
-

THE MURDER OF MES, HILL. 41
she said she could not ; she said her mother had been in the habit of carry-
ing a great deal of money in her pocket, and believed she had nearly $5,000
and a note of some man for $500; I told her I thought it was a strange
affair, and that it could hardly have been done without noise, for some one
in the house would have heard it; she exclaimed, “So help me God, I know
nothing about it;” I then saw the girl, and asked her about the appearance
of things when she came in ; she said that Mr. Twitchell opened the door
for her, and said about the same as has been said before; I asked if she
could tell what clothes he had on, and cautioned her to remember well; she
said he had not either vest or outside shirt; four other officers came then,
and I placed both of them in their charge; Sergeant Pennington came with
some others, and I placed the women in his charge; I then went out to the
station-house; Officer Howard brought the poker with him ; this is the
same poker ſpoker exhibited]; I asked to see Mr. Twitchell, and told him
to take off his out-side coat; the one he has on now is the one ; I exam-
ined the coat and found blood all over it; I told him to take off his shirt;
on this shirt I found blood; here are stains on it; I then took his pants off
and likewise his boots; I found blood on them in some places; I am satis-
fied that these are the pants, from the marks of blood on the left side of
the thigh ; I then returned to the office; yesterday morning I went to the
house again, and in the outstones, between the venetian blinds, I found this
towel wrapped up (towel exhibited, marked with blood and wet); this has
been used for wiping blood offin some way; it was damper when I found
it than now. -
Lieutenant Connelly and one of his officers were sworn but nothing addi-
tional was elicited. -
Joseph Anderson sworn and testified.—I was collector for Mrs. Hill; in
July last a gentleman called on me and informed me that Mr. Twitchell
was about mortgaging the house in Pine street for $5,000, and said I had
better inform Mrs. Hill of it, as he thought she knew nothing about it; I
informed her and she was very much alarmed, and shed tears at being de-
ceived by Mr. Twitchell; the property was sold through Mr. Joseph Gil-
bert, and was to have been in her name, giving the daughter the title to it
after her death; instead of this Mr. Gilbert informed us that the deed had
been made absolute to her daughter, and that Mr. Twitchell had obtained
from her a will by which the house was absolutely his at her death; at a
visit to Mrs. Hill's house, Mr. Twitchell ordered me out of the house, say-
ing that I was there merely to create a disturbance in the family; the last
time that I saw Mrs. Hill alive was on Friday last when she came to my
house, and I paid her $200.30 for ground rents; she then informed me that
she intended to commence proceedings against Mr. Twitchell the early part
of this week, to recover possession of the title to the house.
The inquest then adjourned, and the jury rendered the following verdict:
That the said Mary E. Hill came to her death by voilence (blows on the
head) at the hands of George S. Twitchell, Jr., and Camilla Twitchell, his
wife, on the night of November 22, 1868, at the northeast corner Tenth
and Pine streets.
Twitchell when first introduced was exceedingly agitated, weeping moan-
ing, and wringing his hands. He became however more composed, but
when the hearing was half over, and his wife entered, he lost his self con-
trol, and shed more tears. Mrs. Twitchell was also considerably overcome,

42 THE MU. It DER OF ME.S. HILL.
and shed tears on one occasion. She said to him “George, make a clean
breast of it,” or words to that effect.
The accused were, by the coroner's orders, committed to prison, whither,
accompanied by Lieutenant John G. Connelly and Detective Warnock,
they were conveyed in a carriage. On their arrival at Moyamensing, Mrs.
Twitchell was so agitated that support was needed to convey her to the
cell she now occupies. The husband and wife are separated. He is on the
male untried side, she on the female.
The accused are defended by Messrs. W. B. Mann, ex-District Attorney,
John O. Byrne, and John T. Pratt, Esqs. Mr. 'Twitchell, senior, was beside
his son, and was much moved. He is a gentleman of great respecta-
bility, who has been engaged for some years in the manufacture and sale
of mineral water, and has always been highly esteemed. His first wife, the
mother of the present defendant was brought up in the family of one of our
most respectable citizens, where Mr. Twitchell saw her, paid his addresses,
and afterwards married her. We believe that Mr. Twitchell, senior, has
been married a second time, George S. Twitchell, junior, is about twenty-
six, rather prepossessing in his personal appearance, with dark hair and
eyes, and a slight moustache; when addressed he flushes slightly, adheres
closely to his original story, and without boasting, expresses a hope that he
may clear himself. He seems aware of the motives for questioning him,
and rather declines answering. Until this murder happened, he was en-
gaged in the manufacture of shingles at Camden.
The last husband of Mrs. Hill was an exceedingly well known citizen,
who had amassed a handsome competence, of which he disposed in the fol-
lowing manner:
Be it remembered that I, Samuel Hill, of the city of Philadelphia, gen-
tleman, being of sound mind and disposing memory, do make this my last
will and testament, as follows, to-wit —
In the first place, I order and direct the payment of all my just debts and
funeral expenses. - -
First. I do give, devise and bequeath unto my beloved wife, Mary E.
Hill, all my property, real and personal, whatever and wheresoever, in man-
her as follows:–
I give and bequeath to my wife, Mary E. Hill, all my personal property,
to her own absolute use and benefit. -
Second. I do give, devise, and bequeath to my wife, Mary E. Hill, all
the interest or income from real estate, for her sole use and benefit, abso-
ately for and during all her natural lifetime.
lu º It is my wi, and I direct my wife, Mary E. Hill, to pay to my
niece, Ann Hill, (daughter of my brother, Robert Hill), one thousand dol-
lars; payment in one year after my death . ---
fºrth. It is my will, and I direct my wife, Mary E. Hill, to phy tº my
niece, Sarah Vanarsdale (daughter of my º Robert Hill), one thou-
s dollars; payment in one year after my death. -
º A. º after the death of my beloved wife, Mary E.
º," ". . . . . . . ºf ºath to my two nieces, Ann Hill and Sarah

THE MURDER OF MERS. HILL. 43
º
Vanarsdale, their heirs and assignees forever, in equal parts, as tenants in
common, all my real estate whatever and wheresoever.
Lastly. I do nominate and appoint my said wife, Mary E. Hill, the sole
executrix of this, my last will and testament, hereby declaring this and this
only to be my last will and testament, and revoking all former ones by me
made.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this ninth day
of July, in the year of our Lord 1852. SAMUEL HILL.
Signed, sealed and declared by the testator as his last will and testament,
in the presence of us. - W.M. KELoiſ,
Joseph HENDERSON.
Thus it will be seen by a perusal of the above document, that Mrs. Hill,
(except what she could save from her income,) has in reality, but little at
her disposal, and the ..". now reverted as the testator directed, and
that Mrs. Twitchell and her husband are not at all benefited in this manner
by the sudden demise of Mrs. Hill.
Mrs. Hill, it is stated, who has saved a large portion of her income,
was desirous of investing the same in a house, and told her son-in-law to
purchase the property in which she died. With this wish Twitchell com-
plied, but to Mrs. Hill's great surprise, she ascertained that the deeds were
made out in Mrs. Twitchell's name, and that consequently, Mrs. Hill was
living in a sort of sufferance in the house, which had been purchased with
her means, and from which she was liable at any moment to be expelled. To
this the old lady would not submit, and had consulted a lawyer of some
note as to the course to be pursued to obtain her rights, and seemed deter-
mined to investigate the matter thoroughly. A criminal prosecution was
even discussed. Mrs. Hill's agent, on one occasion, was driven from the
house by the defendant in the criminal prosecution, and requested not to re-
peat his visits.
On Friday the District Attorney took charge of the premises, and made
a rigorous search for further proof, which resulted in the discovery of a
pair of bloody cuffs in the room occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Twitchell, and
$3000 in the out-house. But little money has been found in either the
trunks or bureaus of the deceased.
The remains of the unfortunate Mrs. Hill were removed from the house
on the Monday after the murder, and taken to the office of W. H. Moore,
on Arch street, where they rested till Saturday at 4 P. M., when they were
taken to Monument Cemetery, and interred within the enclosure, where her
late husband had a lot, and where he reposes. The whole matter was so
quietly and judiciously arranged, that few, if any, knew that the procession
moving from Arch street, on its way to the city of the dead, was that of
Mrs. Hill.
On Monday, Nov. 30, a carriage containing prison officers Grubb and
Clifton, and Geo. S. Twitchell and his wife, stopped in Sansom street,
between Sixth and Seventh, at half past nine in the morning. The moment
the parties alighted one of the officers crossed Sansom street with Twitchell,
and the other walked down on the same side of the street upon which she
alighted with Mrs. Twitchell. The result was that the Twitchells were
landed in the Court House without having attracted the attention of the
large crowd awaiting their arrival. -
Twitchell and his wife were seated at the front of the dock. He wore a
light-colored overcoat, and she was dressed in a black velvet hat, coat,
and brown furs. Her handkerchief was kept closely to her face until Mr.

44- - THE MURDER OF MERS. HILL.
O'Byrne advanced to the dock and talked to her, when she partially raised
it, keeping a portion of her face still concealed. The father of Twitchell
took a seat by his side and conversed with him.
In a short time Col. William B. Mann entered and conferred with Mr.
Sheppard. Subsequently several of the counsel for the prisoners, together
with the Commonwealth officers, held a communication with the Court in
an inaudible tone of voice. After this the Court directed the prisoners to
be placed within the dock. Mrs. Twitchell now drew a double mourning
veil over her face, which she kept there until her removal. -
Silence was demanded and the immense crowd ordered to be seated,
which direction was executed as far as possible, but every available portion
of the room was crowded with spectators, many, of course, not being able
to find a place to sit. -
The following counsel appeared for the prisoners: P. T. Ransford, J. T.
Pratt, C. H. T. Collis, John O'Byrne, and William B. Mann. -
Col. William B. Mann said:
MAY IT PLEASE THE Court : When this writ of habeas corpus was
allowed, there was some difficulty experienced in fixing the time for the
hearing of it. To-day was named as an early day to hear the writ, but I
presume the Court did not anticipate such a condition of affairs as we have
here this morning. There was a case then about to be brought for trial,
and that case is now engaging the attention of the Court. A return is
made to bring in other jurors. Nine jurors are kept together in confine-
ment; and to hear a writ of habeas corpus under such circumstances—to
divide the attention of the Court, or to take it away for a time from the
case now pending—is a proceeding unheard of I have never known a single
instance where a court would suspend a trial of a party charged with com-
mitting murder in the streets of Philadelphia, while they went on to hear a
writ of habeas corpus, which would take all day to-day and possibly
to-morrow. Whilst we are anxious to have it heard, and are perfectly
willing to interpose no objection, I think it will be my duty to say that we
are willing to ask that this should go over until Saturday, or until the close
of the trial now in progress, and we would be perfectly willing then, with-
out any notice, to take up this case. We do not desire that the jurors
should be kept here, and that the regular business which seems to have pos-
session of the court should be suspended in order to go on with our case;
that is not our desire.
Furman Sheppard replied: I can only say, with reference to the sugges-
tion which has fallen from the learned counsel, that when this writ was taken
out I understood him to say that he would be prepared at any time to enter
nto the hearing on the writ. I understood him to acquiesce in fixing
to-day at ten o'clock for this hearing, and upon that statement by him, and
upon the action of the Court with reference to the application, we have
issued our subpoenas for our witnesses. They are in court, and we are pre-
pared on the part of the Commonwealth to proceed with the writ. The
application was made in open court with the assurance that the counsel
would be ready, and an early day was fixed, the Court having a knowledge
of what was taking place. We are here prepared to proceed with the hear-
ing, and unless we have some intimation from your Honors to the contrary,
we do not know any legal or other reason why it should not be heard.
||||||||||||||||||
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Throwing the body out of the window; or the desperate attempt of the murderer to conceal
his crime,
(53)


-


THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. 55
Colonel Mann : Our cases are exactly alike. We have issued our
supoenas and our witnesses are here also. We have done the same thing,
and it was our duty to do it under the rule.
Judge Pierce : When this writ of habeas corpus was granted, it was
expected that the trial which is now in progress would be ended, and that
we should be able to hear the writ to-day, but we feel that we ought not to
interrupt the regular proceedings in selecting a panel of jurors to try the
prisoners at the bar, in order to hear a case of this character and impor-
tance, which would consume so much time. We will therefore take up this
writ immediately after the present trial is concluded. We expect that the
counsel will be prepared to proceed with it on short notice.
Colonel Mann : We require no further notice than that the present case
is ended.
The prisoners were kept in the dock until a large number of the persons
had left the room, but as many of them as could possibly do so walked by
the dock and gazed through the iron bars at the prisoners. The face of
Mrs. Twitchell could not be seen, and as her husband had his back to the
audience, his face could only be seen by those who were enabled to get
within the bar which brought them in front of the dock. He looked some-
what care-worn, and seemed to listen eagerly to what was said to him by
his father. His wife rested her head upon her hand whenever occasion
offered, and her eyes were not at any time visible. The prisoners were
removed through the trap-door used for the exit of ordinary defendants,
placed in a carriage, and driven rapidly to Moyamensing.
On the morning of December 8, 1868, the old court room of the Court of
Quarter Sessions was crowded with people, who were anxious to get a
glimpse of George S. Twitchell, Jr., and his wife, Camilla, who stood
charged with the murder of Mrs. Mary E. Hill. The occasion of their pres-
ence was the hearing of the testimony on a writ of habeas corpus, which
had been sued out by their counsel. At ten o'clock the prisoners were
placed in the dock, Twitchell occupying the back seat and she the front.
She was closely veiled, and reclined her head on the railing in front of the
dock, so that not even a glimpse of her features could be had. In a few
minutes Judges Ludlow and Pierce took their seats, and after a short
conversation the former notified the counsel that the court was ready to
hear the testimony.
District Attorney Sheppard then called Sarah Campbell, the servant who
lived with Mrs. Hill, who underwent a rigid examination, of nearly three
hours, during which she detailed the same testimony as before the Coroner's
jury. She was followed by Dr. E. B. Shapleigh, Mr. W. H. G. Morrell and
Policeman Howard. At the conclusion of the testimony of the latter the
State House bell struck “three.” After a short consultation with reference
to adjournment, Judge Ludlow said: “The Court does not desire to hear
any further testimony.”
Mr. Mann. We then ask for the discharge of Mrs. Twitchell. There
is a prima facia case against Mr. Twitchell, but, in regard to Mrs. Twitchell,
there is not the slightest testimony against her. We desire to make an
argument upon that subject.
Judge Ludlow. We are now ready to hear it.
Mr. Mann. We wish to hear from the Commonwealth first, for upon
her rests the burden to prove a participation or a guilty knowledge. I fail
to see the slightest evidence against Mrs. Twitchell.
District Attorney Sheppard, after alluding to the fact that the court

56 THE MURDER OF MRS, HIEL.
could have remanded the prisoners for trial without any testimony, said that
there was nothing in the case which would justify the exercise of such a
discretion by the court, as would discharge the defendants. First, these
are the only persons who were found in the house where the deceased was
murdered. The presumption that arises is of equal criminality. There is
a prima facie case against her. When the Commonwealth's witness enters
the door of the house, the first thing he hears is the false story by Mrs.
Twitchell, “My mother has fallen from the window”—a fact that was not
justified by any of the appearances surrounding the case.
Another witness is taken up stairs by her, the daughter of the butchered
woman, who there sits down quietly and argues the question of her guilt.
The manner, demeanor, language and conduct of both those prisoners is
very much the same, and there is no attempted explanation except the
statement of the falsehood. The court will observe the ingenuity of her
iong argument with Mr. Morrell. In the presence of the bruised and
mangled form of her mother, she displays this unnatural indifference.
Consider her false story, consider her callous conduct, consider that two
human beings must have carried the body to the window and thrown it out,
consider that the two dogs had been kept quiet while the murderer's hand
struck the blow, consider that they were the only ones who were found in
the house, and surely there is a case that would warrant the court in
remanding her for trial.
Mr. Mann then, in a long and ingenious argument, contended that there
was nothing in the testimony which Mrs. Twitchell would be compelled to
rebut before a jury. -
Judge Ludlow, after a brief consultation with Judge Pierce, said: “In
disposing of this writ of habeas corpus, we shall say very little. The object
of this inquiry is simply to ascertain, not the guilt or innocence of these
prisoners, but whether there is such a prima facia case made out on the part
of the Commonwealth which requires the court to remand them. And while
my brother, Judge Pierce, and myself entirely agree upon the reasons for
the course which we are about to take, we shall be very careful not to state
them, because by no act or deed of ours do we intend to indicate our
opinions as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoners at the bar. We have
simply to say that, upon the facts presented to us by the Commonwealth,
we cannot see our way clear to discharge either of these prisoners. Their
defence, to be made before a jury, may or may not be conclusive as to their
innocence. Our simple duty is to say that such a prima facie case has been
made out by the evidence that has been produced as to warrant the action
of the court in remanding both these prisoners for trial.”
The court-room, which was densely crowded during the entire hearing,
was then cleared, the defendants were escorted to a carriage in waiting and
driven rapidly to the County Prison. The bill of indictment charging them
with the homicide will be presented to the grand jury on the 8th of
December, when the same testimony to which we have before alluded, will
be submitted to that body.
Some after testimony has just come to light, which we lay before our
readers.
When the Hill mansion was entered on the night Mrs. Hill was murdered,
there was a lighted candle found on the kitchen table, and there was but
one gas-jet burning in the whole house. This was probably in the front
hall, as Mr. Twitchell came down stairs that way, and brought no light
with him; and Sarah Campbell is of the impression that Mrs. Twitchell,

THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. º 57
who had no light either, also came down that way. Sarah Campbell
testified: “The candle was on the table in the centre of the room ; don't
know whether the gas was lighted when I came in, except it was burning
Iow.” But as we have said, there is other testimony that one burner was
found lighted, and it must have been either that in the hall, or that in the
dining room.
| Near this burner, whichever one it was, there was picked up from the
floor a fragment of a paper, which has been recognised as having been torn
from a copy of the Trenton State Gazette. Part of a printed name, and
directions, are plainly legible on the scorched and twisted slip–enough to
suggest a new theory of the murder, and put the officers of the law on a new
scent, which they have industriously followed up.
The Twitchells are not subscribers to the Trenton Gazette, and there is
nothing to show that they ever saw a copy of it. One of the counsel for
the defence, Mr. Ransford, of this city, took the fragment of the paper to
Trenton and showed it to the publishers. The latter referred at once to
their printed mail list, and we are told, were able at once to identify
positively the party to whom the paper had been sent.
The person indicated was a resident of Trenton, but we are informed that
he cannot now be found. Of course the search will be continued further,
and no doubt something more will come of it. When the detectives searched
the Hill mansion they did not find the remaining portion of the Gazette.
The intelligence created a great sensation throughout the city, and crowds
soon gathered in the vicinity of Tenth and Pine, all intent on gratifying a
morbid curiosity. Considerable indignation was manifested, and if the
perpetrator, or alleged perpetrator of the crime could have been caught, he
would have been consigned to lynch justice. -
The increase of crime in the city of Philadelphia, in the last ten years,
has been astonishing, and should it progress in the same ratio, the commer-
cial metropolis of the Keystone State will rival, if not surpass any of the
most abandoned cities of the old world. No matter at what time of night
the citizen passes certain localities, he is sure to see loafers, ranging from
sixteen to five and twenty, clad in different degrees of shabbiness, at all the
corners and in the vicinity of lager beer saloons, taverns and restaurants;
not that they patronize these places of entertainment, they have not the
means, but rely on the bounty of some chance acquaintance, who will be
generous enough to open his purse. None of these young men, or at least
the greater part of them, have either trades, professions or any kind of
employment: their families generally reside in small streets and back alleys,
and are too needy to give them more than food or shelter. The writer once
asked, “how does Joe live 7"
“He goes to fires"
“What do you mean by that 2"
“He will pick up anything on which he can lay his hands.”
The same remarks may be applied to hose houses and fire companies, but
with some qualifications. The Philadelphia fireman has an enviable repu-
tation for gallantry, daring and generosity, but his hangers-on are as re-
markable for the opposite qualities. Too lazy to work, they are not too
proud to beg, sponge or steal. They love (to use their own phrase) to
kick up rows between the different companies, and then let others fight it
out. These are not the regular members of the company, but dependents,
whº never do and never can give a cent for the ea penses of the company.
Some years ago, there was a fire in Chestnut street, near Thirteenth, and

58 THE MURDER OF MIRS. HILL.
some females, who lived in the house, were assisted to escape, leaving behind
them all that they possessed in the world. What was their surprise to see
the persons who had aided them scarcely a moment before, occupied in
opening bureau drawers and taking all that came under their notice
These young men form bands, known as “Prairie Hens,” “Southwark
Rangers,” “Moyamensing Boys,” &c., are always ready for any lawless
deed, and engage with pleasure in any desperate undertaking, no matter
what, if there be the slightest chance of making anything. Thieves, rob-
bers and burglars are bad enough in all conscience, but these scamps go,
still further. They will do evil for the sheer love of mischief, and wher's
they do not make a cent by the transaction. A respectable French woman
who once kept a confectionery in the vicinity of one of the best known hose
houses in the city, was actually afraid to go out, so great was the crowd
commonly at the door, and so foul the language used when a female passed.
This picture has not been overdrawn, as many now in the city can testify.
But the evil does not stop here; the hose house is the centre of attraction
for all the boys in the neighborhood, and these youngsters, when driven out
by their elders, congregate in alleys and open lots, to the great annoyance
of all the passengers, commit petty depredations, stone houses, insult women
and in various ways are the torments of all the good people near them.
A lady, the widow of one of our most respectable citizens, frequently
crossed a lot to visit a relative, who resided about half a dozen squares
from her own dwelling. She was considerably alarmed at the incursions of
the lads, who were playing on a vacant lot, and represented the danger. A
shower of stones was the answer. The matter was reported to the Mayor,
who made the following reply: “Mr. , the boys in the city are more
troublesome, and occasion me more anxiety than any other part of my duty.
I do what I can, but it cannot be helped.” -
It is strange, but true, that the citizens have never been more taxed that
the pay of some of the city officials has been doubled, and yet there are
more disorder, vice and crime than twenty years ago. Where is the root
of the evil, and where the remedy? -
One thing is very plain, that the streets, by-lanes, and alleys of Philadel-
phia are infested by crowds of the most disorderly, wicked and ill-clad boys.
The slums of Paris, and the most wretched parts of London cannot produce
worse. These little urchents, some of whom have scarcely seen ten sum-
mers, are habituated to all forms of vice, and yet, strange as it may appear,
though there are public schools, for which a large sum is assessed on pro-
perty holders, these children are not sent, they are taught no trades, they
have no means, scarcely enough to pay the expenses of the hour; and then
the parents wonder that their children are so bad, when they have taken
no pains to make them better. The parents of these boys and girls have
no money, hold no real estate, and yet they will not profit by the advan:
tages placed at their disposal by the property holders, who are sorely tared
to pay for these schools, and who have frequently no one to send. The
Burd estate, formerly represented by Miss Burd, Mrs. Coxe, and Mr. E. S.
Burd, all three childless, paid, in the course of about twenty years, a large
sum to the city, and yet those who should have jumped at the opportunity
so presented, neglect and utterly slight it; thence arises an ignorant and
vicious population, ready for all that is bad, and disregardless of all good.
The boys have a taste for luxuries, the girls for dress; the former soon
becomes thieves, the latter, if possible, do worse.
A celebrated English satirist produced a series of etchings entitled, “The

THE MURDER OF MRS. HILL. 59
bottle,” in which the downward path of an unhappy inebriate and his wife
were prophetically described, together with the wretched lot of the children
of this unfortunate pair; the boy was afterwards sent to the penal settle-
ments of Australia, and the girl died miserably. Such is too often the fate
of too many of the American youths of both sexes. -
A lady that kept a boarding house, was noted for her extreme indulgence
to her children, and some one asked -
“What Mrs. meant to do with her son?”
“She is educating him for the penitentiary,” was the reply; and the an-
swer was really not uncharitable, all the circumstances considered. The
main defect of the present day, is that those who are obliged to get their
bread by labor, consider it as disgraceful; such is the idea entertained by
many who can scarcely give their children clothes. The Germans who come
to the United States generally make money, because they have no extrava-
gant tastes, and can save.
The terrible tragedies which occur from time to time in our midst, shows
that that the public morals are exceedingly defective, and the trifling esti-
mate set upon human life is a mark of exceedingly imperfect civilization.
Judge Ludlow has repeatedly called the attention of the juries, both grand
and petit, to this matter, and has recently declared that when such parties
come before him, the full measure of the law shall be meted out to them ;
adding, at the same time, that he spoke the sentiments of his fellow judges.
We trust that the learned and upright magistrates who preside over the
Court of Quarter Sessions, will not have the opportunity of putting their
intentions into execution, but at the same time feel assured that if the oc-
casion present itself, the laws will be rigidly carried out. The recent elec-
tion frauds, and the attendant outrages, shows that there is an impelling
necessity for a faithful administration of the laws, and a strict regard for
the privileges of the citizen. “Might makes right,” seems to have been the
motto that some have adopted, and, singular as it may appear, they have
so far triumphed.
We will now proceed, in this connection, to mention a very celebrated
crime, and which, we trust, will serve as a beacon to warn the youth of this
community, and to impress on their minds the truth of what has been
quaintly uttered by an old Scotchman : “The de'il carries his own so far,
and then drops them.”
The city of Paris has long been known as the empress of fashion, and
arbitress of taste for the civilized world, but she has another and greater
claim. She is the centre of amusement, and, as such, crowds resort to the
French capital. This was particulary the case shortly after the empire was
established. All Europe, excepting England, with whom Napoleon was
constantly at war, flocked to the French capital, and Paris was the focus
of splendor and amusements of all kinds. This was further heightened by
the princes of all the Continental nations, who visited France to pay their
compliments to Napoleon. Trade was then languishing, and the Emperor
eommanded that his sisters, and the wives of his ministers, should give
weekly receptions, at which all the guests, both male and female, should
appear only in dresses of French manufacture. This was a salutary and
benevolent measure, and was so strictly carried out, that some English mus-
lins, known to have been intended for the Empress, were confiscated and
burned. The festivities of the season were, however, somewhat marred by
the sudden and unaccountable murders of several young men, who were
found dead in some of the streets, with a small discoloration on the right

60 THE MURDER OF MERS. HILL.
* 7, , , *** *
(84.3 - - --
ſº
temple, about the size of a franc piece. The number of these victims in-
creased, and all the efforts of the police were unsuccessful. Napoleon, who,
like Haroun Al Reschid, sometimes wandered abroad at night, in disguise,
with a single attendant, once stopped a moment at a fountain to drink, and
overheard the following conversation : -
“So another corpse was found last night.”
“Where 7” -
“In a little room near the Latin quarter.”
“Any blows 7"
“Not one, only a little mark near the temple "
“That's mighty queer, I tell you what, Catharine, the devil must have
broken loose; in all parts these bodies are found, and what's so strange
that they are all young men.”
“Madame,” said the emperor, advancing and pulling his hat more over
his forehead, “did you ever see any one of these corpse º'
“No, but my man did.”
“And what did he say ”
“That it was a handsome young man.”
“Odd,” murmured Berthier, who was the Emperor's companion.
The Emperor made no reply, but returned to the palace thoughtfully.
The next day the Minister of Police was summoned, and a strong, though
rather brief conversation ensued. Fouché was an arch dissembler, and
moved not a muscle; he left the presence of his imperial master, and sent
for Floteau, one of his employes, upon whom he chiefly relied, and stated
the matter.
The detective listened, and promised that the matter should be unvailed,
and in two weeks kept his word.
All these murders had been committed by a woman, and she adopted the
following plan: - -
Dressed in male attire, she would make the acquaintance of all the young
men she could, lure them to her lodgings, and then dispatch them with a
blow from a silver hammer. The culprit, Marie de Lostanges, was the
daughter of a respectable lawyer, from Bordeaux, who had been seduced,
and then deserted.
She had sworn vengeance on the whole sex, and took this method of
exterminating them.
The case attracted much attention, not only in Paris, but throughout the
empire, and a committee of medical men, who examined Marie de Lostanges,
declared that she was insane, and she was sent to a hospital, where she
remained till 1833, perfectly docile, but declaring that if she ever gained
her liberty, she would do the same. -
It was a singular fact that she had never committed robbery, and that on
the bodies of her victims, purses, and sometimes jewels to a large amount,
would be found untouched.
N.
*2222
- ſº º