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Show HE MAY JU IXNOCENT! Ah Alleged Confession In tlie Mystrlous llaldwiu Murder. Atchison, Kan., April 12. On tho night of July 7. 1883. Mary Baldwin was chloroformed to death in her bed in this city. Suspicion centered on her brother William, and the coroner's jury charged him witli tho crime. Ho w as arrested, and in the following November No-vember was found guilty in tho district dis-trict ourt. Judge David Martin sentenced sen-tenced hiin to be hung, which, in Kansas, Kan-sas, means life imprisonment. In January Jan-uary he was taken to tho penitentiary, where ho now is. The evidence against Baldwin was not of tho most positive character, . but the jury regarded it as sufficient to convict. 1'ublio sentiment sen-timent ran bight against Baldwin. Tho easo became celebrated, and it was discussed in all the law publications publica-tions aud many prominent newspapers In the country. Tho verdict was con-, con-, demned by all those as not sustained by the evidence. Tho case was taken to the supremo court of Kansas, and finally final-ly to tho supremo court of tho United States, but tho decision of tho district court was sustained. Tho mother and wife of tho condemned man sought every aid to secure another trial, and are said to havo interested their kinsman,' kins-man,' ex-1'ostmaster General James of Now York in Baldwin's behalf. The matter is now before tho state board of pardons. t Interest in the case is revived by an alleged confession by onoMorgan Artor, a criminal in jail at Quiucy, J 11 . This confession has boon received here, which says that Baldwin is innocent; that a dead pal of Arter's committed the crimo for the purposo of robbery. It is believed here that the Quiucy case is the old Stakesberry story, which was told soon after Baldwin was convicted. Stakesberry was a burglar, and bis wife told that he had confessed to her that ho was the murderer of Miss Baldwin, Bald-win, his object being to rob the house of $7000 and some diamonds, which he believed be-lieved it contained. She gave a detailed statement of Stakesberry' s confession, confes-sion, but nothing ever camo of it. No effort was made to arrest Stakesberry, though he was in St. Louis and his whereabouts were known. It is believed be-lieved that tho dead pal of Arter was Stakesberry, or possibly Arter is Stakesberry Stakes-berry himself. On Fobruary 6, 1880, Peter Stakesberry wrote to his wife, I who had meanwhile obtained a divorce, from Quincy, Bis., asking her to soud ihim a valise. Ho had changed bis name to Teter Stakes. The parties who believed that Stakesberry chloroformed Mary Baldwin now say that the Quincy dispatch probably refers to Peter Btakesberry, and that investigation will reveal that ho has confessed to tho burglary bur-glary of tho Baldwin houso on that night. |