Show A PECULIAR CASE MISS mies MITCHELL of memphis tenn who murdered her friend and companion pan toli freda ward was declared insane by a jury j ury in the shelby county criminal court on the alt the verdict does not absolve miss mitchell from trial at a future time should she be declared sana eane the question a at issue was her sanity at the time of the ana not at the time she killed miss ward the law prohibits the prosecution of uny any person not of sound mind for any of feuse hence by reason of the insanity of miss mitchell bell the indictment against her for murder stands until she is pronounced sane the story of this remarkable case dates back to january last when alto alice mitchell murdered her friend freda ward on one of the principal streets of memphis both young ladies were fairly educated and both were of good parentage the former was twenty years of age the latter only eighteen the friendship between the girls originated at school miss mitchell Mito hell was a pronounced character impulsive and sanguine miss mies ward was modest retiring and even timid by her force of character the mitchell Mito hell girl assumed a sort eort of protectorate over her weaker sister the girls became inseparable so 89 that at school the teacher endeavored to disrupt the ano I 1 elation but failed in 1890 both girls left school mlee miss ward going home to arkansas and miss min mitchell Ml going to her father place in memphis they corresponded and the letters which passed between them savored more of the feeling and sentiment of opposite sex lovers than of two young school 80 hool girls in 1891 alke alice mitchell visited freda ward in arkansas the intimacy ey of school days day was again renewed miss min ward brother noticed the peculiar character of the mitchell girl he saw that she became insanely jealous when his bis sis ter conversed or joked with any male person young or old single or married he spoke to his bis stater slater about the strange conduct cond act of miss min mitchell Mito hell and advised er to sever her associate on with her it appears that during the time of their intimacy it was agreed that they should get married min mies mitchell assuming the role of bridegroom whether the ward girl entered into the scheme merely as a sort of romance or in earnest was not clearly shown however she accepted an engagement ga ring from miss mitchell bell and wore WO re it in the usual way this ring she subsequently returned to the donor after the arkansas Ark anaas visit the as asso socia oia tion between the girls was entirely sundered miss ward when visiting memphis ignored her former corn coin panion who resented the abandonment with almost insane fury on january last laet miss ward and her sister visited v memphis miss misa mitchell learned of their presence in town she took a buggy called on a young lady named johnson and asked her to ride they went howardi the river miss mine mitchell telling her that ab sher wanted to say goodbye good bye to the ward girls who were to depart on the arkansas steamer miss misa mitchell when she saw the wards left her buggy drawing a raz raar r from beneath her bar cloak she attacked the girls the sister retaliated with an umbrella but a slash from the razor soon disabled her miss mitchell then pursued freda fda and catching her struck her three times with the keen edged weapon laying her throat open MIS ward bled to death arrest followed the caie attracted the wildest attention learned doctors of all the sciences have since written about it and among the germin german medical specialists it Is still a subject of curious consideration ever since the time of the terrible tragedy miss mitchell bell has been in jail during the trial nothing was developed beyond the fact that she cherished an insane love for miss ward a aid id finding that the latter did diw not reciprocate her love murdered her by reason of pure jealousy and rage such attachments are not love but ebullitions of irrational passion and disordered sentimentality |