OCR Text |
Show A Puzzle in Jurisprudence. A very singular case has occupied the attention of the Court in Hocking county Ohio, during the last week. It was an effort to determine who are the lawful heirs to an estate, the owners of which were murdered. The important point to settle was which ot the three murdered mur-dered persons died first. A man suspected suspect-ed of being the murderer was arrested, tried.-nd -convicted on circumstantial circumstan-tial evidence, and sentenced to the penitentiary, for life, and died there without imparting any information on the subject of the crime for which he was convicted, and as the real estate had to be disposed of according to the laws of the State, the . necessity became impera- w ij Anree I1"801" were murdered Mr. Weldon, Mrs. McCiurg (his sister), and her daughter, Mrs. Hite. If Mr. Weldon died- first his estate would descend to Mrs. McClurg; if she died next her own and her inherited 'property would go to her daughter, Mrs. Hite, and from her to her nearest of kin on her father's side ; but if Mrs. McCiurg and her daughter died before Mr. Weldon, the latter would inherit the property. The case demanded the close attention of the court for a full week, and ended by the jury finding that Mr. Weldon died first and Mrs. Hite last, hence she inherited her mother's property.-- 1 1 |