1939-12-15 — Page 21

THE CHINA MAIL, DECEMBER 15, 1939

TO-DAY'S STRANGE STORY OF REAL PEOPLE

THE CASE OF GUILELMA SANDS

BY

VANCE WYNN

ONE of the most famous and per- plexing of America's murder mysteries came to light in the en- virons of New York City during Christmas week, 1799..

of

Ellis Ring, a Quaker, and his wife, Catharine, dwelt in a farmhouse oc- cupying the site of what later be- eame the Franklin St. Station the 9th Avenue elevated railroad. Living with them as boarders were Mrs. Ring's sister, Hope Sands; her cousin, Guilelma Sands, and Levi Weeks, a master carpenter.

The Sands girls had come to the Ring farm early in the Autumn, and within three weeks after their ar- rival, Guilelma, a maiden of ravish- ing beauty, had embarked upon a love affair with Weeks. As he was a young man of excellent prospects, brother of the owner of the City Hotel, on Broadway, the Rings did not 'discourage his attentions their pretty cousin.

to

On the night of December 29, Guilelma announced to Mrs. Ring that she and Weeks contemplated being married privately that night. the Weeks, who had gone out of

ȧt house after

supper, returned about 8, at which time Mrs. Ring on going upstairs found Guilelma dressed, ready to go out. Returning to the lower floor, Mrs. Ring then found Weeks standing in the entry, but without disturbing him she went into the sitting room. A moment later she heard someone descend the stairs, after which the front door was opened and closed: upon, Mrs. Ring ran to the door and looked out. As there were many people passing, she could not dis- tinguish Guilelma or Weeks among them.

There-

At 10 o'clock that evening, Weeks returned to his boarding house, Mrs. Ring was still up and he asked her if Guilelma had gone to bed. Mrs. Ring replied that her young cousin had gone out and had not returned, whereupon Weeks expressed his sur- prise that she had stayed out so late. Mrs. Ring said that Guilelma had not gone out alone and in reply to Weeks' inquiry as to whom she had gone with the Quaker housewife exclaimed:

the

"Indeed, Levi, to tell thee truth, I believe she went out with thee."

"If she had gone out with me," answered Weeks, "she would have come in with me."

Mrs. Ring sat up almost through- out the remainder of the night, but Guilelma Sands did not return. Weeks, who shared her vigil, seem- ed, as she described it, unnatural and moody. Indeed, at one time he broke down and cried out that if Guilelma did not appear and clear him he was a ruined man.

According to the testimony of someone who claimed to have seen her, Guilelma entered a sleigh when she left the Ring house, and that was all that was known as to her departure from her home. Chan- cellor Ferris of the New York Uni- versity, writing to a historian in 1861, said:

"An old aunt of mine, who knew her (Guilelma Sands) well and who saw her on the night of the fatal sleigh ride when she was just ready to step into the sleigh, always spoke of her as the most lovely creature she ever saw, and especially fascin- ating at that moment."

A few days after Guilelma's dis- appearance her muff was found in

the lonely Lispenard meadow in a

PENON

"Gentlemen," here

18

redi

,"

A coroner's

6, jury on January found that the young woman had come to her death at the hands of a person or persons unknown, but the public clamoured for vengeance,

was the only and, as Weeks whose name could possibly be link- ed with that of the beautiful vic- tim, he was arrested and brought to trial.

one

A

the body post-mortem upon showed that there was no physical reason why Miss Sands should have desired to end her life or why rid Weeks should have wished to himself of

the her. Moreover, young man bore an excellent repu- tation for propriety and sobriety of conduct, and Miss Sands had, im- mediately before her disappearance, been in an unusually cheerful mood that offset any suspicion of a quar- rel between her and her lover:

These points were brought out at Weeks' trial which began on March 31, 1800, in the old City Hall. It was one of the most famous crim- inal trials in American history, and the chief actors were national - gures destined to contribute drama- tic incidents to the history of their country. The trial judge was Chief Justice Lansing, who was later to figure in one of the most sensation- al disappearance mysteries that ever stirred the metropolis; and the de-. fendant's counsel Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, who were soon afterward to fight their celebrated duel.

So great was the excitement dur- ing the trial that a volunteer guard of prominent citizens had to be formed to protect the accused while

verer!"

he was being conveyed between the. courthouse and the prison, and it is chronicled that the street outside the court was so crowded and the trial rooms so noisy that at times the court officers had to clear the neighbourhood before the hearing could go on.

There were witnesses who swore that Weeks had been at his brother house between. 8.30 and 10 o'clock on the night of the tragedy and that he had shown no undue excitement during the visit. According to one account, Aaron Burr saved Weeks by turning aside from his examina- tion of a witness, rushing up to an unknown spectator and, with a pair of lighted candles in his hand, exhibiting the latter's face with a shout:

LOOK

AT

THIS

VALUE

1

"Genticmér, here is the real mur-

derer!"

the

The effect of this dramatic inci- dent was the mysterious suspect's · flight "in virtual acknowledgment of his guilt.". When the prosecution closed its cast it was 2.30 in morning, and the judge, after re- fusing to permit adjournment until the trial was ended, charged the jury that from the evidence · prof- have fered Levi Weeks could not murdered Guilelmna Sands in the few minutes that he was away from the brother's house. The court then recommended a verdict of "not guilty" and the jury, after four minutes' deliberation, acquitted the defendant.

The 'murder was a favourite theme of historians and other scribes for many years after its occurrence. It afforded the plot of Theodore Fay's novel "Norman Leslie." Its solu- tion remains to-day as hopeless as it was more than a century ago.

LOCAL DOLLAR-

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The demand rate on the Hong Kong dollar to-day was 1/2-7/8.

Silver was quoted at 23-3/8 spot and 23-9/18 forward.

The London on New York Cross rate was quoted at £-U.S.$4.02 and New York on London at £-U.S.$3.98-5/8.

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well which the Manhattan Company Packed in double-

had dug to supply a part of New York City with water. On Jan-

uary 2, a search of the bottom of the well revealed Miss Sand's body,

and.

Her hat was off, her shoes stockings had been pulled from her the feet and her clothing above waist was torn. There were bruises and discolourations about her neck,

Now, York was thrown into an uproar by the discovery of the body,

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