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"The Roosa Murder.
The Trial of Samuel Coovert. The Alleged Murderer,” Cincinnati
(Ohio) Daily Enquirer, Friday, March 2, 1866, page 2 THE ROOSA MURDER Our readers can not forget the terrible tragedy near Deerfield, in Warren
County, Ohio on December 27, 1864, when was perpetrated the massacre of
Jessie Cousins, an old man of sixty years, of Alice
Bell, aged twelve; Francis aged nine and little
Harry, a babe of some two years, children of John
Roosa, a farmer in comfortable circumstances, so far as worldly
possessions were concerned. Of the attack on Mrs. Roosa, who miraculously
lives after so savage an assault, and the escape of little Nettie, the
child of seven years, our readers are already aware. The object of the
assassin, by every action it has been proven, was only that of robbery;
but, being recognized, most likely by the first of his victims, his work
of death began, and knew no ending until, as he believed, not one was
left to identify the hand which wrought the destruction. |
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| "The Roosa Murder.
Trial of Samuel Coovert. The Verdict," Western Star (Lebanon,
Ohio), Thursday, March 8, 1866. Transcription by Peter Jung on 12 July 2006 from copy obtained from file at the Warren County Genealogical Society The trial of Samuel Coovert for the murder of the Roosa family began on Thursday last. The particular of the horrible perpetration were published in the Star soon after the occurrence, but a brief statement of the astounding tragedy will not be improper at this time : A night of Horror. The murder was committed on the night of Monday, December 26, 1864 at the farm house of John W. Roosa, near Lebanon pike, about one mile north of Deerfield. Mr. Roosa, the head of the family, was confined in the Dayton Lunatic Asylum, and the occupants of the house were Mrs. Roosa and her four children – Alice Bell, aged fourteen; Frances, aged ten; Nettie, aged eight; and Harry, aged two – and an old hired man, Jesse Cousens – in all six persons, only two of whom, Mrs. Roosa and little Nettie, remain to recite the horrors of that appalling night. The family retired to bed about eight o’clock. The mother and two children, Frances and Harry, occupied a bed in one room; Nettie and Alice slept together in an adjoining chamber; and on a pallet, in the kitchen, slept the old man, Cousens. In a short time they were all sleeping soundly, unconscious of the bloody scene impending. Some time in the night, perhaps about twelve o’clock, a man entered
the dwelling and commenced the work of murder. When the world was enshrouded
in the stillness and the darkness of the midnight hour, this fiend, in
his shirt sleeves, with blood-shot and distended eyes, a dim light in
one hand and a dull hatchet in the other, proceeded form room to room,
killing human beings with a deliberation and a wicked stoicism seldom
equaled in the annals of crime. The man then went to Mrs. Roosa, who was sleeping soundly, and gave her a blow on the head which deprived her of consciousness. He then buried the hatchet in little Harry’s head, and gave Frances a number of ferocious strokes. Harry died during the night; Frances survived a few days. The room next visited was that in which slept Alice and Nettie. Alice said – “there’s someone in the house.” Nettie responded – “be still or he might come in and hurt us.” The man entered the room and asked about the money in the house. Alice arose and went with him to another room. She pleaded for her life, saying she would give him “anything in the world” if he would spare her. Nettie heard him answer – “I hate to kill you, but I must do it,” and then came the dull, crushing sound of the hatchet’s blows. The murderer again went to Mrs. Roosa, when a struggle between the two took place. The fiend used his hatchet fiercely, and, supposing his victim to be dead, he left her and passed out of the house through an open window, ordering Nettie, as he went, to hide, or he would kill her too. There, through the long remaining hours of that awful night, little, timid, affrighted Nettie kept the lone watch with the dead and dying in that bloody house, and when the first rays of the morning light came she ran to the nearest house for help. Arrests Charles Keever was arrested on suspicion, but he was acquitted upon positive proof of alibi. For a time Samuel Coovert maintained a cheerful appearance in public, but upon the acquittal of Keever he manifested signs of great excitement. He gave to several persons what he stated was a confession of the murder, by David Hicks, a saloon-keeper of Cincinnati. Hicks was arrested, but he was immediately released. It was found that the story of Coovert was a fabrication from the beginning to end, whereupon he was arrested, tried for perjury and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a term of five years. His strange conduct induced many to believe that he was the murderer. The grand jury indicted him in February, and on Wednesday of week before last he was brought to Lebanon to be put upon trial. Impaneling a Jury. On Thursday morning the attendance was very large, and the closest attention was given to all the proceedings. Of the thirty-six jurors summoned only eleven were found who had not formed such an opinion as would bias their minds in deciding in reference to the guild or innocence of the accused from the testimony produced. To secure the twelfth juror a call was made upon the bystanders, from whom, but not until late in the afternoon, John D. Williams was chosen. The jury stood as follows: The Attorneys. The Prisoner. Samuel Coovert is a low, heavy-set man. He is apparently about twenty-five years of age. His hair and complexion are light, and his face is smooth-shaven. His eyes are dark blue and sunken, and there is something in their appearance which indicates a desperate character. In other respects, he is not an unusually bad-looking man. He appeared in court in a faded suit of gray. He gave very close attention to the occurrences around him, though he did not appear to be particularly concerned. Witnesses for the State. The examination of the witnesses for the Sate was commenced on Thursday
evening. We can only give some of the more striking points of evidence. Cross Examination – As soon as the man discovered that the first blow had not killed her he came at her again, when she endeavored to wrest the hatchet from him and fell upon the floor. Could not understand the words of the murderer to Alice. The man was in his shirt sleeves with a vest buttoned up. When Coovert was brought into her presence it was impressed upon her mind that he might be the murderer. Nettie Roosa. – Am nine years old. Understand the character of an oath. Remember the night when Alice was killed. The man came into the room with a hatchet in one hand and a lamp in the other. Asked Alice about the money and dragged her out of bed. Did not know the man. He had light hair and red mustache. When I saw Coovert in jail he looked more like the man than he does now. He then wore a mustache; he dos not now. Cross Examined – Mother was on the floor but I helped her to get on the bed. Frances was dead near mother’s door. Gave Jesse some water before he died. Saw the man but a moment. Had not thought Keever was the man. Had not thought Showard was the man. Coovert looks more like the man. Allison Scott. – Nettie came to my house the morning after the murder. It was about seven o’clock. Went to the house. Sent for medical aid. Dr. Scoville. – Was called after the murder. Found fourteen wounds on the head of Mrs. Roosa. Little Harry was killed by a blow to the head. The appearance of the room was beyond description. Ellison Snook. – Found the hatchet near the bed in which slept Alice and Nettie, where was left by the murderer. John Cooper. – Found a handkerchief on the morning of the murder in the walk leading through the garden. Harrison McNeal. – Lived in Middletown in December, 1864. Coovert lived with him. Saw Coovert on the evening of the murder. Did not see him at the place he usually frequented after supper. Coovert was not at home at nine o’clock. Did not know whether he was at home that night. Saw him next morning at six o’clock. His eyes were swollen. Covert told him of the murder at nine o’clock on Tuesday morning. Said he had been on a spree. On Thursday at dinner we commenced reading an account of the murder, when Coovert got up and left the table. He did no eat any dinner on Tuesday and was not at work that day. There was talk of blood on his clothes, but he said it was blood from a wound he received in cutting ice. I am positive that Coovert told me of the murder in Middletown on the morning after the occurrence. He had been out all that night. Cross Examined. – Am not mistaken as to the time at which Coovert told me of the murder. It was on Tuesday morning the day after the murder. Heard some one speak of blood on Coovert’s clothes. Matthew Hepting. – Was carrying on a carpenter shop in Middletown in December, 1864. McNeal told me of the murder at Deerfield before any papers reached Middletown. Tomas McClure. – Lived in Middletown. A horse there had been ridden on the night of the murder. The handkerchief exhibited in court formerly belonged to Coovert. Cross Examined. – Saw Coovert use the handkerchief if wiping oil off the machinery in the shop where he worked. David Fish. – Lived in Middletown in December, 1864. McNeal told of the murder I think on Tuesday morning. Said his brother-in-law Coovert had just come from Deerfield. Samuel Funk. – Resided in Middletown in December, 1864. Was to go with Coovert to a ball on Monday night. Coovert did not come. Told me afterwards that he had been that night to a ball at Morrowtown. The day after the murder I took a drink with Coovert when he asked for my handkerchief saying he had lost his. John McMakin – Heard Coovert say he was going to a party on Monday night, December 26. When speaking of the murder of the Roosa family he was very much excited. James C. Dynes. – Live in Morrow. Did not know of any ball there on the night of Monday, December 26, 1864. John Keever, Oliver B. Drake and Esquire Munce, all testified that Coovert stated to them that he knew who the murderer was. Drs. Owen and Scoville testified in regard to the nature of Mrs. Roosa’s wounds, showing that the must have been inflicted by a left-handed man. Miss Mary Shafer.—Lived in Middletown in December, 1864. Heard Coovert tell about the murder at seven o’clock on the morning after it occurred. He gave the names and number of persons killed and the kind of weapon used. Heard this at McNeal’s house. John Keever.—Saw Coovert on January 1, 1865. Told me he could release my son as he was innocent. He said he could prove the murderer a man named Hicks. He was very nervous and excited when he spoke to me. Said he would follow me for ninety-nine years if I divulged what he had told me. Esquire Munce.—Coovert came to my office soon after the murder. Was much excited. Said if Keever was released he would swear out a warrant against Hicks. Was very much excited and swore that he would follow me for seven years if I turned against him. E. Braden .—Came to Lebanon from a ball at Middletown on the morning of Tuesday after the murder. Arrived at Lebanon about five o’clock. Met a man on horseback near Monroe going towards Middletown. John Van Note.—Was the Braden coming home from Middletown on the morning after the murder. Met a man riding a dark horse. Witnesses for the Defense. Mrs. Catherine McCue.—Lived at the house next to McNeal’s in Middletown. Saw Coovert at McNeal’s on Monday night, the time of the murder. Coovert went up stairs to bed, saying he had worked hard all day. Was there next morning. Heard Coovert ask his sister for a clean shirt. Cross Examined.—Heard McNeal say Coovert was not at home on the night of the murder. Mrs. McNeal asked me several times if I did not know that Coovert was at home on that Monday night. Heard Mrs. McNeal say to Coovert, “Be careful Sam.” Mrs. McNeal.—Coovert is my brother. He was in my house on Monday night. At twelve o’clock the whistle of the paper mill blew, and I heard him call to my son, telling him to get up. He ate breakfast with us next morning. There is not a word of truth in the testimony of the Shafer girl. She was not in my house on Tuesday. There were no garments hanging by my stove drying on Tuesday morning. The first I heard of the murder was on the next Thursday. Cross Examined.—Sam went to bed about eleven o’clock on Monday night. I was well acquainted with the Roosa family. Don’t remember that I said before the Grand Jury that IO heard of the murder on Tuesday. James McNeal.—On the night of Monday I was at home. Uncle Sam. Went to bed between ten and eleven o’clock. He slept with me that night. I know he did, because when the whistle sounded for twelve o’clock he called to me. Never saw him with a red handkerchief. Never saw any washing done on Tuesday. Never knew Miss Shafer to be at our house early in the morning. Uncle Sam. Carried a white handkerchief. Mrs. Patterson—Miss Shafer told me about four weeks about that she would go before the Grand Jury and testify what she knew about the murder. On Tuesday morning, after the murder, Mrs. McNeal was at my house from six to nine o’clock. Mr. Cunningham told me there was a man over at Lebanon who would give me $200 if I would swear positively that Coovert committed the murder. Miss Shafer read to me the evidence which she intended to give in court. Cross Examined.—It was about six o’clock on the morning of Tuesday when Mrs. McNeal came to my house. We talked about the Roosa murder. We talked about family affairs. We did not talk about the Roosa murder. The best of witnesses will get bothered. Mary Shafer Recalled. Mary Shafer.—Question by Prosecutor—State
if, on Tuesday morning after the murder, when you went to Mrs. McNeal’s
house, you had any conversation with Mrs. McNeal respecting the murder;
if so, what was the conversation – before Coovert came into the
room. The Close of the Testimony. The testimony closed on Monday afternoon about three o’clock. During the three days taken up in the examination of the witnesses, the court room was continually crowded, and all the proceedings were noticed with intense interest. Links in the Chain of Circumstantial Evidence against Coovert. Mrs. Roosa testified that Coovert very much resembled the man who committed
the murder. Coovert was cheerful in public until after the discharge of Keever, when he grew anxious and swore out a false warrant against David Hicks, of Cincinnati, charging him with murder. Coovert mad an arrangement with the gentleman to attend a ball in Middletown on Monday night, the time of the murder. He did not meet his friend that night—did not attend the ball in Middletown—and when questioned afterwards in reference to the matter he said that he went, that night, to a ball at Morrow. It was shown in the testimony that there was no ball at Morrow on Monday night, December 26. In December, 1864, Coovert lived in Middletown with his brother-in-law, Harrison McNeal, who married Coovert’s sister. Mary Shafer testified, that on Tuesday morning, after the murder, about seven o’clock, she went to McNeal’s, where she saw Coovert, who told her the circumstances of the murder—the number of person killed, their names, the weapon used, etc. This was at seven o’clock on the morning after the murder, in Middletown, eighteen miles from Deerfield. It was held that no one, except Coovert, could take the intelligence to Middletown before seven o’clock, because Nettie did not leave home until six o’clock, on the morning after the murder, to inform the neighbors of the transaction. Several person from Middletown testified that Harrison McNeal—who learned the intelligence form his brother-in-law, Coovert—told of the murder on Tuesday morning about eight o’clock. Parties coming to Lebanon from Middletown on the morning after the murder, met a man on horseback about four o’clock, riding at great speed. One of McNeal’s sons stated that his father had nothing to do with the murder, but that his “Uncle Sam”---meaning Coovert--committed the crime. Evidence for the Defense. The chief points in the evidence for the defense are these: Mrs. McNeal and two or her sons testified that Coovert slept in their house the whole night of the murder—that he did not use a red silk handkerchief—the Miss Shafer was not at their house on the day after the murder—and that Coovert did not say anything about the murder at that time. The Arguments. Mr. Sage opened the argument for the prosecution on Monday afternoon. Mr. Thompson followed for the defense in the evening of the same day. Mr. O’Neall continued the argument for the defense on Tuesday forenoon, and on Tuesday afternoon Mr. Sage closed for the State. Judge Smith delivered his charge about five o’clock on Tuesday afternoon, and at seven in the evening the jury retired. The Verdict. The ringing of the Court House bell at half-part four o’clock
on Wednesday morning indicated that the jury, after a whole night of deliberation,
had come to a conclusion. In thirty minutes after the ringing of the bell
the Court Room was filled with anxious spectators. The Judge took his
seat, the prisoner was brought in, and the jurymen slowly filed into their
places. If ever there was a picture of deep-settled anxiety—anxiety
preying upon the very vitals of existence-it was depicted in the countenance
of Coovert, as with gaze and expression unearthly he listened intently
to hear the simple word that should settle his fate. His sister, Mrs.
McNeal, who had watched with him from the beginning of the trial with
the vigilance of a tigeress protecting her young from some threatening
danger, was at his side with her arms around his neck. In the breathless
suspense of the audience, in answer to a question from the Judge, Mr.
Randall, foreman, announced, coolly and solemnly, that the jury had found
the defendant “GUILTY.” With the discharge of the jury, and an order remanding the prisoner to jail, the Judge adjourned the court until half-past eight o’clock. The Prisoner Not Sentenced. The prisoner was not sentenced yesterday, and probably will not be for several weeks. The court adjourned to some day in April. |
This page created 12 July 2006 and last updated
10 August, 2013
© 2006 Arne H Trelvik
All rights reserved