Description
This collection documents the 1858 trial of Preston S. Turley for the murder of his wife, Mary Susan Turley, in Charleston, Virginia. The manuscript portion contains eyewitness and forensic testimony detailing how Mary Susan went missing on a Thursday night and was later discovered in the Kanawha River with a cord around her neck and a fractured cheekbone. Witnesses including her brother, John W. West, and Dr. Summers provide accounts of the search for the body and the physical state of the deceased, while other community members testify to Preston Turley’s history of erratic behavior and "unsoundness of mind." The documents include Turley’s own reported statements to his father admitting knowledge of the crime and a log of the final arguments delivered by several attorneys on the last day of the proceedings. Accompanying these handwritten notes is a printed pamphlet titled Trial, Confession and Execution of Preston S. Turley, which contains a woodcut illustration of the defendant in a jail cell and provides a narrative account of his conviction and subsequent execution.
This entry shows only the cover of the published pamphlet; the complete item is in the collection.Date(s) of Creation
1858
