The Lancaster Ledger

Indications are That Ella McCardell Murdered Her Husband.

In our last issue we gave Ella McCardell's version of how she killed her husband to save her own life. Developments at the inquest indicate that she murdered him, as will be seen from the following special to The News and Courier, sent from this place last Saturday:

"The testimony taken at the inquest held yesterday by Magistrate Caskey over the body of Thomas McCardell, who was killed by his wife, Ella McCardell, as already noted in this correspondence, raises at least a doubt as to the correctness of the woman's version of the homicide. She claims that she slew her husband in self defence, that he was slashing at her with a razor, when she picked up an axe and brained him.

There is no question as to the manner of the killing. The woman's own admissions, the crushed condition of her victim's skull and face and the bloody axe settle that point. But the officer who held the inquest and others who examined the premises where the killing occurred and heard the testimony incline to the opinion that, instead of the woman slaying her husband in order to save her own life she deliberately murdered him in bed and while he was asleep.

The body was found lying on the floor beside the bed, with the head partially under the bed-- in such position that the blows could not have been inflicted without striking the bed, 'and the latter shows no signs of having been struck' with the axe.

The bed clothes were disarranged and badly stained with blood. The supposition is that after the man had been killed on the bed the body was dragged by the feet to the floor and in falling, the head and neck being limber, fell backward under the bed. A razor was lying loosely in one hand, as though it might have been placed there after death.

While so far as now known there were no eyewitnesses to the homicide, more than one person testified at the inquest to having heard the woman several occasions threaten to kill her husband. It was proven that they did not live happily together, each being jealous of the other. They had separated several times. A strong point in the woman's favor is that she made no attempt to conceal or evade the crime, but promptly came to town and voluntarily surrendered, candidly confessing that she did the killing. She could just as easily have disclaimed any knowledge of the affair.

Had she taken the ground that on her return home from a neighbor's house on that fateful morning she found the murdered body of her husband, it is doubtful whether the State would have ever been able to connect her with the crime.

Magistrate Caskey, acting coroner, had the body of McCardell photographed in two positions, as it was found lying on the floor and reclining on the bed, where it was placed for the purpose."