Coyle Acquitted — Absent Witnesses

New York, 1895

John Coyle, of Jamaica, who was indicted for setting fire to the house occupied by John Reese on Willow street, Jamaica, last June, was tried in the court of sessions on Wednesday and acquitted. He was defended by Judge Weller.

This is the same case where William Morrell and his wife, both respectable people, positively testified on the examination that they knew Coyle well, and that from their window they saw him actually light the fire against the side of the building. One of the remarkable things of this trial is that Mrs. Morrell was not examined as a witness. She was not even subpoenaed. Chips and kerosene were found on the step of the house, where one fire was started, and some sticks were found at the side of the house where a fire was also started. Thomas Reese occupied the house. On the trial William E. Kavanagh, Chris Prinz and John Fitzgerald testified to Coyle's good character. Coyle is mighty fortunate.


Force Lost His Diamond Pin

Alexander Force, of Jamaica, had a fight with a stranger on the Fulton ferryboat Fulton at a late hour on Tuesday night. The next night he reported to the police that immediately after the fight he missed his diamond studded horseshoe scarf pin worth $100. He thinks the pugnacious stranger stole it.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, March 15, 1895, p. 8.