The body woman was not found, most rigid and tireless search failed to develop the slightest trace corpse, or the manner disposal The body woman had disappeared as completely it had vanished air

When counsel announced that he had closed People, the judge turned and looked gravely down at Mason "Sir," , "the evidence defense may now be introduced "

Randolph Mason arose slowly and faced the judge

"If your Honor please," , speaking slowly and distinctly, "the defendant has no evidence to offer " He paused while murmur of astonishment ran over the court room "But, if your Honor please," he continued, "I move jury be directed the prisoner not guilty "

The crowd stirred The counsel People smiled The judge looked sharply speaker over his glasses "On what ground ? " curtly

" ground," replied Mason, " corpus delicti proven "

"Ah ! " said the judge, for once losing his judicial gravity Mason sat down abruptly The senior counsel prosecution was feet in moment

"What ! " , "the gentleman bases his motion on failure to establish the corpus delicti ? Does he jest, or has he forgotten the evidence ? The term 'corpus delicti' is technical, and means the body crime, or the substantial fact that crime committed Does anyone doubt it in ? true that no one actually saw the prisoner kill the decedent, he has so successfully hidden the body found, but the powerful chain of circumstances, clear and close-linked, proving motive, the criminal agency, criminal act, is overwhelming

"The victim in is eve of making statement prove fatal prisoner The night statement made he goes to her residence They quarrel Her voice is heard, raised high greatest passion, denouncing him, and charging that murderer, that she evidence and will reveal it, that he shall be hanged, he rid of her motive crime, clear as light the bloody knife, the bloody dress, the bloody clothes prisoner, unimpeachable witnesses criminal act ? The criminal agency prisoner the shadow of possibility to obscure it His motive is gigantic The blood on him, despair when arrested, cry 'Murder ! murder ! ' with thousand tongues

"Men may lie, but circumstances cannot The thousand hopes and fears and passions of men may delude, or bias the witness Yet beyond the human mind to conceive that clear, complete chain of concatenated circumstances in error Hence greatest jurists have declared that such evidence, being rarely liable to delusion or fraud, is safest and most powerful The machinery of human justice cannot guard against the remote and improbable doubt The inference is persistent affairs of men only means the human mind reaches the truth forbid the jury to exercise it, you bid them work after first striking off their hands Rule out the irresistible inference, end of justice is come land; and leave the spider to weave his web abandoned court room "

The attorney stopped, looked down at Mason with pompous sneer, and retired place table The judge sat thoughtful and motionless The jurymen leaned forward in their seats

"If your Honor please," said Mason, rising, " matter of law, plain, clear, and settled State of New York that even counsel People should know it The question Honor is simple corpus delicti, the body crime, proven, as required laws commonwealth, then should go jury , then duty Court to direct the jury the prisoner not guilty here no room for judicial discretion Your Honor has but to recall and apply the rigid rule announced by our courts prescribing distinctly how the corpus delicti in murder proven

"The prisoner here stands charged highest crime The law demands, first, crime, as fact, be established The fact victim is indeed dead must first be made certain before anyone convicted for her killing, because, as there remains the remotest doubt death, there no certainty criminal agent, although the circumstantial evidence indicating the guilt accused positive, complete, and utterly irresistible In murder, the corpus delicti, or body crime, is composed of two elements:

"Death,

"The criminal agency of another means

fixed and immutable law State, laid down leading case of Ruloff v The People, and binding Court, that both components corpus delicti established by circumstantial evidence direct proof of one or the other two component elements corpus delicti If one is proven by direct evidence, the other presumed; but both presumed from circumstances, no matter how powerful, how cogent, or how completely overwhelming the circumstances In other words, no man convicted of murder State of New York, unless the body victim be found and identified, or there be direct proof prisoner did some act adequate death, and did it account disappearance body "

The face judge cleared and grew hard The members bar were attentive and alert; they were beginning the legal escape open up The audience were puzzled; yet understand Mason turned counsel People His ugly face was bitter with contempt

"For three days," ," tortured useless and expensive farce If counsel People play-actors, known beginning that Victor Ancona convicted for murder, unless he were confronted court room with living witness, who had looked dead face of Nina San Croix; or, that, living witness who had seen him drive the dagger into her bosom

"I care not circumstantial evidence in were so strong and irresistible be overpowering; judge bench, jury, if every man within sound voice, were convinced guilt prisoner degree of certainty absolute; circumstantial evidence left mind no shadow remotest improbable doubt; yet, absence eyewitness, this prisoner punished, and this Court must compel the jury to acquit him "

The audience now understood, were dumfounded Surely not the law They taught law was common sense, and this,-- anything else

Mason saw it all, and grinned "In its tenderness," he sneered, "the law shields the innocent The good law of New York reaches out its hand and lifts the prisoner clutches fierce jury hang him "

Mason sat down The room was silent The jurymen looked at in amazement The counsel People arose His face was white with anger, and incredulous

"Your Honor," , "this doctrine is monstrous Can it be said that, to evade punishment, the murderer has only to hide or destroy the body victim, or sink it sea ? Then, if seen to kill, the law is powerless murderer can snap his finger face of retributive justice If law, then the law highest crime is dead letter The great commonwealth winks at murder and invites every man to kill his enemy, provided he kill him in secret and hide him I repeat, your Honor,"--the man's voice was now loud and angry and rang court room--" doctrine is monstrous ! "

"So said Best, and Story, and many another," muttered Mason, " law remained "

"The Court," said the judge, abruptly, "desires no further argument "

The counsel People resumed his seat His face lighted up with triumph The Court was going to sustain him

The judge turned and looked down jury grave, and spoke with deliberate emphasis