December
30, 1905 – At 3 p.m. today, Stella Brennan was found guilty of
murder in the second degree for the shooting deaths of three of her
stepchildren, Elizabeth, Alice and Arthur. The jury was out for 20 hours after
listening to close to two weeks of testimony.
She will not hang, but must suffer imprisonment for life; a sentence expected
due to Mrs. Brennan’s testimony that a doctor had recently examined her while
she was in the county jail, and affirmed that she was in a “delicate
condition.”
In response to County Attorney Al J. Smith’s rapid volley of questions, Mrs.
Brennan also stated that:
• Contradictory to the information in their Chicago divorce records and
testimony of several prosecution
witnesses, she testified that she had
no problem with the children; her problem
was with her husband’s
drinking;
• She had previously suffered four miscarriages;
• While married to Mr. Brennan and living in Chicago, she had attempted to
commit suicide by turning on the gas; her stepson
Tommy had discovered
her and saved her life;
• The reason she and her husband brought the children to an orphanage in
Chicago was so that the children could be taken care
of while she went to
visit her family for two weeks.
The defendant and her attorney, E. S. Cary, came into court with an unusual
defense: she did not kill Elizabeth Brennan, and if she did kill her, it was
when she was insane and not responsible for her acts. What?!
Drs. Williams, Bartlett and Clark were sworn in and
testified that Mrs. Brennan is and was at the time of the murder, in a delicate
condition; second, that if she committed the horrendous crime of which she is
accused, she was, in their opinion, insane. On cross-examination, however, each
of the experts testified that she is sane now, that she now knows the
difference between right and wrong and that she may have known the difference
when she committed the crime. Another
what?!
“Do you assume that the defendant did murder these children?” Smith asked Dr.
Clark.
“Yes,” Dr. Clark replied.
Dr. Bartlett, a specialist in nervous diseases and for years connected with
insane hospitals, told the courtroom he believed the defendant committed the
crime and was insane at the time.
The defense attorney also pulled a Johnnie Cochran. Cary gave Mrs. Brennan the
revolver admitted into evidence, and asked her to pull the trigger. She first
tried with the left hand, and couldn’t do it. Then she tried with her right
hand; again, she couldn’t do it. Lastly, she tried using both hands, but the
result was the same. (If she cannot
shoot, you must give her the boot?)
Mrs. Brennan continued to stress that she saw a man at the end of her bed, and
that he was the one who had shot her. Apparently the jury did not believe that
anyone else was in their rooms with a gun but her.
Expecting to be acquitted, Mrs. Brennan burst into sobs at the announcement of
the verdict; one of the rare times during the trial she had shown any emotion.
Stella Brennan entering Stillwater Prison
Stella Brennan was sentenced to the State penitentiary for life. “Until the establishment of the Shakopee State Reformatory for Women (1920) the Stillwater prison received female as well as male convicts.”1
1http://libguides.mnhs.org/content.php?pid=483891&sid=3966450
Murder of three Brennan children while they slept; oldest son and stepmother shot; see Nov. 4, 2015 blog
Stella Brennan indicted by coroner’s jury for murder of stepdaughter; see Nov. 9, 2015 blog
Stella Brennan indicted by Hennepin County grand jury for murder of her three stepchildren; see Nov. 21, 2015 blog
County Attorney outlines the state’s theory of the Stella Brennan murder case in his opening statement; see Dec. 19, 2015 blog
Stella
Brennan spends Christmas in hospital room of the Hennepin County Jail; see Dec. 25, 2015 blog
Minneapolis
Tribune; “Five Jurors. Lawyers Succeed in Securing Half of
Jury in the Brennan Murder Case. Prejudice Against Death Stops Many. New Panel
of One Hundred Men Is Drawn in Attempt to Complete Jury. Woman Tried For Her
Life Is Not Nervous. Mrs. Brennan Chats With Matron and Reporters and Expects
To Be Acquitted.”; Dec. 19, 1905; p. 6.
Minneapolis Journal; “Outlines
State’s Murder Theory. County Attorney Al. J. Smith Makes Opening Address. Says
State Will Show That There Was no Man on the Roof or in the Room and That Mrs.
Brennan Murdered Children Because of Her Jealous Hatred of Them.”; Dec. 20,
1905; p. 15.
Minneapolis Journal; “Mrs. Brennan
Gives Account of Tragedy. She Insists that Man Stood by Her Bed and Shot
Her—All the Evidence May Be In Today”; Dec. 27, 1905; pp. 1, 5.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune;
“Mrs. Stella Brennan is Visibly Agitated. Prisoner in Mysterious Case Changes
Color Rapidly While Lawrence Kennedy Is Giving His Testimony—Defense Takes Case
and Outlines Policy To Be Pursued in Proving Innocence. Expert Evidence Will Be
Heard During The Trial Held Today.”; Dec. 27, 1905; p. 1.
The Minneapolis Tribune; Mrs. Brennan
Struggles for Life Through Searching Court Inquiry. Prisoner Declares She Saw
Murderer. Mrs. Stella Brennan Accused of Killing Step Children Claims She Was
Startled on Night of Tragedy by Seeing Man on Shed Roof—When She Awakened Later
Man Shot Her. Husband Is Placed On Stand By The Defense.”; Dec. 28, 1905; p. 1.
Minneapolis Journal; “Insane If
Guilty, Say Doctors. Medical Men Testify as to Mrs. Brennan’s Condition—Case
Will Go to Jury Saturday.”; Dec. 28, 1905; p. 1.
The Minneapolis Morning Tribune;
“Suspense. Jury in Brennan Murder Case Retires to Form Verdict. Lawyers Occupy
the Entire Day. Judge Dickinson in Charge Allows Second Degree Conviction.
Prisoner Weeps At Father’s Name. Interest of Great Throng Continuous Until Jury
Finally Retires.”; Dec. 30, 1905; p. 1.
The Minneapolis Journal; EXTRA. Mrs.
Brennan Found Guilty. Murder in Second Degree Is Verdict of Jury in Sensational
Murder Trial—Maximum Penalty Is Life Imprisonment.”; Dec. 30, 1905; p. 1.
The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune; “Mrs. Brennan To Spend A
Lifetime In Prison. Jury at 3 O’clock Yesterday Afternoon Finds Prisoner Guilty
in the Second Degree Which Means Life Imprisonment—Convicted Woman Bursts Into
Tears As She Hears Her Fate. Jury’s Only Question Is Degree Of Crime.”; Dec.
31, 1905; p. 1.
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