A few minutes after Luigi entered without the
lantern, which he had left below in the stable, and although his sister
bade him good night he made no reply. As he entered the room his father
called to him, "A fine time of night to come home." "What then?" was the
only answer given by Luigi. "You have never been home since morning,"
went on the father. "What then?" was still the only answer. The father
then told the son to hold his tongue, and again received the same reply.
At last Venanzio, losing his temper, called out, "Be quiet, or I'll break
your head;" or, according to the story, "I'll murder you:" to which Luigi
only answered, "I may as well die to-day as to-morrow." After that there
was a short scuffle heard, and Venanzio suddenly cried out as if in pain,
"My God! my God!" The mother and daughter screamed for help, but by the
time the neighbours had come in with lights, Luigi had run off. Venanzio
was found reeling to and fro, with blood pouring from several wounds,
and, in spite of medical aid, he died in the course of a few hours.
Almost immediately after the commission of the crime Luigi was found by
the gendarmes in the cottage of an uncle, and arrested on the spot.
These, as far as I can learn from the very confused documents before me,
are all the facts admitted without question; or, more strictly speaking,
which the Government states to have been unquestioned.
Pages:
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59