Judge's Son on Trial for Murder

Main Street, Warriors Mark, circa 1900.

 

The quiet little Huntingdon County village of Warriors Mark, situated about seven miles northeast of Tyrone, was shocked by news of a cold-blooded murder on May 28, 1885. It was on this spring afternoon when James Irwin, Jacob Harpster and Jack Laporte-- son of Huntingdon County associate judge John Laporte--left their jobs on the Shoenberger Mines Railroad. After spending a short time in the village, the three men left for their respective homes, but, after traveling a short distance, Irwin and Laporte returned to Warriors Mark. Harpster continued home alone.

Irwin and Laporte remained in town to indulge in strong drink, roaming from tavern to tavern until they reached Chamberlain's Hotel. Chamberlain, upon observing their drunken condition, refused to serve them. The two men responded by throwing rocks at the door and screaming insults. At around eight o'clock they left the village. In the vicinity of the railroad culvert they were met by several men who observed their intoxicated condition. Twenty minutes later, as John Burket was walking home, he made a horrible discovery at the edge of an embankment about three hundred and fifty yards east of the culvert-- the body of a man with his head crushed to a bloody pulp.

Burket immediately spread the alarm to the nearest neighbors, Abednego Anderson and Mrs. Weaver, whose homes were across the road from the culvert, and before long the entire community was astir. The Altoona Tribune reported the condition of the body as it was found at the scene: His head was crushed in from the front and his brains were oozing out. The nose was smashed and the jaws crushed, and the throat cut from ear to ear. In fact, his head was almost severed from his body.

Next to body lay the small, round bloody boulder which had been used to crush the victim's skull. The body was promptly identified as that of 28-year-old John Irwin. Though Irwin was a big, muscular man known for his remarkable strength, the ground showed no signs whatsoever of a struggle. Death must have come quickly and unexpectedly. 

After the body had been identified and taken to Chamberlain's Hotel for the inquest, a jury was empaneled by the local justice of the peace, Samuel Ralston. After the jury viewed the body and the crime scene, the following verdict was rendered: That James Irwin came to his death by foul play, and the wounds on his head were produced by a stone, and his throat had been cut by some sharp instrument producing death instantly, between 9 and 10 o'clock p.m., May 28, 1885, on the roadside leading from Warriorsmark to Huntingdon Furnace, between one-eighth and one-fourth of a mile southeast of the railroad bridge, and that the jury is of the opinion that the said James Irwin came to his death at the hands of Jack Laporte or Jacob Harpster, or both.

Warrants were issued for the two suspects. Laporte could not be found, but Constable Ganoe apprehended Jacob Harpster in the vicinity of Wilson's ore bank. He was given a hearing before Squire Ralston but released for lack of evidence. Harpster had an alibi; he was at the barn of Mrs. Sarah Patterson when the killing occurred. He could not provide any reason why Laporte should want to murder Irwin. As far as he knew, they were the best of friends.

Surrenders to Father

Jack Laporte surrendered himself to his own father at 6:30 on Friday evening at his brother's house at the headwaters of Spruce Creek, about five miles from the murder scene. Judge Laporte, in the company of neighbors, took his 25-year-old son back to Warriors Mark for a hearing and then to the Huntingdon jail, where he would remain to await trial. 

Born and raised in Spruce Creek Valley, the accused killer had been an alcoholic from an early age. Years earlier he had been employed at John Kegel's clothing store at Tyrone, but was fired because of his frequent absences due to his love for strong drink. After several months of unemployment he obtained work as a fireman on the narrow-gauge railroad serving the Shoenberger Mine. According to those he worked with, Laporte was looked upon as being "not altogether sound as to his mental faculties." Perhaps for this reason he never married or was known to have any romantic entanglements.
James Irwin, the victim, was also said by colleagues to have been an inveterate drunk. He lived at Colerain Forge with his widowed mother and had held a variety of jobs during his adulthood, none of which lasted very long. Like Laporte, he, too, was unmarried. His funeral was held on Saturday afternoon, June 6, at Warriors Mark.

The Trial of Jack Laporte

While Laporte languished in jail, investigators searched for clues to bolster their case against the judge's son. In August, a bloodstained pocketknife was found in a hay field near the scene of the murder and identified as one owned by Laporte. Armed with the two weapons used to snuff out the life of James Irwin, prosecutors were confident in their ability to secure a conviction.

At ten o'clock on the morning of September 16, the prisoner was brought into court by Deputy Sheriff Garrettson. Judge Laporte, who was on the bench that day, put down his gavel and recused himself, taking a seat by his son's side. Judge Furst presided over the trial. The defendant was represented by Honorable R.M. Speer, Major Petrikin and M.M. McNeil. Laporte appeared bored during the selection of jurors, sitting still with his arms crossed and his attorneys discussed the case. Representing the commonwealth was prosecutor Isaac Woomer and District Attorney Orlady, assisted by attorney H.H. Waite. 

After three hours the jury had been selected and court was in recess until two o'clock. District Attorney Orlady opened the case with a concise but forcible speech. The first witness, a Spruce Creek surveyor named John Lytle, provided a map of the murder scene. Next, John Burket testified about the discovery of Irwin's body, followed by blacksmith John Beck's account of the murder scene. Beck had measured the distance from the body to the road, and found that it was five feet. He also collected the victim's cap, a piece of suspender, and the bloody stone, which he gave to the coroner. He then spent several hours searching for the blade which had been used to slash Irwin's throat, but was unsuccessful. It was the next witness, Tyrone farmer John Funk, who found the knife, a single-bladed barlow knife, in his father's hay field in July 10, approximately 104 feet from where Irwin's body had been found. Professor W.H. Herrick of State College testified that he had performed a variety of chemical and microscopic tests on the blood from the knife blade and suspenders and found them to be the same. Following the professor's testimony, court was adjourned until morning.

The courtroom was packed when the trial resumed on the morning of September 17. Jack Laporte appeared considerably pale and haggard from lack of sleep. He fidgeted restlessly as the district attorney recalled his expert witness, Professor Herrick, whose testimony was bolstered by that of a colleague, Dr. William Frear, who explained, in layman's terms, the various techniques used in blood analysis. The commonwealth's next witness, Dr. A.B. Brumbaugh, was regarded an an expert in chemistry and the use of the microscope. Brumbaugh had conducted his own tests and arrived at the same conclusion as Frear and Herrick.

 Court reconvened at two o'clock and testimony was provided by Shoenberger Mines storekeeper Peter Reed, who identified the suspenders as a pair he had sold to Laporte on May 26. William Weaver, who lived near the murder scene, testified that he was working on the public road (present-day Route 350) on the afteroon of the murder and saw Irwin, Laporte, Harpster and S.W. Lee in a small meadow near the road. He saw Laporte drinking from Irwin's bottle of whiskey before the men continued on foot to Warriors Mark. Later that evening Weaver heard two men quarreling outside, but didn't recognize the voices. Soon afterward a buggy driven by Robert Henderson stopped at his door. "Come down, come down for Jesus' sake!" exclaimed Henderson. "There is a man lying outside with his throat cut!" Weaver then got dressed and went to the crime scene. Court was adjourned after Weaver's testimony until morning.

When court reconvened on the morning of September 18, Jack Laporte looked even worse than he had the previous day, as the realization of his dire predicament finally dawned on him. The first witness called was Abednego Anderson, who was familiar with both Irwin and Laporte. Anderson recalled how he was awakened by William Weaver, who told him that someone was dying on the side of the road. Anderson accompanied Weaver to the scene, where he struck a match and identified the victim was James Irwin. The next witness, S.W. Lee, was the man who had seen drinking in the meadow with Irwin, Laporte and Harpster. Lee struck a blow to the prosection by declaring that the knife found in the hay field was not the same one carried by Laporte on the night of the murder. According to Lee, Laporte's knife was much larger, with a white horn handle. Jacob Harpster was the next witness, and he testified that he had been with Irwin and Laporte in Warriors Mark until six o'clock, when they decided to walk down the road to the old railroad bridge and drink whiskey. Harpster then proceeded alone on his journey to the mines. Additional witnesses-- Aaron Woomer, William Kynch, James Spangler and Dorsey Patterson-- helped pin down the time of the murder. Court was then adjourned until September 20.

On the morning of September 20, the prosecution wrapped up its case. Laporte brightened considerably as his attorneys recalled and cross-examined witnesses who seemed to refute the claim that no struggle had taken place. These witnesses testified that they had seen Laporte with cuts and bruises on his face. Antis Ellis testified that he had seen the two men at Chamberlain's Hotel, and that Irwin was considerably more intoxicated than Laporte. However, Ellis identified the barlow knife as the one he had seen carried by Laporte when he encountered the two men earlier that evening at Mumberg's Shoe Shop.

Attorney Speer opened the case for the defense during the afternoon session. In his address to the jury, Speer said that his client had been born "under the taint of hereditary insanity", adding that Laporte's maternal grandmother was declared insane in 1813 and that she had died "a raving maniac" at Harrisburg State Hospital in 1872. Speer added that, on his client's paternal side, his grandmother was also insane and that his aunt had died in an insane asylum. One of Jack's brothers, Lemuel, had also gone insane and died six years later in the same institution. As a witness, Speer produced Samuel Jones, the brother of the defendant's mother, who provided a history of his family's mental illness. Jones crumbled under cross-examination, however, when District Attorney Orlady pointed out that Smith had three brothers who were of sound mind, while Jack Laporte had four brothers who were perfectly normal. Court was adjourned after Jones' testimony in order to allow jury members to attend church.

On the fifth day of the trial, Laporte looked like a man at death's doorstep. The Altoona Tribune remarked: The mortal dread which was so faithfully depicted on his countenance when court adjourned on Saturday evening had become intensified this morning into a look of absolute dejection and despair. He manifested no apparent interest in the proceedings, and it was noted that his attorneys did not seem particularly interested in their client. They did not look at him or speak to him; it was as if he were an inanimate object. Judge Laporte took the stand that afternoon and told the court of Lemuel's mental aberrations. he then rold how Jack seemed to be following in Lemuel's footsteps; he seemed disconnected from reality, disinterested in life in general. Jack's mother also testified, and said that she had noticed a large lump on his forehead and a cut on his lip after the murder.

The bright spot of the fifth day for the defense was the testimony of Dr. G.F. Ballantyne, who attended the prisoner in jail. The doctor said that Jack had a large bruise on his cheek and another on the left temple. The prisoner's right eye was blackened and his thrat scratched, as if by fingernails. This seemed to suggest that a struggle did take place, and that perhaps had killed James Irwin in self-defense.

Court resumed on September 22, with the commonwealth calling the first of twenty-five rebuttal witnesses. On September 24 the defense rested its case and the fate of Jack Laporte was left in the hands of the jury. At 8:30 p.m., after three hours of deliberation, the courthouse bell rang and the verdict was announced by Foreman Runkle. Jack Laporte was found guilty of murder in the second degree.

The Fate of Jack Laporte

On October 16, 1885, Laporte was sentenced to  a prison term of six years for the murder of James Irwin. Sheriff McAlevy of Huntingdon County transported him to the Western Penitentiary in Pittsburgh, and Laporte presented such a pitiable appearance that the sheriff didn't even bother to handcuff him. He lived a quiet life after his release from prison, and died in 1907 at the age of 50. 

Sources:
Altoona Tribune, June 4, 1885.
Altoona Tribune, Sept 24, 1885.
Somerset Herald, Sept. 30, 1885.
Harrisburg Telegraph, Oct. 16, 1885.