"Guilty of mur..."

The chief justice arrived first, then Prosecutor Smith, and finally J.G. Shipman, whose back yard abutted on the courthouse. The jury was summoned and filed in solemnly, indicating what the verdict was likely to be.

Titus was brought in last, looking very upset and evidently suspecting the worst.

The clerk of the court spoke: "Prisoner look on the jury; jury look on the prisoner. Gentleman, have you agred on a verdict?'

The jurors anwered in unison: "We have."

"Who shall say for you?"

"Our foreman."

The clerk now turned to Formeman James Lake, and asked: "Do you find the prisoner guilty or not guilty as charged in the indictments?"

Perhaps it was the awesome realziation that his next few words were going to bring about another person's death that made Lake nearly gag as he tried to get them out. He struggled to control his voice: "Guilty of mur..."

But the strain proved more than he could handle, and he paused, choking on the word with a sob, then finally blurting it out: "...murder in the first degree." He then collapsed into his seat.

Titus received the verdict wihout emotion, and Shipman demanded that the jury be polled. Some of the members seemed so overcome by the emotion of the moment that they could not utter the word "guilty," and simply nodded their heads.

The trial was over. Chief Justice Beasley discharged the jurors after thanking them for their service, and the prisoner was returned to the county jail to await sentencing.

Sullivan, Denis. In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case. Flemington, NJ: D.H. Moreau Books, 2000. ISBN 0-9662789-3-3

Titus' guilt was never established beyond reasonable doubt

Perhaps the emotional force of the crime and the need to call someone to account for it proved in the end more persuasive than either side's arguments.
A careful reading of the trial transcript supports the argument that Titus' guilt was never established beyond reasonable doubt. The state never proved that rape had been committed at the time and place alleged, let alone that Titus had committed it.

Consider this.

"Man's lust is a potent force," Prosecutor Henry S. Harris declared in the opening of a summation that went on to accuse Titus of sacrificing the life of Tillie Smith to it. Indeed lust is a potent force, but was thet state's position credible that Titus' lustful thoughts, evidenced by allegedly salacious remarks to Mead and others, foretold criminal activity? How many millions have made passing remarks of the same type and never followed them with an antisocial act? What minister has not had less-than-religious thoughts about a parishioner; what accountant has not considered embezzlement? Who can argue reasonably that the thought being the father of the deed extends, as a general rule, to crime?

Sullivan, Denis. In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case. Flemington, NJ: D.H. Moreau Books, 2000. Chapeter Eight, Page 124

James Titus: These are all the remarks that I desire to make.

My counsel have said in my defense all that can be said. But I wish to make one or two remarks for myself. I have to express my regret that upon my trial I was unfitted both mentally and physically to be a witness in my own behalf. I am of a low and despondent turn o fmind at all times and this feeling coupled with the close confinement to which I was subjected entirely broke me down both in mind and body.
Since my trial, owing to the kind and gracious treatment of the sheriff allowing me freely to walk out in the corridor of the jail, I have been much improved in mind and body. And now I wish here to protest, before this court and before the world, against the conduct of the jury that tried me.
They tried me in my absence and falsely convicted me of a crime of which I declare here and now in the presence of this court and my countrymen who now hear me that I am not guilty.
And I most humbly ask the court to spare my feelings by sentencing me in as few words as possible, as nothing the court can say about the crime of which I am convicted can apply to me, as I solemnly repeat that I am not guilty of it.
These are all the remarks that I desire to make.

Then, turning to the chief justice and calmly folding his arms, Titus said, "I am now ready to hear the judgment of the Court."

Sullivan, Denis. In Defence of Her Honor: The Tillie Smith Murder Case. Flemington, NJ: D.H. Moreau Books, 2000.

James Titus's Wife Died Before He Got Out of Prison

Click on image to read Nettie Titus' obituary.

• My Lover's Gone by Dido

Rebecca Titus Was a Good Mother

She taught her son how to live for 95 years.

Click on picture to read obituary for Mrs. Rebecca Titus.

James Titus Lost His Father to Suicide in 1872

Click on picture to read article.

James J. Titus (1857-1952) - R.I.P.

Who raped Tillie Smith?

Who raped Tillie Smith?
Who killed her?
It wasn't Janitor Titus.
Was it one person or two?
Where did they go?
Did they rape again?
Did they kill again?
Why doesn't this concern anyone?

The historical society sells T-shirts that say:
got ghosts?
It's a great fund-raiser.
Weird New Jersey sends "journalists" to Hackettstown
They pretend they are Ghostbusters.
They play with toys.
They have fun.
They even get on television.

But who raped Tillie Smith?
Who killed her?
It wasn't Janitor Titus.
Was it one person or two?
Where did they go?
Did they rape again?
Did they kill again?
Why doesn't this concern anyone?

-Erik B. Anderson