Trial
The trial, at its time, was as notorious as the O.J. Simpson trial was in the 1990s and was accompanied by a media circus akin to such trials today. A reputed 8,000 people tried to cram into the church for the funeral and Cunningham reportedly threw herself dramatically on Burdell's casket.
During the first evening of the Coroner's investigation, on January 31, 1857, Mrs. Cunningham produced a certificate of marriage revealing that she and Dr. Burdell had been married on October 28, 1856. This gave the prosecutor a suspected motive for murder, for as wife, she would inherit his fortune. Dr. Burdell's estate was estimated at $100,000, which included the townhouse where he was murdered, and various other real estate. All the members of the household, including servants and Emma Cunningham and her family were placed under house arrest by Coroner Edward Connery, as was custom at the time. After a fourteen day Coroner's Investigation, which took place in the parlor of 31 Bond Street, the case was delivered to a Grand Jury where Emma Cunningham was indicted for the murder of Dr. Burdell. She was placed in jail awaiting her trial. The top defense attorney, Henry Lauren Clinton, represented Emma Cunningham. The New York City District Attorney, Abraham Oakey Hall was the prosecutor. Hall later became Mayor of New York City in 1869.
At the murder Trial, which began in May, 1857, there was much testimony from all sides. Emma Cunningham did not testify at her trial. One of Burdell's maids testified that she had called him a bad man who was not fit to live. A man named John Eckels, a boarder at the home of Dr. Burdell, was labeled an accessory to the murder, but testimony to his actions was not heard during the trial of Emma Cunningham. Also, all testimony to the marriage certificate was not heard, as its validity was being tested in the Surrogate's Court. Burdell's widely known unsavory reputation made accusation against Cunningham difficult for the prosecutor to make credible. On May 9, 1857, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty and Cunningham was free to go.
Read more about this topic: Emma Cunningham
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—Bible: Hebrew, Job 9:32-33.
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—Lucy Stone (1818–1893)