The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-06-25
ABLE SPEECHES ON BOTH SIDES.
The Prisoner Sent On.

A much larger crowd than on any pre-
vious day of the examination assembled
! in the county courthouse yesterday morn
! ing TO hear and see the conclusion OF the
great sensation which has for a week past
excited such profound interest in our com
munity. Quite a number Of females be-
! sides the witnesses were present, and
occupied seats within the bar or mingled
in the crowd, almost sutfocatcd by the
/ heat and pressure. The prisoner was
promptly brought in, and took his usual
seat, his countenance being hopeful and
cheerful after the rest Of Sabbath.
, Colonel Young opened the argument
, for the Commonwealth by rcmarking that
after the testimony which had now been
elected the work Of argument must be
merely 4 work of suPererogation. There
can bc no doubt of the course which this
court mus, take. ] must, however, briefly
state the grounds upon which | ask that
the prisoner he sent on for this offence.
That murder has been committed upon
the body found in Drinkers woods can
not be doubted 10y reasonable mind. y
piStol-Shot wound, though it did not Kill
sufficiently, showed that her life had been
attempted. Her nose was mashed,
her collar bone was broken, and the
body was bruised in various places
all these things can but prove that vio-
lence was used. The corpus deitCtt has
therefore been established. Who was this
party will next be asked. | now turn
back and trace the relations of the parties
from the time OF Phillips's presence as
sick soldier, and from the time at which he
piighted his troth at the altar to the day
of the tragedy in Drinkers woods. We
have proved the prisoners frequent sea-
sons of absence from his wife We have
traced him on his last visit to her,
and followed him from his departure
from Essex, on the 18th Of February,
to bis arrival in this city. Not one
syllable concerning the connection exist
ing between him and his legal wife had
ever escaped his lips to his relatives and
friends. On the contrary, he paid that
last visit under the false pretence OF visit
ing his grandmother. We find him on
the 10th and 18th of February at the Nlr-
ginia House then leaving that place to-
gether, they are afterward seen tOgether.
She is no more heard Of, and not one word
Of truth concerning the woman has been
heard from the prisoners lips. So far as
mortal eve could trace her, she was in the
company of the husband whom she had
sworn TO love and obey. No desire on her
part to leave him has been shown; but, on
the contrary, her affection has been proved
beyond doubt. She was a stranger here !;
he alone was her protector. They left
that house together, he not even pay
ing his bill; and nothing further IS
heard from the wife. Phillips is next
found writing letters to her relatives,
giving an account Of their trip, and
stating minutely their proceedings III
this city. They went TO church, said he,
three times on Sunday, spent Monday i'll
shopping, remained on Tuesday in Rich
mond, and then went TO live on DR.. Dor
sets farm upon which, in reality, the sole
of his foot has never been placed. We
have proved that the accused took Mrs.
Phillips's trunk from her mothers resi-
dencc, that he carried it in the night
10 the house of colored woman, with
instructions TO her to keep it. Weeks af-
ter, he sends for it, and it was in his pos
session when the arm of the law seized
upon him. When Mrs. Phillips left home
she had four dresses; of these three were
in her trunk, and pieces brought by her
SISTER arc IouHu 10 COITcSpobu Win 'HS '-i
exactly. The fourth she wore when she
met her death, and scraps exactly match
ing in figure aud texture the pieces cut
from the dress worn by the murdered wo-
man are brought by Miss Pitts from Essex.
The dress itself seems, by shameful negli-
gencc, to have been lost by the police au-
thorities of Richmond. Under-clothing,
however, and gloves are also identified be-
yond dispute, and breastpin helps to
prove the identity. Mrs. Phillips's hair
was remarkable in its appearance for lady
of her age, being trimmed in peculiar
manner. and the hair Of the murdered
woman answers exactly to this description,
If these facts, upon which l have not at
tempted to enlarge, do not prove identity,
il is difficult to conceive what would. The
links connecting the accused with his VIC
tim no ingenuity can evade-no declama-
ton can shattcr-no eloquence can de-
stroy. .,.;s.
But the proof of finding and identihca-
tion is not absolutely essential to convic,
ton. fStarkie on Evidence, vol: 2, 944.)
T, ,ho case of Parkman, as Is well known,