The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1867-06-21


j was with the cart when the dead body
was brought to our house. Phillips was
there short time after, If not at the time.
The murder was the principal subject of
conversation at the supper table, but do
not remember whether the accused took
part. / did not know that Phillips was
married, and had never heard him speak
about it. There was rumor to that eff.
feet. On Sunday, when he arrived at our
house, he went up Immediately to his bro
theirs room.
Mr.. Young: Whose brother
Colonel Johnson.-A brother of Mr..
Phillips married Mr.. Turner's sister.
Witness resumed: Phillips did not
bring his trunk down himself; but it was
brought down in cart by a negro boy
named Robert Bigger, who is employed by
my father. The cart was sent up to bring
down some -four, and the trunk was
brought back with the flour.
Cross-examined / did not notice any
popularity Of manner in the accused on
the day that the body was found. l had
never noticed anything suspicious about
the trunk until the day that the officers
came. Il had frequently seen it open on
Sunday morning. / neve1 saw the pri-
soner have pistol, and don't think that he
owned one. When the trunk was opened by
the oiiicersI saw but one piece Of female ap-
lparel. When / went in the room found no
one in there but Detective Knox and Jeter.
Phillips bad showed them the way to his
room. There was pistol in the room.
had loaded it long time before, but found,
before Jeter came to live with us in April,
that some Of the barrels had been fired off.
This was before the body of the woman
was found. asked who fired it, and Jeter
told me that he did. After this cleaned
it and put it in the desk in PhillipS's room.
1t was {" sx-shooter," or, as we called it,
a "pepper-boX."
George Turner, Sr., recalled: This pis-
tol had been about my house for nearly a
year, and was kept in an unlocked desk.
| never saw Jeter have it in his possession.
Miss Roxana Pitts recalled: My sister
wore when she left home gold breastpin.
Objected to by Mr.. Spalding, who ar
gued that the corpus delicti must be proved
before such evidence could be introduced.
Colonel Young thought the objection
hardly worth notice. He wished to show
first what the lady had on when she went
away, with a view of connecting her with
the dead body. The prisoners counsel
desired him to invert this order. He be-
lieved the objection to be utterly invalid.
Mr.. Johnson sustained the point made
by his associate in some extended remarks,
but tbc.COurt deciding against them,
Miss Pitts resumed: The breastpin was
Of plain gold with bunch Of fruit. The
catch had been broken and a needle had
been substituted for the pin. A little
pewter was also on the pin, where Phillips
had attempted t0mend it.
Randolph K. Pleasants sworn / was a
member Of the coroner's jury which sat
upon the body Of the woman found on
| Drinkers farm. ! took a plain gold
breaStpin from the body by direction of
Justice G. ID. Peasants, who acted as cor
oncr. ] came to Richmond with it, and
while in the city lost it. 1t was pldin
| qoM JJ'eastDn lcM BEACH, Of grapes upon
| Il. 9Hele tcoS urceNe nhcre tie pin ShoNid
bDre Jecn, uIla hole had been bored IN the
qod Jy the side OF tie PIN aRd there rere q
| Jiac drops Of iead on II.
Cross-eXamncd | agree with DR.. Far
rar in stating THAI the woman had proba-
! bly, been dead two Or three days when her
body was found. When ! first saw her
|
her to he about ffteen years of age, but
afterwards concluded that she must be
between t,genty and t'1enty.ice. think l
could recognize her dress it was a dark
calico. { A piece of Mrs. Phillips's dress
was here identified as Of the same material
as that worn by the deceased The body
was not swollen when first saw it. The
nose was bruised, if not broken, and the
face was bloody. There were finger marks
| upon the throat, and pistol wound was
| found on the head.
| Mrs. Jetor being sworn, testified
| that she was present when the dead body
| was brought to Richmond, and tore on a
piece of the dress. She also cut off lock
of the woman's hair, and preserved them
both. These were presented to the court,
and it was discovered that the piece OF the
dress corrcsponded exactly with the scrap
brought from home by Miss Pitts.
oss-examined / reside on Marshall
street in this city. / came down to see
the body because / understood that it was
the BODY of Miss Edwards, whom it did
greatly resemble. | thought when l
saw the corpse that it was the body
of Miss Edwards. The woman seemed to
be about twenty-siX years of age. Her
hair was cut short, especially behind. She
had a very well-formed hand, foot, and an
kfe. The lady did look something like
Miss Roxana Pitts, and very much like
Miss Jennie Edwards. Both of these Ia
dies were present. | don't know who the
lady was, but thought it was Jennie Ed
wards. | thought that she had Miss Ed
wardss hat. said at the time that she
had small foot like Jennie Edwards, but
did not recognize the shoes. ! thought
she had one piece of under-clothing like
Jennie Edwards's, as it was worked around
the collar with large notches. noticed
that she had on home. knit stockings, which
made me doubt whether it was Jennie Ed
wards.
Mrs. Mary Moore testified that she was
present in the jail-yard, and examined the
body of the murdered woman after 1t had
been brought to town. She, too, had clip
ned piece of the dress, and, producing 1t,
il was found to correspond with the other
scraps which we have described, and to
which the other witnesses had alluded.
Colonel Johnson desired it to be noticed
that all this testimony was received under
the continued protest of the counsel for
the. prisoner. He contended that before
anv Of this evidence should be heard the
connection of the prisoner with the muir
dered woman should be fully proved. His
guilty participation in the murder was the
question in issue, and it must be proved
that Jeter Phillips committed the deed.
Mrs. Moore's examination resumed
did not see the dress upon the body. The
woman was lying in the coffin, and her