St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1871-07-07
Examination Of John .. 1d0na!
for tie Murder Of Il. Franklin
RdHddH.

Chadwick and \. Nj. Johnson of thi:
place. States attorney G. ii. Davis
and ii. c. Bcl,len appeared for the pros,
ecution. and T. n. Davis and A. Nj
Dickey for the defense.
The Indictment set forth that on the
2Sth of June, at GrOton, the sad Adams
'assaultcd. cut, thrust and stabbed the
said Randall, 50 that he died. The first
witness called by the prosecution was
Dr. S. T, BrookS.-IIad practiced
medicine 20 years, Was called TO Gro,
ton last Thursday, and made post NOR
TEN examination of b. f. Randall
Was assisted by DrS. Eastman and
Browne Removed the clothing, and
discovered nothing unusual about the
body exccp. two wounds in the left
breast about four inches from the breast
bone. The wounds were very similar 2:
firmly closed. There was no discolora,
ton or indication of violence about the
wounds. On opening the chest and re-
moving the skin we found beneath and
directly under the skin quantity of CO.
aguatcd blood. The wounds could be
distinctly traced through all the tissues
and fbrcs. The sack that enclosed the
heart was covered with a clot Of blood.
The upper wound penetrated this sack,
but the lower one did not The sack
was found much diStcnded with blood,
some of it coagnlatcd, but most OF it in
a fluid state. There was about eight
ounces OF blood in the sack. On being
empticd ont, the upper wound was found
to extend into the apex of the heart, the
cut being nearly half an inch in width
The wounds were made upward, back
ward. and inward, cutting the muscles
and tissues tranSvcrscly. We JUDGED the
wounds to he about three inches deep ::
they were about ! inches apart. The
left ventriclc of the heart. We cXamin-
cd lungs, liver and stomach, but found
40 disease about any of the organs. The
cause of death was this upper wound into
the cavity of the heart. The amount of
blood lost would rot necessarily have
proved fatal hut 81 much blood. and
that partly coagulatrd, in the heart sack,
caused death The lower wound MIGHT
not necessarily have proved fatal.
Grass EnmnCd 10y Mr. Dickcy.-Thc
upper wound was inch wide ON the
cuticlc; the lower one ] inch wide.
Both were probably made by tLc same
instrument. In the lower wound the in
strument evidently struck the edge of the
rib. The upper wound was the deepest
thought tie lower wound would have
reached the heart if made deep enough,
perhaps not. In the lower wound the
instrument struck the heart sack leaving
Il mark. The Gu, on outside of heart
was , inch wide. The point OF the in
strument entered the heart cavity had
it gone half an inch further would have
struck the opposite wall of the heart.
Deceased had the appearance OF Icing Il
muscular man. Wounds in the heart
used TO be considered Immediately fatal,
but it is now pretty well established that
very much depends upon the kind OF
wound, and the place i'll the heart. In
cised wounds upon the left vcn:riclc OF
the heart are not so soon fatal a. upon
the right. The muscles upon the left
side are thicker than ON tho right, and
wounds upon the right are moe imme-
diatcly fatal. If the cot Is obliquc.
death does not follow 50 quick as il di-
rect. The point Of the wound at the
cavity of the heart was : inch higher up
than at the outside The clothing would
not take ! inch of the distance the wound
traycrsed The ,utirle was clean cut ::
could not say whether the instrument
had one or two edges. The hilt OF the
instrument could not have cone INTO the
wound, as it would most likely have torn
the skin or flesh. The instrument must
have been quite pointed so as to cut both
ways at the point, Understood that de-
ceased lived Is hours after rrcc;yin. tho
wounds.
The doctor was here shown the knife
given up by Mr.. Adams after his arrest
Question: Could the wounds you
saw have been made with that knife
Answer: think they MIGHT Such 4
knife a. shown would not he likely t,
tear the skin. The clothing of deceased
was here shown and examined by wit
ness. A straight thrust would not have
made so wide Il cut in the vest. Cut
might have been widcned in withdraw
inc the knife. Would most likely be
blood status upon the knife If this in
strumcnt was the one used it must have
extended into the cavity of the heart one
fourth inch.
DR.. II. S. Ero"m-Was present and
helped at the post norton examination
OF Il. +. Randall. Witness here read
the following minutes taken at the time
Was present and assisted at the exam
nation of the body of benjamin f. Ran
dali. The body had the appearance oil
man about iOrtyivc years of age OF
tolerably full and strong habit Mea-
sured > feet 8 inches in height and had
the look Of one who had died while in
full health. No marks of violence upon
the body The body after having been
denuded of lis clothing disclose ! the
presence Of two punctured wounds evi-
IDENTIFY made with some sharp pointed in.
strumcnt. They were upon the left
side in what is called the cardiac re-
gion of the chest. They were to the left
OF the middle line Of the body inches,
on line with and about three inchc:
below the left nipple, between the 7tl
and 10th ribs, about y inches apart
The upper wound measured externally
in ITS longest diameter : of an inch. TIC
lower one measured ] inch. We Their
proceeded TO remove the stcrnum, skin
and that portion of the soft parts cover
inrc tho Sitn Of lntI .......I L, -,