The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-01-17
THE SWEET MANsLAUGHTER
CASE.
Trial of simon A. EOveitt fer the killing
of Leonard #. SWEET in Portland Sept.
30, 1871.
GOVERNMENT TESTIMONY.


street, from Exchange to India; knew L. +.
SWEET; saw him in Donnells doorway on the
night of September 10; there were perhaps a
half dozen around him; 1 was the firstpolice Of
ficer who arrived; did not see the quarrel
when / came the man was sitting up in the cor
ner of the doorway; his head was covered with
cloth; | lifted it and saw it was SWEET; went
after team; put him aboard and took him to
the station, and put him in a bed; DIR. Getchel
was then called; SWEET was unconscious and
breathing hard; it was about a quarter past 9
o'clock when l found Swett l picked up Mr.
Swett's hat near the stone post; it was an old
black felt hat, and in the centre of it was a
dent as if produced by blow from some weap-
on; knew it was Mr.. Swett's hat because
had seen him wear it; don't know where it is
now; the dent was very near the centre, but
little crosswise.
Cross Eramined-I was called that night by
Messrs. Coggins and Gould; l was near the
Stafford Block; was there all the time the bell
was ringing for nine and little before; heard
the bell ring for nine; it was % minutes to ten
when got the man on the bed; have never
stated that was unable to tell what time it
was; have talked with Mr. Decelle about the
time but once, and this within week; it was
when the case was before the grand jury; did
not talk about it at the time of the Coroner's
inquest never talked with the little girls; don't
know any such man as Webster; l started in
mediately for the place after L was called; the
carriage was gone for as soon as possible; as
soon as the horse was harnessed l went for
SWEET; put him on board and carried him to
the station; when returned it was about five
minutes of ten; did not see Loveitt during the
night.
Mdtha A. Fogg teStifed-Didn't notice wheth-
er SWEET had on hat or not; [ saw Mr.. Reilly
bring hat for one of the men but d.dno no
tice what kind of hat it was =
Benjamin Gribben teStifed-Am member of
the police department; knew Leonard +. SWEET;
saw him the night he was killed at about II
o'clock at the station; he died at quarter of 2;
was with him all the time; he was unconscious
all the time.
Charles S. Webster testifed-Live in Cape
Elizabeth and work in Portland; was here on
the 10Th of September; left G. p Kimbalps car
riage shop at quarter to nine o'clock; went
down Middle, Exchange, Fore, Pearl to Gus
tom House wharf; passed by Blake's shop;
went down on the sidewalk next to the Custom
House; went on to the wharf to take the boat;
know Loveitt by sight; couldn't swear that i
saw him that night / left the shop at quarter
of 8; this was about five minutes to nine: KIM
balls shop is on Preble street; two men were
standing at the post; Mr.. SWEET stood on the
Custom House side of the post back towards tn
Boston depot; he had his hand ON the post; did
not know SWEET by sight; the other man stood
right side against the post; both wore black
clothes; could not tell whether they wore hats
or caps; whether they had any glazed clothing
or not; don't know whether they had on jackets
or long coats; L stopped about twenty-five feet
from the post after got by on Pearl street; /
was about quarter way across the road as l
approached them one asked for So, and the
other said, it was all right don't know which
asked for So; did not hear any other converse
ton; after he struck him 1 heard him call him
son of bitch; l heard blow and turned
round and saw man falling; he fell face first
with his hands by his side lengthwise of the
crossing with his head towards the Custom
House; his feet lay on the sidewalk up Fore
street; the man who struck the blow went down
Pearl street in back of Donnell's shop, peeped
round the corner, then went down to CONNER
cial and peeped round the corner, then went up
COMMERCIAL; didn't go back to the stone post at
all; could not see Foxen's doorstep from where
L stood; the man who struck, struck the man
who fell on the left side of the face; after he
struck him he stood there and called him a
damned son of btch;" he was looking to-
wards the man on the ground; he stood with
his back up Pearl street; he stood about four
feet from him; couldn't tell whether either man
had on hat or tall hat; didn't see the hat
fall; the man who struck the blow didn't stand
a quarter of a minute; he went up Commercial;
saw him go to the next street; don't know
what became of him then; / went right on to
wharf; L have stated all the conversation
heard; one man said give me So; the other said
it was all right 1 went over in the boat; the
boat left at 9 clock; heard the bell after /
got on the wharf, saw no other man after l
passed the corner; didn't notice whether there
were many persons on the street or not; / was
in hurry; saw the three girls as L passed
dlOuS saw uO Out dDOub Oldk6 y SIlOp.
DIR. French sworn-Reside in Portland; am
practicing physician and surgeon; knew Leon
ard f. SWEET; saw him in consultation with Dr.
Getchell Sept. q, 1871 there was post NOR
tenn examination afterwards; found him insen-
sible; breathing hard and stertorous, pulse rails
ed from one hundred to one hundred and forty
four;-sometimeS strOng-sometimes weak; the
breathing was labored, and as we turned him on
his back he seemed to stop breathing until we
became alarmed and turned him on his side;-
nUas alnca6. dc md Wiz
purple, darkest color about the lids; there
spot below the eye of brighter color than the
other spots on the face; the nose was broken
and bruised and there was bruise and swollen
spot over the right temple; the pupils were in
sensible to light didn't contract and open as
the pupils naturally do; he died at 81 O. clock
the post norton was held at II o'clock; we
discovered the right orbit some fractured; the
fracture involved the temporal bone and the or
bit and extended to the bones which are deep
seated in the skull, the bones which form the
floor of the brain; great deal of violence must
have been necessary to produce such a fracture;
the fracture involved the membrane which COW
ers the brain and ruptured artery that
the blood flowed over the entire upper surface
of the brain; there was no depression of the
skull where fractured; in my opinion the cause
OF his death Yves the pressure on the brain of
blood with the shock and injury had caused; if
a blood vessel is broken ON the surface of the
brain the escape of the blood will cause suffici-
ent pressure to produce insensibility; have no
doubt that the injury produced the rupture; an
injury like that might kill person almost i'm
mediately by the great shock. The impression
received at the post mortem was that the in
jury was received from some missile of length;
my idea was that some missile had struck the
skull a cross blow fracturing the temporal bone,
breaking the nose, and making the bruise on
the cheek in the same line; that it was done by
a blow; if the skin was broken, as it was, but
not extensively, my impression would be that
it was caused by heavy, round, smooth instru-
ment and of some length; / can't see how it
would be possible for any one to determine the
direction of the blow; if two men were stand
ing together, then might say how such a blow
might be given but could not exclude dozen
other ways; / should say that they stood lit
tie cornering; it would be difficult to give
blow of this kind if a man had fallen; my opin-
ion at the time was that the three points of in
jury about the head were all caused simultane-
ously or consecutively by one blow and if that
suppOsition be true, can hardly conceive how
such blow could have been given after the
man had fallen; l have been ON the premises
where the blow is said to have been struck; al
most anything is possible, but should not have
thought it probable that an injury of this kind
could have been received from fall; if a man
falls upon his face 1t cannot be determined
where he was struck absolutely, because a man
might be struck by sand bag on the back part
of his head and no evidence of the blow remain;
if man was struck on the back part of his head
there would be some sign of it probably; the alb
sence of such signs must make it probable that
the man was struck in the face; it is not I'M
usual for man struck in the face to fall on his
face the instrument used in this case must
have been long enough to cover the points and
give room for the hand, unless the bruise ON the
cheek could have been done by the knuckles
while holding the instrument; / couldn't say
that billy would be likely to cause the injury
these fatal accidents are the exception.
Cross Erdnlined-There was confused spot
on the right temple of SWEET just above the or
| bit of the right eye; have no recollection of
| there being bruise which involved the peri
| Uranium of the brain as if blow was given by
| the point of the instrument; there was bruise
above the orbit of the right eye, that was per-
fectly plain to the oaked eye; the blow which
caused death fell above the right eye near the
right temple, at least some part of it did; the
fracture extended entirely through the orbit
down towards the base of the skull the skull is
thick over the orbit of the eye; it broke both
tables of the SKULL the blow that produced
death might have been given by an instrument
like a Delaying pin; such a blow from such q
weapon would be likely to produce or might
produce just such an injury; the bone is thick
at the orbit of the eye, and then as you get near
| the temple grows thinner; there is an artery
| running over the temple; there was an artery
broken that blood flowed from when the skull
was fractured if the instrument had been
rough it seems as if we should have had more
| laceration of the surface, or if it had been an
angular instrument 1.-The blow was produced
| by round smooth instrument, in my opinion;
| the bruise on the cheek was more blood color
than that ON the forehead; 1 can't swear that
that bruise was produced at the same time as
that ON the forehead; it might have been pro-
duced by the knuekles at a still different time;
| it might have been piy6n hp the knuckles and