Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-11-24
Washington County Court.
Hon. TIMOTHY P. REDF1ELD, Presiding Judge.
Hon JAMES COBURN. Assistant Judge
Hon PHILANDER R1FORD. AssistantJud ge.
MELVILLE f. SMILE, Clerk.
FRANK PLUMLEY, States Attorney.
JOHN l.. FUTILE sheriff.

Hon SS BAN nc GoBITR y AssistsntJndss
MELVILLE f. SMILE, Clerk
Franz PLuMLEY, states Attorney.
HENRY Ov1ATr, Stenographer.
The court began its session again Mon
day forenoon at IL O'Clock with Judge
Redfeld presiding. assisted by Judges
Riford and Coburn.
The case of the state vs.. Lucy Emeline
Meaker and Lewis Almon Meaker was
then called. Mr.. Frank Plumley and Hon.
w. P Dillingham; appeared for the prose-
cution and Mr.. G F. Palmer and Charles
II. Heath for the defence. When the clerk,
Mr.. Smile. read the Indictment, both
pleaded mot guilty" Mr.. Palmer then
asked for separate trials, and supported
his request by an eloquent argument. Mr..
Dillingham; replied and quoted several
parallel cases in which the court had ruled
against separate trials. After considering
the matter till the afternoon session.
Judge Redfeld reported that he should
require the mother and son to be tried to-
gether. The following gentlemen were
empanneled on the jury:
II. c. Hayward, Berlin; Henry L.
Kenyon, Northfield; Benjamin Wheeler,
Calais; E. I. Burnap, Cabot; A. H. Holt
Woodbury.; Daniel Holcourt. Marshtield;
Charles Cnrrrier, Barre; Josiah Holden.
Waitstield; Ira Stone, Plainfield; f. H.
Moore, Warren; John Patterson, Fayston,
and Hiram Templeton, East Montpelier.
After the Indictment had been read to
the jury by the clerk, and after short
consultation with young Meaker by his
counsel, Mr.. Palmer stated in his behalf
that he wished to relract his plea of not
guilty" and to plead guilty" Judge
Redfield then ordered the clerk to ask the
young man if he wished to retract his plea
of mot guilty" To this question he
answered that he did Then the question,
to this indictment now do you plead
guilty or not guilty." he replied, guilty"
Thus he takes punishment upon himself to
SDlelQ MS mOlneT-
THE PROSECUTION
was then opened by Mr.. Plumley, who
made to the jury short statement of the
testimony and the case. He was followed
by Mr.. Heath, who gave history of the
Meaker family. He denied that Alice, the
murdered girl, after she had come into the
family had been badly treated. He stated
that on the night of the murder she had
left the house with Almon for the APP
parent purpose of going to party. that
Mrs. Meaker did net leave home at all
that night, that she knew nothing in re-
gard to the murder and was entirely limo
cent of the crime.
The first witnesses called for the prose-
cution were DR.. Henry james and Dr..
Horace Fales, both of Waterbury. who
made the post morlem examination and
took out the stomach and other internal
organs of the body and sent them to Pro-
fe,sor Wtth+us at Burlington. Both tes-
tilted that the child was in good heath and
there were no natural causes OF de tth.
The court then adjourned till Tuesday
morning, when DR.. August Witlhaus OF
New York, professor of chemistry in the
university of Vermont, took the stand
He testified that he received stomach
and other internal org ms from Drs James
and Fats shortly after the murder was
found out He then went on to describe
the tests which he made and by means oil
which he discovered and obtained strych
nine from the parts Of the body which he
had He said that there could be no doubt
that the person formerly possessed Of
these organs must have died by beng
poisoned with strychnine. He then went
on to describe the effect produced on frog
by minute quantities injected under tht
skin, and then described the frlghtfu
sufferings undergone by person poisoned
with it. He stated that he had founc
traces of stry chime on the little pocelalr
cup which Alice had owned. aud iron
which it is claimed she swallowed the
fatal draught. Said he had made severa
analyses of parts Of the human system tt
detect poisons; that he had been AN exper
in several important cases
WILLIAM e. CARPENTER,
a DRUGGIST and crockery dealer of Water
bnry. testified that on the % of last April
in the evening, when it is claimed thu
murder took place, Almon Meaker came
into his store and purchased ten cents
worth of strychnine. 1t was in bottle
labeled, and containing twelve or fifteel
grains.
HARLEY l.. BATES,
who keeps livery stable at Waterbury
and Young man who worked for nm
then, named Henry King. testified tina
vouno Meakor came to the stable on TIL
evening of the 23d, about 8 O'Clock o
half-past, an hired II team. King test
fled that he brought it back about 4 o'cloc
the next morning,
THE NEXT WITNESS,
Charles Thompson, testified that he live
about mile and Il quarter south OF Wa
terbury village, in Waterbury, on the oil
stage road on Onion river; that he kne'
Almon Meaker; had known him for
year; that he saw him on the evening
the 2sd of April, going from Carpenter
towards Fulerton's store, and he saw mr.
again going home, the same evening
when he had Bates team; woman and