Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-07-31
THE OAKLAND MURDER TRIAL.
! Testimony Of the Wife in the Prindle
| Case.
[san Francisco Bulletin, July seth. !

| lSdil FRANCISCO Bulletin, July SUN
In the trial in Oakland of Henry f
Prindle, accused of the murder of Dr. n. L.
Buck, yesterday, the first witness for the
| defense was the wife of the defendant. She
is a very slight, delicate woman, and she
| had such light voice that she was given q
! seat by the jurv-box.
Several questions were asked her about
( her sickness and the attending physicians
DR.. Buck was first called TO attend her six
and one. half years ago. He came first in
! the stead of DR.. Pinkerton, the family
! physician, who was i'll when summoned
| Finally Mr.. Fox asked her if any improper
/ relations had existed between her and DR..
| Buck.
Strenuous objection was made by the
! prosecution to this kind of testimony. The
! District Attorney said that adultery is no
! justification for assassination, and the only
! testimony Of this kind admissible is the
! testimony of what she told her husband.
! That is admissible, because it may tend to
| show the condition of the defendants mind
! Judge Gibson reserved his decision until
| this morning.
! When the Court convened this morning,
I Judge Gibson sustained the objection and
/ the witness was then asked to relate what
I she told her husband concerning DIR. Buck S
actions, The witness said that the first
I revelation she had made to her husband
was on Easter Sunday last. She told him
! that she had something terrible to tell him.
He asked: What, mamma? ?" She re-
Piled; " Something about Or. Buck" He
! said; " What about Dr.. Buck" ! said
" have been bad with Dr. Buck That
day l could tell him no more Again a
few days after told him again that had
something to tell him of Dr. Buck-some-
thing worse than the Sharon case.
W hat more did you tell p asked Mr.
Fox
Il cannot tell said the little woman.
Do let me write it down. Do let me tell
/ it to one. | cannot tell it to so many
i" 1t is necessary for You yourself to tell
what you told your husband"
cannot. | shall have to tell what Dr.
Buck told me, because [ repeated that to
my husband. No one ever heard such
, things as DR.. Buck told me. Ineyer heard
such things. | cannot tell them
The condition of the witness was pitiful
She sat III char by the jury-box with
! buried head and weeping eyes. When she
did speak the voice was SO low that fire.
quently not even the official reporter of the
! Court. who was not two feet from the wit
| ness, could distinguish the words, and was
compelled to ask her to repeat her answers.
Her testimony came slowly, in fragments
with long intervals.
She described how she told her husband
of Dr. Bucks actions. Her husband asked
her if she had told anv one else She re-
piled that she had told Dr. Wythe The
reason for first telling Dr. Wythe was that
she was afraid of the threats of DR.. Buck,
who had told her that if she told her hus-
! band Of his actions lie would send her to
Stockton, and that lie would make her
husband believe her to be insane When
she first told her husband he said, - You
are crazy it can't be 50" The witness
then related the confessions she had made
to her husband in which she described the
actions and reported the words of Dr. Buck
In telling her husband of the first assault
of DR.. Buck she told him, according 20 her
testimony, that at that time she was in
Alameda recovering from a sickness. DR.
Buck was attending her One day he Sc
duced her against her will. Her husband
asked her why she had told DR.. Wythe
before she had told him. She replied that
she thought tumor had been caused by
operations that DR.. Buck performed, and
therefore she told him that DR.. Ruck Der
formed four operations and caused prema-
ture births. Three were DR.. Bucks own
children. The witness told that the con-
LESSONS caused her husband intense excite
ment and that he would hear but little at
uInV' ne "uui!i lt.Ne lue mousse ana
walk in the open air. One night when she
was telling him, he fell on the floor and lay
there for an hour. Then he went out of
the house and stayed away until very late
Then he returned and lay down on the
lounge, without removing his clothes
When the hour Of noon arrived Mrs.
Prindle had not concluded her testimony.
While his wife was testifying, the defend
ant was seated on the steps leading to the
Jadge's bench, ON the side OF the Court
room opposite to the witness-stand, in such
a position that he could not see the wit
ness. HIS deafness prevents his hearing
any of the questions or answers.