St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1886-05-29
BROOKS DEFENCE.
The Alleged Murderer of O. A.
Preller at ST. Louis
Outlines His Defense to Local Reporter
He Admits Prellers Death at His
Hands, But Declares 1t Was q
Professional Accident.

trial of Hugh NJ. Brooks, alias Maxwell
which has just begun in this city, the
following statement, the first that the &C
cused has ever made, will be OF interest.
1t is made by an attache of local news
paper:
visited Hugh NJ Brooks. more widely
known as w. H. l.. Maxwell, in Jail yester-
day, as have frequently visited him in the
as calm, composed self possessed and self
reliant he was on the sunday morning
when he left the train at the Union Depot
after his long. tedious. and, might say, tri-
umphant trip from Auckland
He came from his cell with a more than
usually cheerful smile upon bis face, and
though he wore a new white straw nat,
which heightened the paeness of his com
pleXion and made a little more pronounced
TIE soft melancholy of his features, and the
effeminate delicacy of their outlines. he
still looked well, and was in all essentials
unchanged.
He is wearing his beard short cut, dow n
to almost the same proportions as he wore
1t during his stay at the Southern in Holy
Week of last year, and he tells me he looks
now very much as he looked then, that
the question of his personal Identification
by the attaches of the house and all who
came in contact with him at that time will
be rendered all the easier
If anything. Maxwell Is much improved
since his advent in st. Louis, not, perhaps,
v,
recognizable by the casual observer. He is
little more subdued in his speech and does
not run to ffipnancy and sarcasm as much as
he did in the first few weeks when he was
called upon to breast his earliest notoriety
de was always open, frank and unreserved
In his talk, and frequently in his converse
tions with me has to some extent disregard
ed the ban placed upon him, first by Napier,
his New Zealand attorney; next by Lawyer
Quincy in San Francisco and latterly by his
attorneys here, each of whom told him in
mo low hat iYnynn NV
guilty, his safety lay in silence.
In my opinion the great mistake of the
whole thins-after the crime, of course-was
made in accepting Napier's. advice. If 1t
hadn't been for this, and If Maxwell hadn't
come TO st. Louis committed to policy
which his Auckland attorney shaped for
Prefer would have been known long ago,
and the frghtful shadow that h IS hung over
the prisoner ever since might have been
lifted, or frightened at least.
Maxwell's explanation of the death of
Preller Is his only defense. That explanation
was made in writing to his attorneys,
Messrs. Martin and Fauntleroy, many months
ago. and Maxwell will go on the witness
stand and repeat it.
If he makes the statement on the stand in
the same candid, free and convincing
manner in which he made 1t to me, do not
see how it can fail to favorably impress the
jury.
He gave me the statement yesterday-not
IN its entirety-becanse he expected that his
lawyers would consent to give me the state
ment which he wrote for them-and 1t has
not differed materially from the impressions
/ gathered concerning his defense from all
the bits and shreds of facts that he gave me
on other occasions.
In giving it he said his desire all along hal
been to unburden himself to the public, and
allow his actions previous to and after the
crime to Substantiate his declarations. These
actions show that he neither premeditated
crime or tried to conceal one, for from the
moment of his arrival at the Southern Hotel
until his departure for San Francisco every
act and almost every word of his had been
the property of the public, and these acts
and these words form the strongest links in
the chain of circumstances which they have
forced to hold the culprit to his crime
"The only act" said Maxwell, "about
which there has been any doubt at all has
been the act of which l am now accused.
recognize now as much as anybody could
that made a mistake in withholding my
defense; but what could 1 do? l was here
alone in strange world, with no one to ad
wise me but my counsel. and followed the
advice they gave me, to the letter. Messrs.
Martin and Fauntleroy told me that should
rested. but as / had not done this. and rs
had been In st. Louis some days before they
had time to consult with me, had better
continue the policy which had started in
on and say nothing at all about my case"
believe this statement because Maxwell
mas told me over and over that he wanted to
ignore the advice of his lawyers and so the
public would be obliged to wait for the case
TO come to trial before learning the defense
Alter little talk of this kind yesterday
Nia&weil came to the conclusion that as til e
trial would begin to- day, it would be best to
say something about his defense, so he told
me in 50 many words that his attorneys
would not deny the identity of the remains.
st sIaxweii;s hands. ana insist that the
death was due to accident, arising from cir
which Preller had himself in.
rited.
Maxweil's honesty is reflected in the fol-
10, owing r letter which he gave me to hand to
'Ir. Fauntleroy for the purpose of having
Mr.. Fannteroy give me the written state. |
nent already referred to:
"FoUR COURTS. CITY. Mavl7.
SD. NJ. FAUNTLERoY: If you think it ad-
visa BILE to make the defense public, / shall |
be very glad if you will give the statement |
Jennings has beenvery friendly to us Some |
lime ago promised that would give him |
he defense when it was to be made. Under |
make the defense public Believe me, dear |
VII Very faithfully yours,
sap. H. Fauntleroy, Esq"
His sentiment and feelings in regard to |
he statement are fully set forth in the last |
sentence of his letter.
After receiving the letter, ana before de- |
parting from the Jail, Maxwell told me the
tory of the tragedy.
MI PrelIer," said he, not using exactly
ne language here attributed to him, but ex.
PRESSING these ideas: "Mr. Preller was suf
ering from private disease for which had
previously prescribed, mixing the medicines
myself from the bottles in the medicine case
carried with me; but his aiIment had
cached stage when it was necessary for
ne to make certain Investigations. | was
'hiiged to use catheter and in using
atheter when the parts were infiamed had
previously applied chloroform in order to
produce condition of narcotism fused
hloroform in this manner on a man
amed Harrison in Liverpool without
ny serious result. / explained the process
0 Alr. Preller and told him what l should
ave to do. He was not only willing, but
vas very anxious for me to treat him in this |
manner. During the day 1 purchased four
unces of chloroform, which was standing in
bottle on the edge of my washstand when
was washing some surgical instruments.
his washing of the instruments took place |
unday afternoon and was intended as a
PREPARATION for the operation In washing
be instruments l overturned the bottle of