The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-10-20
THE VAN BAKER TRIAL
Tl,sTsstlr,ony Taken at Yesterdays Session
of the Court.

Tie Tel tlEioBy Taken Mt Yesterday : Session |
OF the Court.
In the Circuit Court at Wellsburg
yesterday, in the trial OF Van b. Baker
for the murder Of his mothef-in.law,
Mrs. Drusilla McWha, the first witness
was Daniel McCloud, who had n con-
yersation with Baker the second day
after the murder, when Baker said he
had read an account of the murder in
the morning papers and that he was
charged with the crime; said he was
ready to be arrested; did not fear lynch |
ing; could easily prove himself limo.
cent; the Sheriff walked away and we
sat down and talked it over; he told OF
three men renting the stables and three
others had rented the lot and paid ten
dollars, paying in n ffty-dollar bill
which his mother.in-law changed; b,
ker would have changed it, showing
$40, and his wife said her mother could
change it, and these men knew OF there
being 800 in the house and they had
had come back and killed the women
for the money. He also said he had
$3.50 stolen; detailed his trip to Han
liu's, and the visit of Mrs. Brown and
Mrs. Swearingen; Mrs. McWha had told
him OF shutting the door in the face OF
some one she thought to be railroad
paddles; he askedif my wife had helped
dress the bodies and wanted to know il
there were any marks on ELIAS body;
said he had only seen them us found them
in the house; conversation took place
about half past p. M; am n second
cousin OF Mrs. MCWha's; had another
conversation with him about three
weeks after he was put in Jail; he said
on the Tuesday evening OF the day Of
the discovery, three tramps had gone
to the Clifton brick yard and told OF the
murder and one OF them had said he
was afraid OF being suspected because
they had first told OF it; he said, "I'll
tell you who it was did 1t; it was Alb
Lee; when the bonds were to be looked
for lie could tell where TO look for them
Alb Lee could tell the ladies where to
to look for the clothes TO dress the
bodies; Alb Lee knew more about that
house than l did" Dan Swearingen
went in with me and Baker offered to
shake hands with him but he refused /;
Baker asked il it was because he had
murdered his aunt, and he said it was
because people thought that he had and
further thought that il his wife had
gone into the kitchen she would have
been killed too; they bad some sharp
words about the matter; Baker said be-
fore this he could prove something by
Sam Ralston, but can not recollect what
it was.
In our first conversation | told Baker
that il were he l would not close an
eye until had detectives on the track
OF the williams; he said Marshall said the
States money could not be used for this
purpose.
Mayor Samuel Murray, Of New Cum
berland, testified that he heard Baker
say in reference to the visit OF Mrs,
SWearengGn and her friend, Eve were in
the house when the ladies were there.
D. II. Keaggy said: Live at Holidays
Cove; was Il member o: coroner's jury
observed that parlor window shutter was
broken.
A shutter was here introduced and
! Mr.. Kcaggy illustrated how tue shutter
had been broken. Witness gave it us his
opinion that the stats had been broken
by prying with some square pointed in
strIment against the Stats; three Stats
broken.
Witness then described the searchings
Of the coroner's jury. His testimony
agreed with that OF jurors already given
The other evidence was not import
ant,