The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-10-22
THE STATES EVIDENCE
In the Murder Case Of Van Baker
Closed Saturday.
A GLANCE AT THE PROOFS.
a Summary of Facts Shown 10 the
Jury so far, and which the De-
Tense will have to mcet-The
Evidence circumstantIaI.

Evidence Circumstantial.
In the Van b. Baker trial for the muir
der Of his mother.in,law, Mrs. Drusilla
Mcwha, in progress in the Brooke coun-
ty Circuit Court at Wellsburg, the State
has now closed its case and brief re-
sumo of what the Commonwealth has
established on which it relies to prove
tho guilt Of the accused may not at this
juncture be amiss.
1t has shown, first, that the murder
was committed in daylight. The evil
dencc on which thisis based is that the
yeast was left out over night, thing the
ladies We're never knownto do; that the
chickens were not housed up, some
thing they were never known TO fail in
doing very early in the evening; the
washing not taken in as was their in
variable custom; that the hair Of the IN
dies was done up at the time the death.
blows were dealt them that their bloody
clothing had been torn from their bodies
so hastily that some OF the sleeves had
been pulled wrong side out in removing
them that they were dressed upsJ us to
appear to have been killed in the night
time; that the nightcaps covering their
heads had holes in them to correspond
with the wounds beneath them,
By Mrs. SWearepgeR and Mrs. Brown
the commonwealth has established the
fact that they called ut the house some
where near o'clock on the afternoon oil
the murder. That Just prior to reaching
the house a twig or limb got caught in
their buggy wheel, and they looked care
fully all around to see if they could dis.
cover man to disentangle it for them.
At this time they had q full view of the
McWha premises, over which they look
ed carefully, and had any one been in
the orchard at the time he could not
have escaped their observation. These
ladies went to the front door and rang
the bell loudly without getting any re.
Spouse. One iof them, after they had
waited around the house nearly half an
hour, left her baby with the other and
went to the kitchen door, pushed It
open, remarking, ELIZA, it's me-" and
had the door slammed in her face from
within, and then they went away feel
ing that they had been ill.treated. AT
this time the windows were blinded up
so that they could not see within the
house, very unusual occurrence.
The testimony OF Mrs. Ruth Camp.
bell was that OH the day OF the murder
she was walking in her garden, on the
McWha premises, and that at the time
the ladies, Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Swear.
engen, called, she had n full view OF
the orchard and that no one was in it at
that time, nor subsequently that after
noon that she saw these ladies drive
up and drive away, and that she also
saw the three men that rented the stable;
that she knew when these three men
came back that same evening and put
their horses in the stable.
BY Alonzo Knox the State has shown
that on the forenoon OF the day OF the
murder Baker came 10 his (Knox's)
shop and drove Clinch nails in his shoes.
The shoes Bakerwore when arrested did
not have such Clinch nails.
] 1t has been, shown that Baker told
contradictory stories concerning his
whereabouts ut tibet time the ladies called.
To one person he said that his wife, his
mother.in.law and himself were out in
the orchard after dinner showing piece
OF ground TO three unknown men who
wanted TO rent it TO put up boarding
tent to board hands working OH the rail.
raad close by aud that Mrs. McWha had
one back to the house, leaving Mrs.
Baker, himself, and the men out in the
orchard, and that when they returned
Mrs. McWha had told them of shutting
the door in the face OF some person or
persons who she thought were railroad
hands.
To another he said that he and his
wifc were in tine front room when the
ladies called, and Mrs. McWha came in
from the kitchen and told them'of hav.
ing shut the door in some ones face, and
his wife scolded her because it might
have been some OF the neighbors who
had called.
That the contract he claimed to have
made with the unknown three men,
renting TO them the ground on which to
erect a boarding tent, was already COW
cred by thecontraCt with the three men
who had rented the stables. Their con-
tract, filed in evidence, gave them the
privilege OF erecting additional sheds to
the stables, and also OF erecting board
ing tent on the lot.
That robbery could not have been the
motive melting the crime was evidenced
by the fact that a gold and silver watch,
silver spoons, loCkets and jewelry were
| found in the house untouched. The
only articles missing were the will OF
Mrs. Baker, the bonds, s., 900 worth, and
whatever loose change there had been
in the house.
That Baker had knowledge Of the
terms OF both wills, That Mrs. McWha
left her property to her daughter and the
latter wiIled that in case she died child.
less all her property, save 81 600 to Baker
and 5000 TO d church, was to go to a
nephew, Robbie Lee. In case Mrs. Nc
VIVA died first aud Mrs. Baker died with.
out making will under the law all Of
the personal property and a life estate in
the realty would go to Baker.
The position OF the bodies was such
as TO indicate that Mrg, McWha had
died first. The will OF Mrs. VIVA was
found while that OF Mrs. Baker could
not be discovered. In the stove were
the remains OF burntpaper which looked
like folded documents. On one sheet
were the words "of the" or ito the and
large sized "NY" resembling script
type.
In all the search through the house
in which drawers had been musSed up,
bedding turned over, clothes dresses
ransacEed, etc, only those drawers
which contained the clothing OF Bakers
dead infant remained untouched.
That Bakers trousers were covered
with spots. At Hanlon's Statinn he had
been seen repeatedly rubbing his pants,
one time splitting on them and rubbing
the place. In jail he was seen rubbing
II, t,.o,,,n.s ouJ ,,,ho, ho unJv tbot bn