Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-17
THE MARTIN TRIAL.
,r,yUATION OF THE ANACONDA
MURDER CASE.

Dofeuse Introduces All Its Testimony
provocation, seIf-Defense and Tenn
,orary Insanity Alleged-Mr. Durfee
ms Up for the Prosecutien-Closing
rouments to BE Made This Morning.
u,dresday was the third day Of the trial
william }. Martin for the Reardon homi.
ia the selection of a jury having been
Hmmenced on Monday afternoon. The
,,touce presented their side of the testi-
uorv Yesterday. They began with placing
!ho ASCENDANT himself on the stand. His
'nid.nce was to the effect that on the morn
:c Of the 18th OF February last, his wife
.me and told him that she could not do
40 more homework about their boarding
Eouse as she had been insulted while clean
;c q boarder's room; that on being pressed
Nv him a to what she referred to, his wife
.oId him that Reardon, who was q boarder
a. their house, the Planters House, in
anaconda, had assaulted her with criminal
intent while she vas cleaning his room; that
che had cried cut and his sister Helen went
N her assistance when Reardon left the
room cursing them and
THREATENING VENGEANCE
# they ever whispered a word OF it to him
Martln); that his wife begged him not to
make a scene with Reardon, but to get him
to settle his board account and tell him
never to come zeal the house again; that
he Immediately went out and met Reardon,
when the latter, aftec some preliminary
conversation, used a low expression in
connection with his wife's name, which SO
anpered him hat he felled him to the
ground with a cribbage board he had in
his pocket; that Reardon drew q pistol
from his waistband, which he (Martin)
had sold him a day or two before
and that he Immediately closed with him
and ~endeavored to wrest the weapon from
Reardon; that in doing 80 he drew Rear
don's hands over his head, when the pistol,
which was a self-cocking weapon, was dis
charged, the ball passing into Reardon's
skull; that seeing the wound was fatal he
had fled from town, throwing the pistol,
which remained in his hand, away near a
sawmill; that he had wandered about until
that night he met Haney at Warm Springs,
whom he told what had occurred; that
Haney advised him to 60 to Helena
AND SURRENDER HIMSELF
to the authorities there, and that he was
on his way thither when he was arrested by
Under Sheriff Hatton and Deputy Connolly
near Avon and taken to Deer Lodge.
Frank HattOn and Frank Connolly testi-
fed that Martin seemed very penitent when
they arrested him and cried like a child as
he was brought back. He had no weapon
on his person when arrested.
H. W. Niles was introduced to invalidate
the testimony of Sam Evans for the prose
cution, testifying that Evans asked him
the particulars Of the shooting admitting
that he only arrived at where Reardon's
body was lying after the shooting and had
not witnessed it.
A. Haney was introduced to prove hav.
ing met Martin at Warm Springs and ad-
vised him to go to Helena to surrender
himself; also to finding the pistol where
Martin told him he had thrown il away.
DR.. Holmes was introduced rs an expert
for the
EMOTIONAL AMT THEORY,
and testified that he had examined Mar
tins head and found a fracture that had
been inflicted upon him when a boy with
an axe, the presence OF which might affect
his brain so that any exciting intelligence
would be likely in a man OF Martins
nervOus temperament to cause him to lose
his mental balance and be irresponsible for
his actions.
Mrs. Margaret Martin, the prisoners
mother, rave evidence as to he1 son having
received the wound referred to accidentally
when he was about II or ID when he was
laid up for a year FRUSTRATED by the Results
ofthe wound; that at intervals since he q
R lac frDno >fhn nffonfS
OF it.
Mrs. W. j. Martin, the prisoners wife,
took the witness chair to detail the par
ticulars OF the assault on her by Rear
don. At first she was unable to proceed,
apparently overwhelmed by the
SHAME OF THE SITUATION
The prisoner took his child from his wife
and endeavored to keep it quiet while his
wife gave her evidence, and the scene was
for a few moments an embari assing one Tor
every one in court. The jury were visibly
affected and evidently sy~mpathlzed with
Mrs. Martin in her trying ordeal. When
she had sufficiently controlled her emotions,
she proceeded in a faltering voice to repeat
what she had told her husband on the
morning of the homicide which WAS that
while cleaning Reardon'sroom he had come
into the room, closed the door behind him,
caught hold of her and threw her on the
bed and tried to choke her but she cried out
and Helen " artin had come 10 her ASSIST
ance, when ReardOn went out alter call
ing her vile names, and threatening noth
their lives if they said anything to Billy
(her husband) about it; that she had
begged her husband to ave no quarrel
with Reardon, but get him to settle his
board bill and leave the house. She
IDENTIFIED THE WEAPON
claimed to have been used in the homicide
as one that her husband had sold to Rear
don a few DAYS before. She asserted that
the only q p her husband possessed
was living on the day OF the homicide un'
der the mattres of the bed III her ped
room. loaded, and that it was never dls'
charged that day.
Helen Martin, the prisoners sister, cor
robOrated Mrs. Martins testimony as to
ReardOn's assault and a number OF VIII
nesses we're introduced to testify as tC
Martins reputation wherever he hao ii'eo
as a uuIet, peaceable, well-behaVed cltlzen
most OF which went without challenge p9
the prosecution. At the same tiine e'l
dence was introduced tn show thao NEAR
don had borne the contrary reputation az
a uuarrelsone, dangerous man Wheh II
liquor or sober and was man OF gehera''
worthless character.
County Attorney Durfee then spoke 10
an hour summing up the evidenc lf ~ H.
duced. He regarded the testimony OF TIL
assault of Mrs. Martin by Reardon as un
worthy of credence and intimated that l
was a skilfully devised story frAmed u
work on the feelings OF the jury witnou
,,u F,,,njof;on in fact.
This morning as soon as court opens q
o'clock Mr.. Mcbride will sum up for tn
defence, Mr.. Haldorn closing, followed o
Mr.. Durfee in the closing speech tor 'h
prosecution.