Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1889-12-13
LEGAL. NEWS.
Court met Monday at p. ~, with Judge
McMiehael presiding.
The jury was p0lled, and some petitions
presented, a note of which IS made below:

Court met Monday at ! =. 81, with judge
McMiehael presiding.
The jury was polled, and some petitions
presented, a note of which is made below:
THE MuRDER CASE
The case OF the Commonwealth IS. Thos.
Lee indicted for the murder of John Me
! Call, was taken mp. Lee was brought into
Court and the Indictment was read to him
by the Clerk, and then to the surprise nl
| almost everybody he plead guilty. This
| threw the case into the hands of the Court.
whose duty it then became TO hear the cir
cunstanccs Of the affair. and Fl the degree
of the crime and the penalty.
Henry krciss was the first witness called
! for the prosecution. lie was in Evans City
during the evening Of the Both of October
| last, and was at the Opera House where
| the dancing was going on. just as he was
starting for his home he saw the Hovis
and Fair crowds begin fighting. then Lee
| got a fence paling and struck Mccall, who
| fell after receiving the second blow, Mccall
gol up again and got a piece Of board,
| which Lee knocked out of his hands. Then
Mccall fell over. This was between II and
| o'clock. There had been several qnafrels
| ia the hall between the Hoyis and Fair
parties. the quarreling beginning early in
| the evening. Mccall weapon was about
| twenty inches long, one foot wide and two
inches thick.
$. ]. Marshall was at the dance, saw Nc
| Gail struck, helped him up, and helped
carry him TO his sisters. Heard some one
say, Don't hit him, that's the wrong
party" Couldn't recognize Lee as the man
who did the striking. Hoyis and Harry
Fair were fighting. saw neither Lee nor
Mccall tighting Quite a number of the
crowd were under the influence of liquor,
the fighting was ON the street above the
Opera House, several clubs were flying and
a stone was thrown, there was considerable
confusion didn't see Lee with club, Mccall
didn't have a club at first.
Loval Lkens lives near Evans City, and
was there the night Of the fight and saw
part of it, Hoyis and Fair quarrelled up
stairs and agreed to go down and fight 1t
out He went down with the crowd and
saw a man pulling paling off fence, the man
was excited, saw him strike another man,
didn't know him. During the lighting one
man was kicked across the street; saw two
blows struck and saw man fall; looked as
though everybody was fighting.
Wells Waters was in the Opera House
and plt his head out of the window aud
saw the fighting; saw man with his coat
off and saw somebody hit another.
VIM. Miller lives near Gallery; was in
Evans City that night aud saw the lighting
as he was coming down the Opera House
stairs: saw a man strike and saw somebody
take club from him.
Ed Adams was at Evans City that night;
saw Lee strike several times; Mccall had a
piece of board in his hands when he fell.
Mccall had board in hand when first saw
him and was striking at Lee heard the
sticks come together several times. Hoyis
and Fair ran around considerably when
fighting, but Mccall and Lee did not.
II. G.. Evans looked ont of the Opera
House window, and heard and saw two
strokes.
John Eihart did not see Mccall getting
struck, but heard the two blows.
DIR. J. c. Corts is q practicing physician
at Renfrew; saw Mccall a day or two after
he was struck and did not consider him IN
a dangerous condition; skull was not trac-
tured; was not at post mortem; went to see
Mccall at instance of Lee; Mccall died ON
Monday.
Mr.. - Redic lives in Evans City and
is n brother -in-law of Mccall; Mccall was
carried to his house and died Monday
morning; helped carry Mccall home; he
Law unconscious all night DR.. Moore, of
Butler DIR. Brooks and DIR. Tilden made
the post mortem.
Richard Gray lives in Pittsburg and
knows Lee. who told him that he had got
into trouble in Butler Co; he said that Il
fellow came at him with a club and he got
a club and knocked it ont of his hand aud
hit him. This was the Sunday after holy
eve.
John c. Tinstman was called, but was
not present.
Mrs. Redie lives in Evans City and is a
sister of Mccall, who was taken to her
house after being hit. He was carried
home on board, had spasms that night
and was sick at the stomach and vomited
several times next day. His mother came
on Saturday, and he died Monday. He
didn't remember Of going to the Opera
House or anything about the fnss.
Doctors Brooks and Moore We're then
called, but were not present and the pros
ecution rested.
The first witness for the defense was
Thomas Lee, the defendant. His home is
in Allegheny City. lie Will be Il years OF
age on the Goth of this month"; he once
lived at Kennerdell, Venango Co.; he is
carpenter by trade; he was employed by
the W. & 4. Pipe Line at Renlrew at the
time of this trouble, and he is very re-
spectacle looking young man. His story
was about as follows: He and Harry Fair
went over to Evans City that evening with
a rig; Hovis and Fair quarreled and went
outside and fought; he tried to separate
them. and Mccall came at him with club;
he ran to the fence and got pahng; then
he and Mccall struck at each other; their
clubs came i'll contact, and he supposed
that he hit Mccall. There was no spite or
i'll will between them; he struck IN self de
fense and had no intention Of killing him.
He sent DIR. CQrts to soc Mccall, and then
20 tllaChanu Two Cr tbrpp n1rtIpS
interfered when he tried to separate Hoyis
and Fair; he never had any words with
MCCALL he hit one man who interfered
with his fist: went back to Renfrew that
night with Fair.
. George Lee is the father of Thomas; he
lives in Allegheny; Thomas came home
Friday night;told his mother of his trouble;
he is a good boy and has good character
in Allegheny.
VIM. Heckelman lives in Allegheny and
is the Sec'y Of the o. ii. Perry lodge, No.
go, of the American Mechanics;has known
Thomas Lee since spring of 1883, and he
has good reputation in Allegheny. Lees
character was examined before he was ad-
mitted to the order
Richard Gray lives in Allegheny, and
knows Lee to be peaceable boy.
DR.. Corts and Jesse McClelland gave him
good name in Renfrew.
Cornelius Strang lives in Renfrew; has
known Thomas Lee for seven years; knew
him in Scrubgrass. where his father was
foreman of Kennerdclls mills; visits the
family in Allegheny, and Thomas has
good character.
Here Court adjourned till Tuesday morn
ing.
Tuesday afternoon r. A. Harding, Thos.
Horick, Otto Linn Ga son of Rev. Linn,
Ezra Jackson, of Allegheny, and Mrs.
Strang, of Renfrew, who have known
young Lee for years, gave him good
character.
DR.. Brooks, of Evans City, was called.
He first saw John Mccall, after the affair,
living on the floor of the Opera House in
comatose condition, and vomiting freely;
had him taken home; he got better next
morning; the skin over his left eye was
bruised but there was no external evidence
of q fracture, though the symptoms of the
patient indicated one. Mccall was con
scious Friday morning and was ding well
that afternoon, but got worse Saturday and
Monday. DIR. Moore and himself made the
post mortem, and after the skin was strip
ped back they found fracture over the
left eve, the inside skull badly fractured,
and blood in the brain; thought the blow
was one of considerable force; patient
vomited blood. On cross examination the
difference in the symptoms of q patient in
iured by conclusion and compression were
gone into. DR.. Brooks thought that re-
moving the broken bone would not have
saved his life and that his death was
caused by the general amount of injury TO
skull and brain. DR.. Moore, of Butler, as
sisted in the post mortem and his evidence
was similar to that of DIR. Brooks; there