The Newtown bee., 1889-03-15
Wednesday s Start.

At l2 o'clock, Wednesday,, State At torney Fessenden announced that he was ready to try the case of Rudolph Stoef- fel. Witnesses and spectators, who had grown weary waiting, leaned expectant- iy forward. Two large maps by B. r. Hathaway of Stamford, one representing the locality of the murder and the other giving plans of the house at whose door Peck was shot down, were nailed to the wall back of the witness stand. Judge ID. B. Lockwood and George w. Wheel CT, counsel for Rudolph, conferred ami matedly together; consulted a formid- able array of law books. While Clerk Sumner was reading the indictment, MT Fessenden interrupted him and then the opposing lawyers, with Judge Torrance, retired for n private seance. Returning sin few moments, the judge said that, in view of certain contingency which had arisen, a recess would be taken until D m. This contingency was an error in the indictment, which said that Andrew J. Peck was killed in Bedding, whereas 1t should be Newtown.
 At 2 20, when the court re-conveued, the indictment was read as written. Ru- dolph stood calm and unmoved and pleaded mot guilty" in a firm voice. Six jurors were excused by the defense and their places filled. At the instance
  c. Chamberlain of Bridgeport described the maps, pointing out and explaining the principal points. Surveyor B. F. Hathaway of Stamford, who made the maps exhibited on the wall, explained distances and localities. The point from which the fatal shot was fired is 52 feet from the door where Peck died. The to- bacco pouch was found 64 feet from the powder bottle, lying in the highway .Ru- AnlV "a fY, hnn 1ft,n Aa sar1nf 3x more than n mile from Peck's. Mir Hathaway gave many details of meas urements in all directions. Dr Edwards NJ. Smith, medical examiner for New town, was called to Peck's on the after noon of June and found the body in q f sitting posture on the front door step. With Dr F. B. Downs, he made a post rnortem examination of the body on the following day and found that death was caused by blood filling the pericardium or sac of the heart, the natural conse- quence of a gun-shot wound. About 50 shot had struck the body, mostly on the left side; a few were in the right hand. Two or more hUd penetrated the sac of tha heart, causing death. Shot were al- so found in the stomach and intestines. When the doctor arrived, number of persons were already there, including several officers. Peck sat in the door,
 
 toward the east and north; the body was in a natural position. The shot marks In the clothing corresponded to those in the body. Dr Smith produced the shot taken from the body which had penetra- ted two shirts and about an inch of flesh to reach the heart. About $30 in bills was found in the pocket when removing Peck's clothing. There were probably 2O shot in the door; these and those in the body were within a diameter of three feet. Blood was noticeable in the front room of Peck's house, Dr Smith also found some chewing tobacco, both plug and fine cut, loose in Peck's pocket John B. Parmelee of Hattertown identi- fled shot which he had extracted from the casing of the door against which Peck stood, the day of the Shooting. Dr F. B. Downs, medical examiner for Fair field county, corroborated Dr Smiths testimony in regard to the post mortem and the cause of death. Peck's left lung was 1diseased and an abscess existed in the left kidney; still he was in com paratlvely good health. Court was ther adjourned until Thursday at 10 m.