The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-04-16
WEIDNER PUT ON TRIAL.
He CLAIMS THE SHOOTING OF
BURKE WAS ACCIDENTAL.

ened Him With a Club, and the
Second and Fatal Shot Was Fired
Accidentally.
The Weidner trial began in the superior
court yesterday morning, and the session
was prolonged until near nearly O'Clock
last night The jury was selected with
only sixteen jurors objected to, ten by the
defense and six by the state.
The state introduced through J. H.
Deveaux, notary public, an unsigned and
interlineated document as the dying decla-
ration Of the colored man, Edward
Rurke. which Deveaux testified he
believed Burke was too weak to
sign. The document was not
admitted until after a lengthy legal argu-
ment on the part of r. r. Richards, Esq,
the defendants counsel, who objected to its
being admitted as evidence, and by Solicitor
General Fraser, who sought to bring it out
in evidence. The court permitted 1t to be
read to the jurors, who were TO decide
whether or not it was the ante mortem
statement of Burke
The usual formality was gone through by
proving thai Burke died from the effects of
a pistol shot fired by Weidner.
THE THREE PRINCIPAL WITNESSES.
The principal witnesses for the state thus
far Introduced were the three colored
women, Carrie Skinner, Martha Scott and
Louisa Daggett. The three women swore
that they had gone 10 Weidner's grocery
to make a purchase, and they ran out when
there was about to be an alteration, and
the Daggett woman claims TO have looked
through the Liberty street window and
to have seen Weidner rush out of the gro
Gerry into the bar with his revolver. Her
statement was to the effect that Burke was
outside the door when shot.
Carrie Skinner swore that three shots
were fired, Weidner being in the bar room
and Burke on the sldew TX. She said that
when Weidner got a knife in the grocery
and started out in the bar room the women
ran out and around the Liberty street
corner After this she came back and stood
in the grocery door, when Weldner returned
with pistol, and that Weidner stood IN the
bar room door and shot Burke, who was on
the sidewalk. She thought the second shot
hit Burke, as she saw him jump up. When
Weidner first went in where Burke was she
heard Burke say! eff I thought you would
do that l would down you" Neither the
Daggett nor Skinner woman saw Burke
have a stick, nor did they see any one
around but Burke.
SAW BURKE HAVE STICK.
Martha Scott swore that when Weidner
started behind the grocery counter for the
knife Burke stepped into the grocery
through the swinging blind door and got
stick. She saw him pick up the stick
before the women ran out.
Robert Drayton, who with Ed Burke and
the latter's brother Jim, was in Weidner's
bar-room the night of the killing, swore
that he was two blocks away going home,
when the shooting occurred, and had turned
back and pointed Weidner out as the man
who had done the shooting, and
the officer had told him he was drunk and
TO get away from there and 90 home
Drayton said that he and the two Burkes
were in the barroOm, and he treated to
liquor and cigars, and Jim Burke went
away and he started to go. Ed Burke was
then disputing about his change. The wit
ness went outside and asked Ed Burke to
come on, but Burke said several times that
he would come in minute, when Drayton
went off and left him.
On cross-examination Drayton admitted
that he was drunk, and wouldn't swear that
he was not drunk on the days when he testi-
fed before the coroner and in the Justices
court.
THE TESTIMONY CONFLICTING.
The testimony of the three colored women
and of DraytOn differ in many important
points with their sworn statements upon a
former examination, and the counsel for
the defense has seemingly directed his
rigid cross-examination to bringing these
points of divergence to the attention of the
jury.
The state rested at $40 o'clock, and the
defense introduced Weidner's former clerk,
Willie Baker This witness Is an English
Lao OF II, and is phenomenal boy on the
witness stand, showing self possession and
quick perception such as few men evince
under cross-examination as searching and
as ingenious as Solicitor General Fraser
submitted the sailor boy to yesterday.
In his direct statement the witness SAID
that the two Burkes and Drayton entered
Weldner's place the night of Aug. last
at late hour, and after a round or two of
drinks and cigars two of the negroes went
out, leaving Ed Burke inside. Burke was
profane, vulgar and abusive because wit
ness kept % cents for half pint Of whisky
bought on credit earlier in the evening.
THE CHEESE KNIFE.
Burke got so violent and boisterous, that
Weidner who was eating his supper behind
the grocery counter, went out into the bar
room with piece of bread in one hand
and in the other a cheese knife, with which
be was buttering his bread, and tried to
get Burke to go out. speaking to him in a
good natured way, but the boy said, that
Burke raised heavy piece of moulding
over Weidner'S head and said, "If thought
you would use that knife on me | would
fix you right nown Weidner denied any
such intention, and passed both the knife
and the bread over the bar counter to the
boy, and then went back to Burke and told
him to come on and go out Burke acted
threateningly with the stick which he had
picked up in the grocery. Weidner then
left the barroom and went up stairs, and
on his return asked the witness if they
(meaning Burke and Drayton) had gone
The witness passed into the barroom behind
the bar, and seeing no one, told Weidner
that they had gone out. Weidner then
opened the blind door between the grocery
and barroom, and as he stepped in Burke
came from behind the screen and struck
Weidner blow with the stick which stag
gered him, and followed it up, and Drayton
gave Weidner a push.
ONLY TWO SHOTS FREQ.
There were only two shots fired, after
which both Burke and Drayton left The
was accidental. The third shot was some
time after the trouble and was purely ACCT
dental, Weidner's pistol being discharged in
the grocery, the ball striking needle case
rs W eidner was removing two guns which
the boy had put in place Of safety TO pre-
vent the two colored men from getting
them when the difficulty began. The wit
ness said that the cigar boxes on the first
shelf, oatmeal on the second and bottles on
the first shelf Of the Liberty street window
precluded the possibility of tho Daggett
woman seeing into the grocery.
John Il. Carroll, young railroad black
smith, testified that be was on his way