Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-26
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT.
Continued from First Paoe.

peculiar and experimental plate with four
small teeth for the four lower central in
cisors, which had been drawn. The ex-
traction of these teeth had left an unnatural
or uneven absorption. which DR.. Lewis
noticed when he made the plate. 1t was the
habit of DR.. Cronin when in deep thought
to remove the old plate he used and twirl
it between his fingers.
A VERY PECULIAR FEATURE.
That was why DR.. Lewis made an expert
mental plate, that could not be easily re-
moved. He was desirous of break
ing DR.. Cronin of his habit. DR..
Lewis had also prepared the right
back cuspit for crowning and filed
the lower second molar with red rubber fill
ing. When the body of DR.. Cronin lay in
the morgue of Lake View police station,
Assistant County Physician Egbert, who
was conducting the autopsy, removed pc
culiar plate of false teeth from the mouth of
the corpse.
When DR.. Lewis beheld it he unhesitat-
ingly pronounced it the identical plate he
had made for DR.. Cronin. Then DR.. Lewis
went to the undertaker's rooms on Chicago
avenue, where the body had been taken after
the autopsy. 1t was 8 o'clock at night
when he reached the corpse. With flood
of gas light streaming down upon the body
he compared the plaster OF Paris cast of the
peculiar plate with the formation of the Jaw.
One look satisfied him that the plate had
been made for it.
What else did you see in the mouth of
the corpse2" asked Mr.. Mills. with great
impressiveness.
POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED.
'The rest of my work, was the sensa-
tional reply of the witness, 81 saw the Gus
pit had prepared for crowning and the
molar with its filling of red rubber. also
noticed the absorption of the lower jaw,
which was so noticeable in life."
This testimony had a remarkable effect
on jurors, prisoners and spectators. Even
Kunze ceased his laughing. The jurors
leaned forward and looked at the four tell
tale teeth and their peculiarly formed plate,
as the dentist held them up in his hand.
The lawyers for the defense were clearly dis
tnrbed. They grouped themselves for hur-
ried consultation. Mr.. Forrest led the con-
sultation. It was short and failed to shake
the positiveness of the witness as to the iden-
tity of the teeth.
Then came Assistant County Physician
Egbert, who swore he removed the plate he
held in his hand from the mouth of the
corpse. Since the autopsy the shastly look
ing relic had been locked in his safe. Thus
far DIR. Egbert had been q satisfactory wit
ness for the State. But the willy cross
examiner scored q point before the doctor left
his seat. One of the four false teeth on the
plate was broken. Concealing the plate be-
hind his back and walking hurriedly to the
witness chair, Mr.. Forrest asked DR.. Eg-
bert, in loud voice, whether the broken tooth
was at the right or left end of the plate.
The witness hesItated for q moment and
then said it was at the right end Of the
plate.
CAUGHT IN A TRAP.
care you sure?' asked Mr.. Forrest, ad-
vancing nearer the witness.
DR.. Egbert nodded afirmatively. Then
Mr.. Forrest presented the teeth for Dr. Eg-
bert's inspection. The broken tooth was at
the left end of the plate. The witness looked
crestfallen, while the prisoners grinned, as
the triumphant cross-examiner hurried past
the jurors to join his colleagues. The mis-
take the doctor had made was not damaging
or very material, but when he swore in re-
ply to question from Mr.. Forrest that to
the best of his belief the plate he removed
from the mouth of the corpse in the morgue
had a broken tooth at the right end, the
prosecutors looked annoyed.
Mr.. Forrest then dismissed the witness
ryst &c - L.. T.
his first impression on the wall of identifca-
tion which the State had set up. But on
the redirect examination conducted by Mr..
Hynes, DR.. Egbert swore that he was posi-
tive that the plate Mr. Forrest held in his
hand was the one he had removed from the
mouth of the body. There will be witnesses
to prove the corpus dilecti. The effort of
Mr.. Forrest to nourish the theory that the
body whoever it may have been in life had
been mutilated in its removal from the
catch basin was not crowned with much
success.
HIS ONLY ENCOURAGEMENT.
The only witness who came with any en-
couragement at all was John Feninger, a
ruddy-faced German who had a very I'm
perfect understanding of the English
language. Feninger was one of the men who
discovered the body. He was an easy prey
to the cross-examiner, who tangled him SO
completely that the audience laughed at the
irrelevant and humorous replies of the wit
ness. The German was clearly ratified and
said many things which he no doubt did
not mean to say. He swore that the police
first tried to drag the body out of the basin
with their hands, but failing in this brought
fence board and hoe into requisition.
His colleagues, however, testified that the
body was removed by poking folded horse
blanket beneath the arms with q hoe ham
die which was afterward crossed on the back
and then drawn up from either side. Ex-
Captain of Police Wing and Officer Malie,
who had charge of the work, also swore that
this method was adopted and that no fence
board or violence was used. Even Feninger
testified that the body was handled with
such care that the skin was not broken.
Then came the effort of the State to prove
that the wounds on the doctors head were
sufficient to cause death. DIR. Egbert was
the first Witness and as he walked to the
witness chair he carried with him the stom-
ach of DR.. Cronin and the vegetable matter
which was found in it at the autopsy. The
stomach was in jar OF alcohol.
AN UNsATIsFACT DRY WITNESS.
Its contents at the time of the autopsy
were in piece of red fimsy paper. DIR.
Egbert again proved unsatisfactory to the
State He had but vague recollection of
many essential incidents of the autopsy,
and was painfully embarrassed. In reply
to questions from the prosecution he testified
that in his opinion death had resulted from
the many wounds on the head. The cross
examination was conducted by Judge
Wing.
1t was exhaustive, and not unsatisfactory