Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1890-09-25
CELEBRATED CASE.
THE TRIAL OF BURORALL FOR THE MURDER OF
BENWELL GROWS INTERESTING.
A Physician On the Witness Stand Tells More
Than He Related a. The CorOner's Inquest
The Testimony So Far in Favor Of
the Prisoner.

WooDsroCK, ONT, September 9i.-
The Birchall trial was continued this
morning, the court opening at l0o'clock
sharp, The prisoner had slept well and
was up in time TO perform his usual
careful toilet before being called tc face
the Judge and jury for the day. lie was
ready and waiting for the deputy sheriff
when the latter arrived in hack. 1t
has been reported that Birchall is hand
cuffed on the way to and from the court
room, but such is not the case. He is
the quieteSt most easy going prisoner
any iailer ever anything to do with, and
neither complains nor gives trouble in
any way. There was the usual great
crowd at the town hall entrance to see
him pass, and his appearance was warm
| ly criticised by many. Birchall has
raised up in this community two clearly
defined parties, one is his favor and the
other against him. The latter party is
the more numerous and IL is paving its
own way pretty well during the preSen-
tation of the case for the prosecution.
But the prisoners friends are
Stalwart and are quite convinced
]
be impossible to prove him guilty.
There was great crowd in the court
room, including over hundred ladies'.
The prisoners wife and Sister-in-law
were not present, Mrs. Brchall being too
nervous and III to stand the strain OF
watching the court proceedings.
\ WILLING WITNESS.
DR.. Taylor, the physician who was
called in TO see Benwel'S body when it
was found in the swamp, was the first
witness. He testified that the clothing
was frozen TO the ground. In view Of
the attempt which the defense is eX-
pected TO make to prove that the body
did not lie in the swamp during the
storm of February 10, the day when
Benwcll was killed, DR.. Taylor was mi
uutely examined as to the condition OF
the body. He said he believed that
when found it laid less than seven days
in the swamp, possibly four: He
demonstrated on the head OF &
jurymen the position of the pistol shot
wounds noticed on the corpse. He said
on examining the pistol shot hole in
Benwell'S overcOat collar, he believed
that this would correspond If the collar
was turned ND with the wound and line
OF Singed hair Either OF the two plS-
tol wounds, he said, was sufficient tc
produce death. The condition OF the
heart led him to believe that its action
had stopped in the middle OF beat.
The other organs of the body were in a
healthy condition, and there was moth
ing TO cause death but the wounds in
the head. II was utterly impossible for
the deceased to have inflicted them on
himself.
Mr.. Blackstock, counsel for the de-
fense, ELECTED from the witness that
since the event he had been reading up
on medical conditions with reference to
corpSes; that the witness statements to-
day were much fuller than any he had
given before, and that he had not pre-
yiously given this evidence to the Crown.
Mr.. Blackstock accused him of want of
fairness, and said he hoped the witness
would bear in mind that he was called
for the purpose OF giving evidence to
the Crown without prejudice to the
prisoner, and would show fairness in
keeping with the quasi judicial position
he occupied.
CONFOUNDING THE DOCTOR
Mr.. BlackStock called the court crier,
man Of about the height Of the
deceased, and placing the coat upon
him. showed that only by the coat be-
ing on exactly straight and the victim
with his face turned exactly forward
could the wounds be made as he had
stated The diScoloration of the face
and hands was caused by freezing sim
ply, and not By putrefaction. There
was no sign of putrefacti0n on the body.
Mr.. BlackStOck called for statement
regarding the wonnd on the scalp, with
regard to which very little had been
said This wound, the doctor said,
was not noticed until the scalp
was turned back. The wound
on the scalp was under the posterior
section of the scalp as ii was laid
back under the dissecting knife.
The appearance OF the wound
was as though the skin was
partly broken through. Only the in
ternal portion of the scalp had been di-
vided. The hat worn by the murdered
man is crushed out of all resemblance
to it's original shape. Mr.. Blackstock
led the witness TO say that there was red
ness Of the scalp under the wound, and
afterwards reading TO him his statement
at the inquest that there was no such
rednesS. To-day the Doctor had fixed
the time the body was in the swamp at
four days, and his statement at the in
Quest was read that it was less than Il
week. Mr.. Blackstock pressed the wit
ness hard and got him somewhat rat
tied" The prisoner looked at his
counsel as IL he were proud OF him
and expected him to get him out Of
the difficulty created by the doctor 5
evidence. The doctor was compelled
to admit that under ordinary circum-
stances decomposition would begin in
three days, but there was no dccomposi-
tion when the body was found. This,
however. he attributed to frost. At
first sight the doctor thought the
wounds on the body were the result OF
decomposition, but afterward decided
that they resulted from violence. His
reason for considering that the wound
on the body was inflicted just before or
after death was mainly that the true
skin was not affected.
Mr.. Blackstock asked il the body was
that OF man of exceptional muscle, but
the doctor would not say more than that
il was the body OF vigorous young
man. Of fair muscular development, able
TO take care of himself in struggle
with one of his own size.
The people OF Princeton seem to have
universally fixed the date of the alleged
murder by the ball at Dake's house.
Mr.. Blackstock expressed an earnest
hone that the doctor was not at this ball,
and the doctor with smile admitted
that he was not. Witness said that the
fact OF his having been called to exam
inc the body fixed his memory OF the
weather that prevailed at the time OF
the murder There was Sleet on Mon
dav and snow on the following days. 1t
was undoubtedly true that the deceased
had not had anything to eat for con
siderable time previous to death.
In reply TO questions by Mr.. OSler'
Crown Counsel. the doctor said the
wound on the scalp was very slight ana
little attention was paid to 1t by those
who made the post mortem eXamlha-
tion. -
IN FAVOR OF TIE PRISONER.
Dr Wexford. OF Woodstock, stated
that he had gone to Princeton on the
night the body was found. He accom-
nanied a lady friend who thought the
bodv might be that OF relative. Ihey
went down by a freight train, no regu-
To- train beinr then available. They