Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-07-03
"FRENCHY" TELLS HIS STORY.
Dramatic Scene in Court When He Goes Ol
- .....a ...- the Stand. De-.

Dramatic Scene in Court When He Goes On
| r..r the stand. ..---. -..-
There was a most dramatic scere yesterday
in the New York court when Ameer Ben Ali.
alias ..Frenchy,' told his own story in connec-
ton with the murder of Carrie Brown.
few witnesses were heard yesterday morn
| ing and then An,eer Ben Ali was called to the
stand. .'...- t--- .-.. ..-.. b.. .-.-.., ....
His tall form rose up from the little group of
lawyers in which he sat- and he moved to the
stand with his peculiar, quick, dignified stride.
The worried, anxious look, marked by the
wrinkled forehead. was greatly intensified. He
looked about the room in a prteous sort Of way
and seemed not to distinguish between the
jurors. the attorneys who are trying to put him
where he would lose his life. the Judge or the
spectators He apparently took in the whole
audience, with the exception of his lawyers. in
one comprehensive group Of beings who were
hunting him to his death.
Ben Ali remained tolerably calm during the
preliminary part OF his examination. He
spoke in a quick, nervous way and in an ex-
cited voice, but he did not gesticulate Excess
sively. ... ..-. ..
fREScHY SHEDS TEARS.
At last, like a man moved half to madness, he
suddenly broke out in a torrent of passionate
defamation. He held his trembling hands aloft
and turned his head upward in fierce appeals
to heaven. Tears rolled down his cheeks, and
as he moved his head from side to side in the
madness of his appeal the teardrops even few
of in sort OF spray. All this was when Mr..
Friend had leaned forward upon the rail, and
with great impressiveness had asked:
'Did-you-kill-Carrie- Brown" 80
When the interpreter had slowly repeated
this question the explosion came. 1t lasted for
nearly full minute before the excited man
could be suppressed. When at last the flow OF
melodious Arabic stopped the tears still cor
tinued and with his handkerchief held in a
trembling hand he wiped his eyes. while his
breast heaved with his emotion. There was
brief calm i'll the examination for few mo-
ments after that
Then there came another outbreak. This
was when the blood-stained knife found under
the mutilated body of Shakespeare was pro-
duced. Mr.. Friend held the knife in his hand
and asked him if he had it on him when he was
arrested in Newtown. He sprang to his feet
and again lifted his trembling hands to heaven
and implorcd Allah to bear witness that he had
no knife then; that no knife was taken from
him then.
Mr.. Friend passed the ugly-looking, blood
stained weapon over TO him. He took it
delicately between his thumb and forefnger
aud held i. out ut arms length before him,
slowly balancing it. ..... e.
Then Mr. Friend asked him if he ever owned
him. and. shaking 1t swiftly in his hand, said.
with another outburst OF passion, that he had
never seen it before he saw it in the
court room; that it was not his. that he had
never owned il.
INNOCENT, KNIFE NOT NINE"
The prisoner told his age, his length of resi-
dence in this country. his vice in the Franco
Prussian war and of his honorable discharge
from the French army. He sobbed when he
waved his hands at the jury and denied that he
had killed Carrie Brown. He denied the own
eisLip of the knife which the prosecution at
tempted to fasten upon him. He also explained
how he got blood upon his stockings and shirt.
He was then handed over for cross-examina-
ton.
The cross-examination concerning his life
before he came to this country was a rigid one.
and he was also closely questioned concerning
his relations with the various female wit
nesses. rt' ) n --- ..-.
Defendant admitted that he had been ar
rested and convicted OF petty larceny in Brook
Ign. He was shown the knife taken from him
III BROOKLYN and admitted he had brought it
from Brazil. He shown the knife in evil
dence and. rising in his seat and speaking en-
SPECIFICALLY, waving the knife in the air the
while. he cried:
Innocent Innocent! Knife not mine! In
jail four times for nothingl' .
EXPERT TESTIMONY.
PIOmiueut Witutss LOT the QeIeNse was LII.
Huidekoper. dean of the University Of Penn
sylvania. Witness is an expert. He said the
substances found in the intestinal fluid Of
Carrie Browns body might come from other
sources. -#
DIR. Justin Herold testified that it was impos-
sible to scientifically determine from what part
of the human economy blood was taken.
The drift of all this testimony was to dis
prove the theory of the people that the pres
ence of the substances named, found in the
blood spots examined. indicated that it must
have come in contact with the contents of the
small iItestines. .- ..-- .-.- -...-.
constable who arrested Frenchy in New
town. L. l.. for begging, stated that he found
no knife en- the prisoner. w
After recess the crosse Examination of
Frenehy was continued. He admitted having
left the pace whore lie slept on the night Of
the mur der at O'Clock in the morning. but
said he had not washed himself before going
out He adhered strictly to his story as to how
he got the bloO6stains on his clothing and
under his nails. given in his direct testimony,
and so the recorder told the jury. -,--
At this session of the court some unimport-
ant teatimony in rebuttal was given by the
DrOsec zion after which the count alt ourned