Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1891-06-30
"JHCK THE RIPPER"
New YOrk's Great Sensational
Trial Commenced.
THE ALGER1ANs LIFE AT STAKE
Three Lawyers Fighting Hard to Prove
His Innocence.

microscopic Tests that VIII Probably Tell
Against the PrIsonOr-The Knife Passed
Around in Court-ons Point Brought
Out i'm the Alleged Murderer's Favor
What tho Defence Claim.
New YORK, June 30.-Ameer Ben Ali,
the Algerian vagabond, variously known
to che police as George Frank, Frank
Sherlock and Frenchy No. 1, and to New
York at large as Jack the Ripper, is on
trial for his life before Recorder Smyth,
charged with the butchery of the old
woman Carrie Brown, alias Shakespeare,
| in the East River Hotel on the night of
April IS,
When the court opened at 1890 the
jury filed in and solemnly took their seats.
Chief Inspector Byrnes strobe into court,
accompanied by Detective Sergeants
McClusky, Frink, Crowley and Aloncle,
and took a seat at the right of the bench.
| On the benches at the back of the court
| there were not more than q dozen spec
tators, all morbid curiosity seekers be-
| ing rigidly excluded by order of the Re
| corder.
Viscount d'Absac, the French Consul
| General, and NJ Edmond Heurtel, coun-
| sci to the French Consulate, seated
!
| PENDANT.
Behind the bars of the prisoners pen
sat n motley gathering of gaudily attired
| women and tough looking men, Cherry
street FOUNDERS and habitues of the East
River Hotel, awaiting their turn to be
called as witnesses for the people.
The Algerian, closely attended by an
officer, emerged from the pen and STUN
bled down to the table occupied by his
counsel. The prisoners hair was care
fully "slicked" and his straggly beard
was trimmed Into some semblance of. re-
spectability. He halted in front of the
jury, executed his peculiar salaam by
raising his hands with the palms extend
ed, placing the tips of his fingers on his
breast and touching them to his lips,
) and then dropped into his seat and fixed
his gaze on vacancy. All eyes in the
court room were dXed upon his yellow
and wrinkled Wis ge as he sat stolidly be-
tween his counsel, Lawyer Friend, and
the interpreter, blinking at the sunlight
that streamed full upon his face from
the southern windows.
Most of the testimony taken was a
repetition of that delivered at the coro-
ner's inquest six weeks ago.
Catherine McGovern, who first identi-
fed old Shakespeare's body; Policeman
jeremiah j. Griffin, who took the knife
from under it, and Policeman John Null
arkey, who kept straGglers away from
the scene of the murder, testified. AS
the knife was passed from hand to hand
through the jury box Frenchy observed
it in an apathetic fashion.
A Point for Frenchy.
| Mary Minetur, the girl who assigned a
room to Shakespeare and the missing
fair-haired man on the night of the muir
der, told her story over again. She didn't
know who Shakespeare's companion was
or whether he had mustache or hazel
eyes or fair hair. "He was tall and light
ish, said Mary. 81 thought he might
have hazel eyes because he was light
complexioned. The man certainly was
: not Frenchy."
Microscopic Tests.
By microscopic tests it was shown
that the dark red spots upon the prison
ers shirt and fingers were made by blood
mingled with intestinal fluid. The OK
perts testified that in the scraping from
Ben Ali's nails were infinitesimal bits o
, the very food Carrie had eaten, mingled
i with blood corpuscles. The woman was
old and thin blooded. The blooC
corpuscles found upon the persc2 o
Frenchy No. 1 were shown to have COM
from an ansemic person. Carrie Brow
was choked to death; then her murders
slashed at her senseless body.
The experts for the prosecution testi
fed that minute inspection of the fine
dried blood found upon "Frenchy's'
hands and clothes showed that it cam
q. from a dead, not living, body.
This is the most terrible evidence tina
could be brought against Amer Ben Ali
Beside it the detectives testimony abou
bloodstains on the floor leading to hi
room itself sinks into insignificance
But will it be strong enough to overcom
the feeling in the prisoners favor sur
to be created by the absence of the ma
who led her to her death chamberP
:. The prisoners lawyers closely exem
ined every witness and are working har
to save their client. They will clair
that it was Shakespeare's companio
! who committed the crime, after wkic
he made his escape by the skylight t
the roof.