The record-union., 1891-02-17
NEARING TIE CLOSE.
Arguments in the Trial Of Eduardo
Frediani for Murder.

The Case VIII Soon be In the Hands
of the Jury-NIr. Johnson's
Lengthy Statement.
The testimony in the eFrediani murder
case is all in, and the arguments We're
commenced yesterday forenoon.
Assistant District Attorney Buckley
was the first to address the jury for the
prosecution. He argued that the evidence
in its entirety demonstrated that the kill
ing of Scatini was nothing short of a cold
blooded murder. 1t was unprovoked. and
was done willfully and with malice.
Frediani approached Scatini with murder
in his heart. Regarding the testimony of
: the defendant, that shortly before the
cutting Scatini seized him by the coat and
dragged him along the sidewalk to where
Bianchini and Cali stood, Mr.. Buckley
said he did not believe tit was not con-
sistent with the other testimony in the
case. The evidence showed that Frediani
had said something derogatory to Bian-
chini about Scatini's family, and when
the deceased met him tthe detendant) he
put his arm around him, and
GENTLY MOVED HIM
Toward where Bianchini stood. He
wanted Frediani and Bianchini to meet
face to face. Bianchini told them to let
the matter drop. 1t was then that FIRE.
diani renewed his demands for money,
ard subsequently, stabbed Scatini.
Mr.. Buckley called the attention of the
jury to the fact that the defense relied
considerably upon the alleged threats that
Scatini had made. These threats, he said,
n1np
kind to warrant Frediani in believing
that his life was in danger. The strongest
testimony of threats uttered by Scatini
was tha tgiven by John Pieruccini, who
said that Scatini told him he intended to
slap Frediani's face. There was no evil
dence that Scatini had ever threatened TO
kill the defendant, or even to do him
great bodily harm. If he had said he
would kill frediani, the case would have
been different. Frediani had annoyed the
deceased greatly, By constantly importun
ing him for the payment of an imaginary
debt of So. The only movement made by
Scatini, Immediately prior to the stabbing,
was to gently push the defendant away
from him with his open hand, and to en-
treat him to ''let him alone"
The only threats of a serious nature,
said Mr.. Buckley, seemed to come from
Frediani, and not from Scatini. The de-
fendant had exhibited a knife on the day
of the cutting, and said that ''before night
De would put mole III MIN meaning
the deceased.
FOR THE DEFENSE.
In the afternoon Grove L. johnson be-
gan his statement to the jury for the de-
fense. He occupied all of the afternoon
session and will resume his argument
this morning.
Mr.. Johnson paid particular attention
to the testimony of Bianchini that Fredi-
ami had said he would make a hole in
at na11 1a1
attention to the fact that this was suspi-
ciously new testimony. Bianchini was
examined at length in the Police Court,
and had been carefully cross-queStioned
as to all of the minute details connected
with the caSe-yet he never mentioned
that threat of Frediani's. Mr.. johnson
remarked sarcastically that no doubt
Bianchini forgot about it during the
Police Court examination, yet even this
explanation looked bad, because it stood
to reason that the witness memory of
the stabbing was better at the time of the
Police Court examination than now.
When a juror catches q witness making
one false statement, or manufacturing
testimony, he has the right under the
law to disbelieve all of the testimony of
that witness. The evidence clearly showed
that Scatini did
BRUTALLY BEAT AND KICK
Frediani. Mr.. Johnson said he did not
care whether or not it was a light kick as
Mr.. Buckley had contended it was; he
did not care whether or not Fredianis leg
was bruised from the kicking, as Fredi-
ami testified; but when Il man over six
feet high, powerful and great, as was the
deceased, strikes weak, helpless, little
old man like Frediani, he was nothing
short of a cowardly bully. Mr.. Johnson
declared that should man of Scatini's
physique and strength treat him as
Scatini treated Erediani, he would hide
behind hedges and houses until he got a
chance, and then he would send his cow
ardly soul before his Maker.
The attorney then reverted to the
threats made by Scatini, and called atten-
ton to the remark made by the deceased
that he would pull Frediani's whiskers
OUT If there was anything that would
humiliate man more than another IL was
to pull his whiskers. 1t was enough to
rouse any man with spark of manhood
in him to protect himself.
Mr.. Johnson attacked the testimony of
the witnesses Bianchini and Agostinelli
and intimated that they had not testified
to the truth in reference to some import
ant matters. In speaking of the evil
dence of the police officers that Frediani
ran away and hid himself after killing
Scatini, the attorney said it cut no figure
in the case whatever, and was not an in
dication that Frediani felt himself guilty.
He did no more than any other man
would have done under the circum-
stances. He would have been fool if he
had not done as he did do. Of course he
was frightened, knowing, as he did,
nothing whatever of the American laws,
nor of what would happen to him if
caught. The proposition advanced by
the prosecution that Frediani had been
hunting fight" was characterized as
being preposterous. 1t was absurd to say
that an aged and weak man like the de-
fendant would hunt fight with man of
the deceased's proportions. No malice or
intent, argued Mr.. Johnson, had been
proved by the prosecution, and conse-
quently the jury could not, under the
law, find verdict of guilty.
ADJUSTMENTS
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