Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1892-02-03
TENA DAVIS DEATH.
Crime Charged to Tre-
fethen and Smith.
BOTH HELD FOR GRAND JURY
Mrs. DAVIS and Others Testify - An
All-Day's Hearing.


der case yesterday, which lasted from .
o'clock in the morning until o. o'clock in
the afternoon, Jamc. A. Trofcthcn
charged with th, murder OF the girl and
William H. Smith. charged with lvng an
accomplicc, were bound over to the grand
jury, the former without bail, and the
latter I'm the sum of $1,000
II was evident that the counsel FOR the
dc 'dunts had no hope of keeping IRE
ietu,u's case from going before the grand
jury, but he made a hard fight Tor Smith.
None of the witnesses for the defense
touched ON Tuelethcu's Sc, but were
called 10 the stand in the attempt TO
Provo an Abb for smith.
The crowd which assembled in the stury
and foul-smcliing little court room in the
morning cluuy to their places all day long,
except at the noon recess, and showed no
signs OF wearincsS.
The most important testimony in the
morning was chat If Officer Tufts Of
Everett, who test fled that ho saw Smith
standing 10y a buggy near the Davis home
ON the night of Dee %, the night Tena
disappeared. Although the counsel for
the defense mixed his evidence mp some
what, it was fully Corroborated by others.
In the afternoon thcmo,t important tes-
timony was given by Special Officer Ben
iamin H. Morris, who testified that be
tween . and 2.l5 o'clock on the morn.
ing Of Dee. -, he saw a crossbar buggy,
driven by maa who
Looked Like 1rercthen,
90 down Nichols street, on which Trc-
fcthcn resides. aud that was the only
buggy Of that kind, as far as he knew,
owned i'm that section Of the town. IRE
fcthen's bugoy is OF that style.
District-Atturncy CO0ucy conducted the
government ease. aud Marccllus Coggan
that Of the defense. judge Pettengll
presided.
Professor Wood Of Harvard college was
the first witness. lie had examined the
stomach Of tine Girl, and asccrtaincd that
she died three hours after her supper, or
/ about s o'clock
Mrs Mary j. Davis, Tenas mother, was
! tu. uoyt witness She was pale and hag-
! "a. rom her recent illness, and came in
leaning heavily on the arm of her physi-
clan
she testified at lcngth Of her daughters
relations with Trcfethcn. telling how Tena
had told hcr Of her trouble. aud of IRE
frthcn as being the author of It. The
| financial dealings with Trcfethen were ex-
! plainod mt length
The remainder of the evidence consisted
| Of points which have heretofore been made
/ public in these dispatches. The evidence
| being all in, Lawyer Coggan told Judge
! Pcttngill that he thought th1, the evil
/ dcncc would
Not IIC Sufficient 10 Hold smith.
| Smith was held, as lie said, as an accessory
| TO the TACT The only testimony offered
| against him was the unsupported tcsti-
mony Of Officer Tufts The main object in
] bringing out such testimony was TO forge
| the connecting link which may hold Ire
/ fethcn on the charge OF murder, and with.
| out that link the government has no case.
/ In conclusion, he claimed that the alibi
! for Smith had been complete.
Lawyer Coggan attempted no defense in
/ the WY of evidence for Trefcthen rcsery-
/ INK that for the trial, should one come,
/ but ON Smiths behalf he introduced tcsti-
mouy TO show the alibi that Smith was
| with his family on the evening and night
J OF the ODD
District Attorney Cooncy opened his re-
| marks with the statement that the case
/ should 20 TO the grand jury. There was
no room for doubt hut that murder had
been committed. The location, the shrek
on The bridge, and the nying cam is evi-
dcuce Of this fact. Professor Woods tes-
timony showed the hour of the girl's death.
The note mailed 10 Mrs. Davis was writ
t,u upprly urhours after Tcna Davis had
Found q Natcry Grave.
Smith came in in the role Of n detective.
The first thing he did was 20 get an intro
duction 20 Mrs. Davis and tell her to
keep the facts away from the Everett
officers.
The district attorney then reviewed the
! testimony in a brief manner, arguing that
IL was not possible TO doubt the guilt Of
| 1rclcthcn from the testimony secured, or
! Of Smiths completely in the crime.
Judge pcttongilll said that in the case
Of Trefcthcn the evidence was sufficiently
conclusive 10
Show n Probable Cause,
and lc should hold him over TO the grand
! jury As for Smith, there were facts
which pointed him ont as an accessory TO
the fact, ard he wPs bound over to the
| grand jury.
At 5.j5 o'clock the court was adjourned.
The defendants looked pretty blue after
the decision had been formally announced,
aud throughout the case they listened
intcuDly tD every word Of the testimony.
AZ thc conclusion Of the case both men
Kissed their families and were then taken
back 10 tlc Cambridge Jail to await the
action .f ,ho grand jury which convcnes
T., 49,
OGore of tEr prosecution seem conf.
dent of securing am indictment, but may
change the charge against Smith from &C.
ccssory before 60 accessory after the fact.