The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1892-12-03
Not entity,

The interest which has centered IN the
court room during the past few DAYS
ended soon after midnight by the jury
after being ont fifteen mlnutes-bringlng
in verdict of mot guilty" in the case Of
the State VS.. VIM. Birgfeld. In the after
noon, District Attorney Wilson presented
the case of the state to the jury in an hour
and half's speech, and the court took
a recess until half past o'clock. When
the court convened Judge Bennett ad-
dressed the jury on behalf of the defend :
ant in an able speech of over two hours in
length, and he was followed by Hon. q. b
Dufur for the State. After Judge Brad
shaw had given them carefully considered
i instructions In the law governing such
trials the members of the jury retired In
charge of bailiff and in few minutes
returned with the verdict as stated.
For the past three or four days during
the continuance of the trial, every session
of court has attracted the greatest inter-
| est, and the seating capacity of the room
has been fully tested. Last night there
were fully 600 present, and the seats and
aisles were thronged. The closest atten-
tion was paid to the arguments of coun-
sci, and very many stood in the aisles un-
til the case was given to the jnrv.
The history of this case briefly stated is
as follows: On June 50th Mrs. Matilda
Rogers died very suddenly at her resi-
dence near this city, and at the time sus-
picions were cast upon her son-in-law by
reason of there having existed bad feel
lngs between the parties. The body was
kept until the Sunday following for burial,
and was embalmed. Mr.. W T. Rogers,
one of Mrs. Rogers sons, was absent in
San Francisco and could not be present
at the funeral. soon after his arrival,
about two weeks after death, the body
was exhumed, and an inquest held. The
post mortem developed no abnormal con-
ditIons OF the functions, although
apoplexy may have been the cause of
death, for the brain was in such decom-
posed state that clot of blood could not
have been discerned The stomach was
removed, and chemically analyzed by Mr..
Fisk and Miss Hampton AS a result,
zinc was found of sufficient quantity to
produce death, and on this Mr.. Blrgfeld
was arrested and examined before Justice
Schultz, who held him without bail. He
has been an occupant of the Jail since his
first arrest, except that pending the ex
animation he was given parole bail from
day to day.
On the trial the State relied upon the
presence of zinc poison in the stomach, and
the bad feeling existing between MIR. Brig.
field and the deceased. Mr.. Hampton aud
his sister, chemists. of Portland, testified to
have found zinc crystals in the stomach:
but whether these were the sulphate or the
chloride of the metal they could not state
DR.. Binswanger, graduated from Lsipsic in
chemistry and medicine, testified that the
chloride of zinc would liqulfy and not crys-
talize. Further, that if the deceased was
poisoned by this preparation, the mouth
and throat would show the effectof coroslon,
The testimony of MISS Hampton brought
out tie fact that several gall stones were
found in anayzation, and one had passed
into the intestine twelve or fifteen inches;
also that, although not necessarily fatal.
death had been caused in many instances
by the passage of gall stones. The first
analysis of the embalming fluid detected no
presence of zinc in it; but on telegraphing
to the manufacturing house in Boston in re-
gard to what was presumed to be the fluid,
an answer was received that both the sui
phate and chloride of zinc were ingredients,
and the metal may have been precipitated
to the bottom of the large jar from which
the small phial was taken. These were the |
principal facts brought out on the trial, ex- |
cept that the telegram from the Boston
house could not be properly considered as
placed in evidence. but it was brought to
the attention of the Jury by affidavit.
The suspicious cast upon Mr.. Birgfeld
from the bad feelings existing between him
and the deceased could have no weight with
The Jury, anu as IL was uOt CledFly pTOVeu
to the satisfaction of some that Mrs. Rogers
came to her death by zinc polson-by rea-
son of conflicting testimony of chemists
and In no instance could the purchase of
,ulphate or chloride of zinc be traced to the
defendant. no other verdict appeared posi-.
Die except acquittal. For this reason, when
The jury returned with the verdict. it was
10 surprise to very many, and only what
was expected.
During his long incarceration in Jail, Mr..
Birgfeld's wife has visited him daily, and.
Turing the continuance of the trial, has
been by his side every hour. OF nervous
it has been great strain on
Ter, and when the verdict of acquittal was
she tainted away, and it was some
lime before she was resusciated.