The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-08-17
TESTIFlES IN HER OWN BEHALF.
The Accused Mrs. Sham Re-
Iates Her Story.
She Denies Many Statemcnts-rhe Pris-
Oner Breaks Down Several Times
During tho Recital OF Her Sons Ill
MESA Carpenters Testimony Creates
Mild Sensation.

NFoN. Aug. lO.-COunSel cos 49,.
Shann, who is OH trial for poisoning her
son, stated yesterday that two of their i'm
portant witnesses were too ill to attend
court, and they asked for an order to allow
! them to take Mrs. Kate Stryker's evidence
mt her home in Princeton. The court
granted the order, directing Associate
Judge Wright and the official stenographer
to he present. Mrs. Stryker will testify
that she heard n vehicle stop near the
Sham residence during the night that
young Shann's body was tempered with
Immediately after the vehicle came to a
stop she heard the bell of the Sham house
ring
The defense put n number of relatives
and neighbors of Mrs Sham on the stanvs.
all of whom testified that they visited the
Shanns during the illness of John, and
witnessed acts of tenderness and devotion
to him on the part of his mother.
DIR. Arthur j. Wolff, medical expert OF
Hartford, Conn, was then called to the
stand. He testified that in his opinion the
autopsy performed by County Physician
Cantwell on young Shann's body was not
proper one. The portions of the body in
his custody We're not all examined to asccr-
tain whether disease existed or not. No
one but Il person understanding anatomy
could have disembowclled John Sham.
Dr. Wolff read from the highest known
authority on the subjects to show that
dead bodies can absorb poison; that they
have so absorbed poison, which has been
found when the tissues were subjected to
chemical analysis
Mrs. Mamie Kelly, being recalled, testi-
fed that during her brothers. illness she
frequently read religious publications to
him. Her mother used to read the Bible
to him. He asked her to do so, and several
times when John asked his mother to pray
for him she did so.
The witness described what occurred
when Caddic Pyatt was in the sick room.
The latter is the colored woman who
swore that she saw Mrs Sham force a
decoction down Johns throat. Mrs.
Kelly denied the occurrence emphatically
John took his medicine willingly and
made no objection to it at ALL
Under cross-eXamination Mrs. Kelly
made several statements contradictory of
statements made by her ut the coroner's
inquest. In explanation she said mis-
take had been made concerning her words
The witness broke down and began to
weep. y glass of water was given to her,
and she was soon composed again The
points in which she seemingly contradicted
herself were not considered important
Peter Sham, carpenter who occasion
ally assists ]. Watson Sham. the under
taker, testified that they are brothers. and
that the witness helped to prepare Young
Shann's body for burial. On the morning
following the disembowelng he called at
the Sham house to attend the body and
was told by Mrs Sham that it was in good
condition. This was at o'clock. The
testimony of the witness created mild
sensation rs 1t was in evidence that the
discovery of the dsemboweling was made
at least four hours before his arrival
Mrs. Matte G. Sham, the prisoner, was
then put on the stand. She testified that
she was A. years of age and a member of
the Episcopal church in Princeton. Johns
habits, she said, were irregular The first
she knew of his illness was through his
coming to her for money to go to IL physi-
clan. She gave him dollar. His eyes
were sore then, and he complained of in
ternal distress. His eyes continued sore
and he visited DIR. Bergen many times He
grew worse. and the doctor gave him
gargle and pss and some green medicine.
He also used medicine in tablet form. Tho
witness gave all the details of her sons
illness.
Mrs. Sham broke down several times
durir-, her recital and wept. Weeks be-
fore her son died, she said she insisted
that his physician, DR. Bergen, should
bring another doctor with him. DR. Ber-
gen put her of II number of times, until
finally he brought DR.. Lytie Several of
Dr. Bergen's prescriptions were rcfiled a
number of times. Witness never used the
disinfectng tablets for any purpose other
than disinfectiou.
Mrs. Sham gave the names of about q
dozen different persons who called to see
John during his sickness She denied Il
statement of a witness for the prosecution
that John once complained that his mother
was too lazy to cook in egg for him. Mrs.
Sham also denied the truth of the story
told by Caddie Pyatt that she forced medi-
cine down his throat. The witness de
scribed her way OF administering the
medicine, showing that she had always
been gentle with her son. She was still
On the stand when the court adjourned for
the day.