The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-06-03
Defense Begins It's Testimony in the
Trial of Parker and McAfee.
It Proposes to Show Efforts on the Part of the
Police to subOrn Witnesses Against
the I've Men.
Testimony Introduced 10 lmpeach the
Evidence Given by Venable.
Stories of C0lyin. Gabler aud Banks - hrA
Eysier AgaiR on the Stand - Court
Room Packed 10 the Doors.

The damaging testimony brought out BY
the State Thursday and the expectation
that the defendants would probably be pus
on the stand 10 testify in their own behalf
caused much larger crowd than usual to
visit the Criminal Court room yesterday,
where the Ey ster murder trial is on. The
court room was packed to the wall when
the examination of witnesses was resumed
ct Q o'clock yesterday morning.
The first witness was Mrs. Eyster, who
was recalled by the defense. She was
asked concerning the location OF the pre-.
scrIption case and the stove. and testified
that it was the same now as n poD the night
of the shooting. At this point the defense
asked and was gran ted permission to make
some measurements as TO distances. She
was again asked as to the des criptIon she
had given of the colored men who were
ia the store looking at cards on the night
of the shooting. and said that one of them
wore soft hat. and her recollection was
that the other wore q stiff hat She was
asked If she had said TO DR.. Browning that
she might not be able to identify the men
who were in there, and answered that she
believed she had said that to DR.. Browning
on the night Of the shooting. Witness said
that she had shown to officers the clothes
her husband wore the night he was shot,
but she did not know whether il was Mo-
Gnff and Thornton or not The witness de.
MED emphatically that she had described
the men to Thornton as two heavy y-set col.
ored boys between sixteen and eighteen
years of age, one wearing q soft and the
other stiff hat. She testified as to the To-
~ of ind n
ises. and that il was the window In hes
bedroom from which she screamed
for help. Witness could not say
whether q person standing behind the
prescription case could recognize
q person standing In the store by looking
through the stained glass Of the perscrip.
tion case. Patroiman Carter was next
recalled but his testimony was immateriaL
Judge Cox, however. instructed both sides
that they must examine these officers all
they wished to and let them 60 as they
were compelled to be on duty all night and
could not remain all day at the court.
coLvIN's TESTIMONY.
The next witness called was Ed Colvin,
who occupies rooms over Venable's saloon.
Witness said that on the night of the shoot
ing1he was sitting In his room With his arm
resting on the window sill. lie heard tho
shot fired and heard the woman scream.
He grabbed his coat and ran down stairs
without putting it on. He ran across the
street at an angle coming on
to the sidewalk on the opposite
side just at the mouth of the alley. Wit
ness saw two oolored men running away
from the drug store. and met them at the
men. Prosecutor Hoitzman asked him to
look at the defendants hnd say
whether they were the men. Witness
turned his eyes upon the defend'
ants and said that they were the
men he had seen run into the alley. He
saldNhe had known the defendants for two
years. Witness said that earlier in the
evening he had seen Parker and McAfee,
and heard them talking on the railroad.
One of them said, "l'll kill the s. -
Witness said the men then went toward
the drug store, and short time afterwards
he heard the shot fired and heard Mrs.
Eyster scream. Colvin was subjected TO q
rigid cross-examination by attorney Keal-
ing. but his testimony was not broken.
On crosse xaminatIon he said he had
seen the boys more or less for about two
years. that they frequently came into the
saloon when he was tending bar for Mo-
Peters On the night of the shooting wit
ness said he was sitting looking ont OF the
window with his arms resting on the sill,
and saw the defendants standing upon the
railroad talking. At this point the at.
torn eys for the defense deviated q little
from the line of their questions and the
things about the premises. He gave very
accurate and plain description of the
premises as to the location of windows.
stairs. etc., and the approximate distances
from point to point. He said from the
south door of the building TO the side.
walk was about thirty feet. and from the
northwest corner of the building to the
mouth of the alley where he saw the de-
PENDANTS turn. was about forty-hve PAGES.
Witness said he had stepped OF the dig
tance earlier in the morning. He said that
the middle window upstairs. over the sa-
loon was about seventeen feet from the
north end of the building. The defendants
were standing about six or eight feet south
of the railroad whom he heard them taking.
Witness said he thought they were there
about 800 that evening but could not say
positively. He had been sitting at the
window about twenty minutes, or, per-
haps. q half hour He had paid no atten-
tlon to what the men were talking about
until he heard one of them make the state
ment about killing the man.
Prosecutor Hoffman interrupted the
GROSS examination and Interpoeed an oolec-
tion to the repetition OF questions on sub
jects that had been gone over, and the
court sustained the objection. In answer
to questions witness again said that he had
heard one OF the men say, Ill Kill the
ID s. b. Come on" Witness
said the men then went towards the drug
etore. He lost sight OF them when they got
about half way TO the store Witness SAID
1t might have been q half hour from that
time. TIL ne 0oafu TIC buOb lTcu huu THO
scream of Mrs Eyster. Witness was sit
ting IN o chair by the window when he
heard the shot. He Jumped M aud leaned
HE head out of the window; he then heard
the screams OF Mrs. Eyster and ran down
stairs and out the sonth door. through the
gate on the east side. which was open-
Witness said that when be got 10 the gate
he saw some one running east. near the rail-
road, but couldr't tell whether he
was white or cOlored. This man was
going the same way witness was. IN the di-
rection of the drug store. Witness said that
when no came out of his room he saw Nen-
able standing in front of the saloon. and
the latter said to him, 'You had better stay
here; it's nothing but some niger killing
his wife," Witness said he kept on run
ming, aud met the defendants as they
turned into the alley. He asked them.
whats going on over here" and received
no reply, the defendants turning into the
alley and running as fast rs they could 90.
He Testified that when he reached the drug
store there were tive or six other persons
there who had arrived at about
the same time witness did. Witness
said he did not remember when
he had first told the prosecutor
what he knew about the case Patrolmar
Ward ana another officer. witness said,
were at his room for about an honr the
next morning. Witness said that he was be-
fore the coroner the same day that Nenable
was: he was taken 60 the jail TO identify