Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-06-16

den lying on the sofa in the stting-room,
bleeding and dead.
The Case against the Prisoner.
The state has proved from people
who at once appeared upon the scene-a
doctor, two or three neighbors, Lizzie's
friend Miss Russell. and lot of police
men-a great variety of queer little facts
No one of them amounts to much but
taken together they certainly do make a Sc
rious case against the young woman. For
instance, it was Lizzie who first suggested
that somebody look for her mother, and
she said she thought she had heard her
mother come in and go upstairs. Well.
when they went upstairs they found Mrs
Borden lying dead under the bed in the
room Immediately above the sitting room,
and she must have been dead at least an
hour, for the blood on the floor had coagu-
lated and oXydized. Lizzie said she had
been in the barn when the murders were
committed, but Policeman Medley saws
that when he went to the barn at about
half-past II he found it fastened with a
staple, and he observed that the dust on
the floor as he cast his eyes around on a
level with the floor, disclosed no trace of
footsteps, except those he had Just made
is altogether likely that there was a sedi-
ment of dust on the floor Lizzie said
that while in the barn she heard scraping
noise in the house, and it was this noise
that moved her to return to the house
Would she have stopped to fasten the barn
door? Perhaps She might, for it appeared
that the Bordens always fastened their
doors, whatever else they did.
Lizzie wore a light blue dress, the white
and blue of which were blended in a
groundwork with large conspicuous navy
blue diamond figure in it, the waist and
skirt being of the same material. There
was not sign of blood or any indication
that she had been involved in violence
anywhere about her person. Several wit
nesses are agreed as to this dress, vet when
the state made a demand of her for the
production of the dress she had worn that
day, she delivered another and different
blue dress. What did she do this for?
Miss Russell remained with Lizzie and
Emma, who had been sent for, from that
Thursday afternoon until the next Mon
day. The house meanwhile was constant
ly guarded day and night. Policemen
were in and out of it all the time. On
Sunday morning, according to Miss Rus
sells story, in the presence of Miss Rus
sell and her sister Emma, Lizzie came into
the kitchen with dress on her arm and
burned it. Emma asked her what she was
doing, and she said she was burning this
dress, that there was paint all over it.
Miss Russell said: "Lizzie, wouldn't do
that where anybody can see you," referring
to the policemen then outside the house.
Lizzie did not hold ont the dress for in
spection. She simply stepped back pace
or two and continued to tear it up and burn
it.. The state asks the jury TO believe that
this was the dress in which she committed
the murders; but that was Sunday morn
ing, and the murders had been committed
on Thursday morning. Where had the
dress been all that while? The house had
been searched and researched again and
again from top to bottom three or four
times day. If her bloody costume had
so long escaped detection would she now
bring it out and burn it in the presence of
two witnesses and with lot of policemen
all around her and likely at any moment to
come in upon the scene?
In the cellar in little box on a shelf
containing also some old rusty tools and
some nails, a Ratchet head was found
rusty and worn and covered with ashes.
There was an ash heap in the room. The
state alleges that this was the tool with
which the murders were committed. 1t
has offered no proof as yet that there was
blood about this Ratchet head, though it is
expected to do so later On that testi-
mony the value of the Ratchet head as ev-
idence in the case will depend. But it is
to be observed that the policeman who
first found it thought so little of its APP
pearance that he dropped it back in the
box and gave no heed to it. 1t was finally
picked up and taken away several days
later by another policeman, who thought
it might possibly amount to something.
An illustration of the way the states evil
dence has been riddled is found in connec-
ton with this Ratchet. The policeman,
Fleet by name, who took away the hatch
ct, testified that he found the Ratchet with
out the handle, while the officer who was
with him at the time swore that the handle
was in the Ratchet at the time Fleet picked