The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-04-20
VERDICT OF The JURY
Durrant Adjudsed Guilty Of the Mur-
der OF Miss Williams.
THE PREACHER SUSPECTED
Emanuel Church a Mark For the
Destroyer-Popuia Sentiment
Demands That IL Be Raced
To the Ground.

the guilt of w. II. Il. Durrant, the medi-
cal student accused of killing Miss Will
Jams and suspected of having slain Miss
Blanche Lamont, is freely expressed.
There has been an undercurrent of
| opinion, which was expressed in q state
ment to the newspapers by the mother OF
the accused man. and has also been
boldly stated in anonymous letters to the
coroner, that the actions of the pastor,
Rev. John George Gibson. have been SO
peculiar that the police might do well to
| turn their searchlight on him.
He stated that he had not visited Dur
rant in prison because of the infiamed
state of public opinion. In spite of these
expressed suspicious against the preacher,
it is almost beyond doubt he is not in
any manner implicated. as his where
abouts at the time Miss Williams is sup
posed to have been murdered, are known.
If it should be proven that Miss Williams
was not killed until midnight, instead of
between and Q o'clock, then there might
be grounds for the suspicion voiced by
many people.
The inquest was resumed this morning.
One of the witnesses before the coroner's
jury was Elmer Wolfe, an intimate friend
of Durrant. Wolfe was in the neighbor-
hood of the Emanuel church on the night
Miss Williams was murdered and claims
to have seen Durrant within a block of
that edifice as he went home.
Popular sentiment favors razing the
church, which always has been under a
cloud. A stain of human blood marks its
history. One of tho pastors killed news
paper proprietor, and another blew out
his brains.
The coroner's jury concluded the inves-
legations in the case of Durrant, the al
legged murderer of Minnie Williams and
Blanche Lamont in the Emanuel church,
to-day. and rendered verdict declaring
Durrant guilty of the murder of Minnie
Williams.
Elmer Wolfe. whose statements have
been questioned recently, offered to pro-
duce witnesses to substantiate all he pre-
viously stated regarding his movements
on the night Minnie Williams was MUIR
dered, but the coroner and chief of police
say that they are satisfied with Wolfe's
| statements.
Two of Durrant's comrades in the ma
tional guard company were examined,
and said that on the afternoon of the day
Minnie Williams was murdered they saw
Durrant lettering around the ferry land
ing at the foot of market street and talked
to him.
They said Durrant told them he did not
expect to be at the armory that night and
asked them to respond TO his name at
roll call.
DIR. Bartlett, who conducted the au-
topsy, testified that Minnie Williams died
of asphyxiation as a result of having part
of her clothing thrust down her throat by
the murderer, and that the knife wounds
on her body were inflicted after her death.
He also testified that the girl had
been outraged, and previous to the time
of the tragedy had led blameless life.
Several other witnesses were exmamined
on minor matters, and at IL o'clock the
coroner announced that he had no more
testimony to offer, though he called Dur
rant to the stand. His attorneys advised
him not to speak, and no further effort
was made to question him.
Durrant was not present when the jury
brought in their verdict. The coroner's
jury returned the following verdict:
"We find from the evidence that the
murder was committed by one Theodore
Durrant, and we charge him with the
crime"
When Durrant was shown the verdict,
his face flushed little for the first time
since the terrible crime was discovered.
Miss Gertrude Tabor, n step sister of
Elmer Wolfe, the young man whose name
has been frequently mentioned in the case
within the past two days, has come for
ward and identified the purse, which was
found on the San Bruno road by a clam
digger, as the one which contained some
papers. among which was a business card
of DR.. Vogel, on the back of which was
written the name of Miss Williams. Miss
Tabor says that shc missed the purse
some time ago while riding out to the
Tabor ranch on the San Bruno road, and
explains the presence of n card with Miss
Williams name upon il by saying that
Miss Williams visited her some weeks ago
and wrote her address on one of DIR.
Vogel's cards. Elmer Wolfe's testimony
at the inquest was slightly mixed, and
some of Durrant's friends thought he
knew more of the crime than he wished
to tell and pointed to the finding of the
purse to substantiate the claim. 1t is a
peculiar coincidence that the purse should
have been lost by one SO closely related to
Wolfe and found at this critical time.
Mrs. Durrant, mother of the accused,
says that she has evidence for the defense
which will go to upset the bearing of the
statement of Witness Hills, who testified
before the coroner's jury that he had seen
a couple answering the description of
Durrant and the dead girl standing near
the church about 8 80 on the night of the
murder, and who afterwards entered the
church yard. Mrs. Durrant says that
young couple has come to her and stated
that they were the parties that entered
the church yard about the time Hills
claims to have seen a couple pass into the
front gate. This afternoon the police re-
ceived information from a laundry that a
pair of bloody trousers had been left for
cleaning. The police say that the trousers
are too big for Durrant. but they will trace
the clew TO find the owner.