The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-12-27
RAPID CITY, s. D, FRIDAY, DEC 27. 1896.
DR.. HEARNE's DEFENSE.
How He Proposes to Prove Himself Inno-
cent of the Murder.

- ~ 4
How He Proposes to Prove Himself Inno-
cent of the Murder.
BOWLING GREEN Mo-, Dec. 10. - AS
soon as the state announced yesterday
afternoon that its evidence in the case
against DR.. j. c. Hearne for the MUIR
der of Amos j. Stillwell was all in,
Attorney David A. Ball ovtlined to the
jury what the defense expected to
prove. He said that the evidence for.
the defense would cover three dis
tincti points First, an attempt would
be made to estoblish an alibi: then
evidence would be introduced to im-s
peach the testimony Of DR. Vernette
and Harry Nichols, who swore that
they met Dr. Hearne at 1915 o'clock on
the morning of the murder, and finally
a cloud OF witnesses would be brought
over from Hannibal to testify to the
good reputation of DR. Hearne up to
the. time of the murder.
Mr.. Ball then referred in detail to
the evidence for the State and said
that it would be shown beyond a
doubt that DR.. Hearne was not crimi-
nally intimate with Mrs. Stillwell;
that their intimacy grew up without
reservation and was legitimate, and
that he was not guilty of the murder
of Mr.. Stillwell. 1t would be shown
that Mrs. Stillwell, now Mrs Hearne,
was faithful, loving wife, who bore
Mr.. Stillwell six children; that her
good name had never been questioned
till it was prostituted by bloody hands
and that Mrs. Stillwell had stood
many times between Dick stillwell
and his father.
The first witness for the defense was
Lyman 2. Munger Of Hannibal, who
went on the stand this morning. He
is a brother Of William A. Munger, at
whose home the card party was held
on the night of the murder, and he
was at that party. He is about so
years old aud slightly deaf. He said
that Amos Stillwell and his wife did
not leave the party that night till "
O'Clock.
l. Miss Virginia Hearne, the 2o,year-
old daughter of DR.. Hearne, was the
second witness. She is tall, graceful,
good-loolSing and ,demure. She, said
that while they were dancing the Vlr-
ginia reel at the Munger party she
looked at the, clock and it was after
i2 o'clock. the minute hand was be-
tween 12 and 1915 o'clock She told
about Mr.. Munger taking her home.f
Her father let her III and she went to
the9srooms Of her grandmother, who
was in bed but not asleep. Her father
followed her in and sat down on the
edge3of the bed and began talking to
her grandmother.
worked for the Stillwell packing com
M OF 1af Of
fed that on the day aftersUhe murder,
he washed the blood from the body of
Amos Stillwell and took the bed on
which he was murdered down and put
it in the woodshed. He used rags to
clean up the blood and emptied two
buckets full of bloody water and
bloody rags into the vault. The de-
fense claims, that this explains how
the rags and bloody night gown got
into the vault where they were after
ward found by James Abby, the col
ored detective
Colonel Nat Dryden then read to the
jury the deposition of Charles B. An
derson, father of Mrs. Hearne, which
was taken recently in Kentucky.
When Stillwell was murdered he was
notified by telegraph, and reached
Hannibal two days later. He found
his daughter greatly depressed and
suffering from a nervous shock He
urged DR.. Hearne to remain with Mrs.
Stillwell while she lay on couch suf-
fering. She frequently asked per-
mission to go down to the par
lor to see the body Of her
husband, but DR.. Hearne and her
father would not allow her to do
SO until the day of the funeral. son
that day." said Mr.. Anderson. s'my
daughter insisted on going to the
funeral We told her she was not in
a condition to go, and we finally com
promised with her by consenting to
let her see her husbands body. She
came down stairs leaning on my arm.
DR.. Hearne was just behind US. She
stood beside me at the coffin and
stopped to kiss the lips of her hus-
band. Some one standing on the
other side of the coffin whispered to
her to kiss him on the forehead. She
did so and swooned away, and was
carried up stairs by DR.. Hearne."