The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-09
.DURRANT CASE RUMORS,
Captain Lees Spent Yesterday
in Searching for a Miss
Clayton.
THE WOMAN WAS NOT FOUND.
Prosecuting Attorney John T. Dare
Saw the Blocks Under the
Head of the Body.

The last few days have been prolific of
rumors in connection with the Durrant
case, perhaps more so than any CORE
spending period since the bodies of Minnie
Williams and Blanche Lamont were
found in Emmanuel Church and Durrant
was arrested for their murder. All sorts
of stories emanating from the most vague
of sources have been circulated and pub
ished, only to be fatty contradicted when
traced to the fountain of the information
such tales as the one that Clarence
Wolf would testify to Durrant's having
told him of his intention to betrav Blanche
Lamont; that Mayor Sutro was supplying
the funds to conduct the defense; that the
defense would undertake, in the Minnie
Williams case, to show that the girl was
not murdered on the night when she is
supposed to have lost her life, but on the
following morning, and that she was not in
Durrant's company that fatal night, but in
the company of an aged sutton.
These are only a few of the stories that
have been given publicity and have then
been pronounced false by persons most in
terested.
The latest of these startling stories is
that wired from Los Angeles Saturday to
the effect that Miss Ida M. Clayton, a
teacher in the Redding Primary School, is
one that Durrant is supposed to have
frightened in the church by sudden ap-
pearance he made before her one day.
Captain Lees took up the work person
ally yesterday Of investigating the story,
but up to last evening he had failed to find
the whereabouts of Miss Clayton, who had
gone out of the City over Sunday. He was
led 1oct
having satisfied himself as to the truth of
the report.
John L. Dare, prosecuting attorney in
Police Court 2, will be one of the States
witnesses Tuesday. His son, Starr Dare,
has already testified to finding the wearing
apparel of Blanche Lamont slowed away
in tile rafters and under the floor in the
belfry. But Starr Dare did not notice the
two block under the head OF the body, as
it lay with its arms folded on the floor.
So far only one of the peoples witnesses,
Detective Gibson, has been able to testify
concerning these blocks, though several
other witnesses who saw the body In the
belfry before it was removed by Deputy
Coroners Smith and Hallett have been
examined.
Detective Gibson noticed these blocks
and went there few days later and
secured them. Now these blocks, if
properly identified and proved, are of con-
siderable Importance in the case, for
they tend to show that whoever it
was that placed tie body of the murdered
girl where it was found, had knowledge of
the customs in vogue in the dissecting
room. The head rested on these blocks,
just as the head OF corpse in the dissect-
ing-room. Durrant is medical student.
True, there is nothing direct about this
evidence, but it is considered a good link
in the long chain of circumstantial evil
dence by which the State expects to make
out its case against Durrant.
Attorney Dare saw those blocks under
the head of the body. He was in the bel
fry before the body was removed. His
evidence is valued highly by the people.
Heretofore Dickinson has questioned
each witness who was in the belfry about
those blocks, with the result that no one
else besides Gibson seems TO have noticed
them.
There is good deal of preliminary tes-
timony yet to be added before the wit
nesses who will connect Durrant with the
case can be put on the stand.