The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-19
THE MURDER IN THE BELFRY.
DURRANT'S STARTLING APPEAR
ANCE BEFORE ORGANIsT KING.

Movements Blanche's Murderer Must
Have Made After the Crime Was
COmmitted-BeIfry Locks Smashed
and the Knobs Thrown Under the
DoOr-The Trip Across the space
Above the Ceiling 10 the Rear Gar
ret of the Church and Down the
PasSRgeway to the Basement-Dur-
rants story That He Had Been Re-
pairing n Sunbnrner Over the Cell
ing.
San Francisco. Sept 1S.-Durrant. in the
Emmanuel Baptist church. pale, agitatec,
with blood-shot eyes and his hair dis
heveled, his coat and hat off and with
every evidence Of weakness, was prosent-
ed to the jury by the prosecution as he
appeared after his alleged travels from
the normal school on the afternoon or
April 3.
1t has been shown by four witnesses
that he left the school with Blanche La
mont on that afternoon, and by three oth-
ers that ne rode with young lady of her
description out to the church and entered
It. From the time he entered the church,
about 4;3O o'clock, il is the theory of the
prosecution that he was occupied until 5
o'clock in perpetrating the murder. AZ
8 o'clock he was seen in the church by
another witness. George r. King. the
church organist, who occupied the stano
all of to-day.
The murderer Of Blanche Lamont, after
having killed her. locked the door to the
belfry, broke the lock and took the knobs
on the door and threw them under the
belfry door. II was then necessary for
him to cross space above the ceiling
80 Hfaa. oh
which there was a passage down to the
basement.
1t was down this rear passage that Dur
rant came when he burst on Kings view.
He stopped in a space between partly
opened folding doors when he saw King
sitting at piano in the corner, and when
King asked him what was the matter he
did not at once reply. When he did reply
It was to explain that he had been fixing
q sun burner above the ceiling, and that
he had been overcome by escaping gas.
Durrants appearance was so startling
that King ran TO drug store block and
a half distant at MS suggestion to get him
some bromo seltzer and fastened back
H. King was In doubt as to whether Dur
Durrant on his return was standing IN the
vestibule at the church entrance or lying
on platform in the Sunday school room
In the rear. As he remembered IL Durrant
was lying on the platform.
Upon first entering the church King
had detected the odor Of escaping gas,
the only thing In his testimony favora-
bic to Durrant, and this led him to enter
the closet used for a library. where the
body OF Minnie Williams was afterwards
found At that time he did not see Dur
rants coat and hat in the room adjoin-
ing the closet, but after his return wsth
the bromo seltzer, he re-entered the room
with Durrant and the latters coat and
hat were then lying on a box. The door
to this room was usually kept locked,
but when King arrived at the church he
found the door open. Only Durrant and
King had keys to IL.
The prosecution attempted to show that
the defense had tried to tamper with this
witness and had got him to change his
testimony so as to place Durrant lying
on the Sunday school platform instead of
standing In the vestibule, but a reference
to the records of the police court showed
that King testified on cross-examination
in the preliminary examination that he
thought Durrant might have been lying
on the platform. The point Is inmate
rial except as TO tn alleged attempt to
influence the witness.
Miss Lucille Turner was on the stand for
a few minutes to say that she was not in
the church on the day of the murder Her
testimony was TO clear up a point left in
doubt by Mrs. Leak, who yesterday tes-
titled that from her front window she had
\ seen Durrant enter the church with
young lady she said looked like either
Blanche Lamont or Miss Turner The
case went over till Friday, on account OF
the Jewish holiday tomorrow, 10 accom-
modate two Of the Jurors.