Evening star., 1895-08-20
DURRANT'S BAD RECORD
1t is Being Investigated by tina Pros ecu
t;o,
eAoA' tt. ii
The Effort to Establish nn, Alibi in
the Lamont Murder Cnsennd
to Disprove 1t.

SAN FRANCISCO, August 2O.+The pros
ecutors Of Theodore Durrant, suspected of
the murder of Blanche Lamont and Minnie
Williams, are at present engaged in devel-
cping a fruitful line of testimony, which
promises to throw a powerful side light on
the conduct of the young man toward wo-
men. While Durrant is pictured by his
friends as being meek, modest youth.
1t is proposed to prove his baseness was
boundless when associating with women,
and letters written by the prisoner to his
female acquaintances will be introduced as
evidence.
The audacity of the prisoner is shown by
a letter now in the hands of the police.
which he wrote to q local actress a few
had known the young lady but a few days,
he wrote her letter SO suggestive that
she declined to answer it, and a few days
later he followed 1t up with another just
ss offensive.
The Meek, Modest Youth.
So bold did Durrant become that long
before his arrest it Is said a number Of
young women declined to attend parties to
which he was invited or associate with him
in any way.
Some Of the women who have been in
suited by Durrant will be placed on the
witness stand, and their testimony will be
fense that SO moral and conscientious a
young man could not commit two atrocious
murders.
From a reliable source 1t was learned
that, no matter what is accomplished by
the present trial, it is intended to bring
Durrant before jury on the charge Of
killing Minnie Williams. This course will
be pursued, even If Durrant should be
Lament. The idea of the prosecution in
doing that would provide against the pos
siljlity of the supreme court granting a
new trial in the Lamont case. 1t Is even
probable that the district attorney would
consent to a change Of venue for the Will
Jams trial.
Much speculation has been INDUCED as
to what Durrant's counsel expect to pre-
sent to the jury to combat the evidence
now in the hands of the prosecution. From
hints that have been dropped, 1t appears
that the records of the Cooper Medical
College will form the basis for the attack
| on the testimony Of Martin Quinlan, Mrs.
Leake and others.
Durranes Possible AIibi.
The records are tho rolls of DR.. VIM. F.
Cheney's class at the college. Durrant was
one Of a class of seventy-seven students
who attended DR.. L. Cheney's lectures. The
| rolls show that he was present at the lee
ture delivered at the college on the after
| nocn Of April 3 at the precise hour that
| the prosecution claims he entered EN-
| manuel Church with Blanche Lamont.
DR.. Cheney's lecture hour is from $3.50 to
4:3O. and the roll Of students is not called
until the close of the lecture On this oc-
| casion the doctor says his lecture was a
| little shorter than usual, and that he may
| have ordered the roll called as searly as
4:2O o'clock. If Durrant was present and
| answered to his name then he could not
have been at the church with Blanche La
mont Il,
DR.. Cheney considered the point so i'm
portant that he spent two days in trying to
determine the truth or falsity ofcthe facts
as shown by the roll. The seventy seven
members of the class were taken in his
private Office one by one and interrogated
as to whether they had remarked Durrants s
| presence at the lecture, whether they had
heard him answer when his name was
called, and whether they had answered for
him. To the last two interrogatoFies they
all answered in the negative Some were
| under the impression that DurrantJ had at
| tended the lecture, but none were sure.
DR.. Cheney's investigation brought cut
| one important fact 1t was on April 10
| Durrant went to a fellow student, Edward
| F. Glaser, and asked for the notes of DR..
| Cherey's lecture, delivered the afternoon of
! the 3D.. The prosecution looks upon this as
proof that Durrant did not attend the lee
ture, for had he done 80 he would have
| made his own notes.