The Portland daily press., 1895-08-06

proof can exist of express malice afore-
thought than the murderer lying in wait
for his victim.
The Chief Justice then said that the
court would hear the arguments upon
the motions. Mr.. Seiders first presented
the Eargument for the defendant.
There are two motions in the case one
is that the verdict may be set aside be-
cause it is against evidence and the
weight of evidence, and the other on the
ground that new evidence has been dis
covered, which if submitted to a Jury
With the other evidence already in the
case would result in different verdict.
On the first motion that the verdict
Should be set aside because the weight of
evidence was against verdict of guilty,
the argument was lengthy and consisted
largely in grouping the testimony of
different witnesses to show that Lewis
did not have the time or the opportunity
to commit the murder; that is that
Coburn s death must have occurred at
time when Lewis was admittedly at the
Lowell house, and in the presence of
members OF the Lowell family. The
counsel sought to show that supper at
the Coburn house must have occurred not
later than fifteen minutes past five
O'Clock; that Coburn went to the barn
not later than twenty minutes past six,
and was undoubtedly killed immediately,
that Lewis did not come out of the
Lowell house until about half past six.
met GRAHAM at the door with whom he
talked short time, and therefore he
could not have the time or the opportuni
ty to commit the crime; that Coburn was
dead before he left the Lowell house.
In regard to the purported confession or
admission by Lewis as testified to by
Graffam the counsel claimed that it was
improbable. Upon this pointMhe said it
passes belief that the purported admission
at the back door and the confession on
the way to Gorham Corner can be true.
The conversation at the back door was so
near the house that the separate voices of
Lewis and GRAHAM were easily distin-
| gulshable Is it even probable that man
contemplating such deed would have
thus openly declared his intentions?
| Lewis had not seen Graffam since the
day before the murder. There was no
plan of operation discussed no protest
from Graffam,. not even a word of sur
prise The desirable thing seems to have
| been that Coburn and Mrs. Kimball were
| in the house. and not absent from it,
The money, if there was any, was mot on
Coburn, except a very small sum, but in
the house, as Lewis well knew, and
| which Graffam did not know. If money
was the object, Lewis could have secured
it time and time again without the
knowledge of Corburn or Mrs. Kimball,
and without harming either of them, for
Coburn kept his money in his room of
which the door was never left locked,
and Lewis must have known it.
The purported confession on the way to
Gorham Corner is equally as absurd.
Do men in their right minds commit
heinous crimes like this and Immediately
tell of them? Such is not the course of
crime. The stamp of falsehood is as
visible on this purported confession as it
is on the claimed admission at the back
door. The appreciation of the enormity
of the crime, in the purported admission
and confession, is entirely wanting,
which goes far to show that the story was
made up from whole cloth.
Lewis said, IA pretty serious case,
amt it, Ed?'' said Yes it is = 1 said,
Did you do it?'' He said II suppose
did. l asked him how he done it, and
r ;v,5 o,,I lo~, L.
did the deed and then told him not to
say anything to anybody, as though it
was an every day affair. There was no
suggestion of escape; no particular
anxiety about being discovered no sug-
gestion of what he did it for, nor whether
him, except as appears by testimony of
Daniel Graffam which Graffam denies
GRAHAM between the day of the murder
and the Monday following denied time
| and time again that he. knew anything
about the murder He implicated Lewis
only after being pressed by his uncle
GRAHAM and by the serious situation in
which ne found himself. If he lied to
protect Lewis, as he claims, was he not
more likely to lie to save himself from
the web of evidence which was being
woven about him, and which he saw
finally enyelop him, and convict him as
the murderer of Bryon G. Coburn?
AS duplicating Graffam and thereby
raising reasonable doubt as to the gull
of Lewis Mr.. Seiders referred to the con-
Trajectory stat ements of GRAHAM as to
where he was during the fatal half hour
between six and seven o. clock, the time
Lewis was at the Lowell house; his
vari GUS explanations as to where he was
going when he made the tracks back of
the barn and the slim reason he gives for
going to the Hannafords woods; the fact
that he did not go and look at the OK
when found, while Lewis did go and ex-
anime it; his anxiety to account for the
half hour between six and seven o'clock ;
the fact thatahe had no dinner and that
he went home to get supper and refused
to have any when asked by Miss Lowell !;
the fact that he was out of money before