The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-02
MURDER In The
FIRST DEGREE.
Durrant Jury Reached the
Verdict in Twenty
Minutes.
Prisoners rIother Speeches. in
Grief--Prisoner CHASTITY.
The Crowd Cheered Wildly as the
Verdict Was Rendered-The
Friends of Ehe Murdered Girl
P1eased-AttOrney Barnes Given
Credit For the Immunity of the
Result.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. Theodore
Durrant, assistant superintendent of the
Emanuel Baptist church Sunday school,
was today convicted of the murder of
Blanche Lamont, for which he has been
on trial since July % last The jury was
out twenty minutes and arrived at the
verdict on the first ballot AS there was
no recommendation Of mercy. the punish
ment was fixed at death.
1t was exactly twenty-one minutes
from the time the jury left the court
room to the time the verdict was an
nounced. but that time was not all
taken up in deliberation. In fact there
was no deliberation at all. The jury had
evidently decided upon a verdict before
they left the box II was S:S4 when they
filed out Of the court room into the
grand jury room, which had been placed
at their disposal. 1t took the twelve
men until 300 o'clock before they set
tied themselves comfortably, and a 3:55
knock on the door announced to the
anxious walters that a verdict had been
found. 1t took just i've minutes of ac-
tual time to elect a foreman and take
the one ballot necessary.
The scene in the court room when the
verdict was announced will never be for
gotten by those who were present. Judge
Murphy finished his charge at $50 and
was supposed to be little prospect of a
verdict being returned before 7 or 8
o'clock in the evening, the throng of spec
tators who had remained in the over
crowded court room all the afternoon 10
hear the judges charge, settled them
selves back in their seats to await the
return of the jury. Mrs. Durrant and the
prisoner talked and laughed together as
if an acquittal was foregone conclu-
sion. They were Joined by half dozer
friends and the conversation was becom-
ing animated when it became whispered
about that the
Jury Had Agreed Upon n Verdict.
In an instant hush fell upon the little
circle that had gathered around the pris
oner. Durrant's face, always pale, as
was speeches.. Then the big doors at
the rear of the room opened and the
members of the jury filed in and took
their seats in the box.
In the intense excitement that followed
the room, although il was filled to it's
utmost capacity, was almost as quiet as
II 1t had been vacant Judge Murphy,
who had retired to his chambers, was
summoned and took his place upon the
bench. Clerk Morris asked the usual
question as to whether the jury had
agreed upon a verdict. Foreman Warren
Dutton arose and replied in, the affirma-
tive.
I'VE, the jury" said he, find the de-
PENDANT, William Henry Theodore Dur
rant, guilty of murder in the first de-
gree
AS the aged foreman. pale and tren-
bling. read the words that fixed Durrant's
fate, low rumbling noise like the roar
OF mob arose from the rear of the
court room. The next moment men were
cheering wildly while women wept hys-
terically in excitement. The bailiff raped
loudly for order, but the tumult contin-
ued for a minute before anything like
quiet could be brought out of the d:sor-
Do
and asked that a day be set upon when
the sentence of death should be passed
upon the prisoner. Judge Murphy said
that
Sentence Would Be Passed Next
Friday,
upon which day he would also set the
day for the trial of Durrant on the charge
of numbering Minnie Williams
During the tumult that followed the
announcement of the verdict Durrant ami
his mother were lost sight of except by
the lew VINO sat nearest to them. AS the
last words of the verdict were uttered
Durrant made SpaSmodic effort to arise
TO his feet, but before he could do so
his mother with half sigh, half moan
threw her arms around his neck and
sunk back into her chair. His mothers
grief seemed to make Durrant forget his
own position, and for the next few min
utes he sat with his arms around her
neck, trying to soothe her. The long
m.
pletely shattered her SET control and it
was some time before Mrs. Durrant could
leave the court room. Durrant's father
was not in the room when the verdict
was returned. AS soon as the Jury re-
tired he went out into the corridors not
believing that the jury would return for
several hours, and he first learned that
ms son had been convicted when a cheer
as the news spread.
Durrnnt Was Comnosed
Durrant recovered his old time COM
posture as soon as he left his mother and
prepared to return to the county iail.
W.T. with ms overooat swung carelessly over
ms arm. ne walked leisurely out of the
room twirling his slight mustache with
apparently as little concern as If he
We're merely spectator of instead of
the principal figure, in the exciting
Aside from the spectators Mrs. Noble
Blanche Lamont's aunt and Maud La.
mont. the dead girls sister, were az
parently the happiest persons in the
Maud Lamont sprang from her scat.
clapped her hands and then cried of
sheer excitement. Mrs. Noble mixed
smiles with tears and shook hands with
a number of friends who crowded around
to congratulate her.
AS soon as Durrant left the building,
the crowd surged out of the room and
gathered around the door, out of which
prison van. Fearing that some violence
might be offered the prisoner, he was
taken out of another door and driven
by a circuitous route to the county jail.
Mrs. Durrant Crushed.
The verdict fell with all its force Oh
Durrant and his family. who had banked
all their hopes on a disagreement While
Mrs. Durrant knew that it was among
the possibilities that her son would be
acquitted. her friends said she stead
lastly maintained that a shadow of
doubt would rest in the mind of one of
the jurors. and that her son would not
be convicted. She was, therefore, totally
unprepared for the jury to find her son
guilty in twenty minutes. When the YER
dict was announced, the whole weight of
her sorrow seemed to fall upon her and
she gave way to uncomfortable grief
But once during the whole trial had she
shown any anxiety or feeling. When Dis
trict Attorney Barnes was yesterday in
the midst of one of his most bitter ar
fragments of the prisoner, whom he
~ 49,. 4o1