The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1895-09-27
HIS DEFENSE FAILED
THE KEYSTONE IN DURRANT'S
ALIRi CRUMBLED AND FELL
yesterday.
THE TESTIMoNYgoF DR.. CHENEY

of Seeing Durrant at the Lecture AT
the Medical College, Though he is
Marked Present ON the Roll Call
BoOk--A Greater Crowd Present at
the Court Room Than Ever--The
ChiseI ana the Bloody Shoe Found.
SAY Francisco, CAL, Sept. 26.-The
keystone in the arch of Durrant's alibi
crumbled and fell to-day. The witness
uoon whom the attorneys for the de.
fense depended most to sustain their
contention that Durrant was attending a
lecture at Cooper Medical College at the
hour when Blanche Lamont was mur-
dered, gave disappointing testimony.
Instead of testifying that Durrant was
present at the lecture, as Attorney
Duprey said DR.. Cheney would, the
doctor said ne had no recollection of
seeing the young medical student. To
offset this reverse the defense gained
only one point, the admission, as an ex-
hibit, of the roll call book at the college,
in which Durrant was recorded as pres
ent at the lecture given on the afternoon
of April g. The prosecution holds the
roll call book in little esteem from the
fact that it will place witnesses on the
stand to prove that Durrant frequently
asked his classmates to answer to bis
name when he was absent, and that they
complied with his request.
The crush in the corridors at the en-
trance to the court was greater today
than upon any other day since the trial
began. Men and women fought for ad
mission, while the sheriff and a score of
deputies struggled as desperately to keep
the crowd back. At times the confusion
outside was so great that the proceedings
of the court were interrupted.
at length Judge Murphy summoned
the sheriff and ordered him to clear the
corridors. If the sheriff's force was in
sufficient, the Judge said he would call
on the chief of police for squad of men
to execute the order.
Sergeant Reynolds, the police officer
who conducted the search of Emanuel
Church after the discovery of the bodies
of Blanche Lemont and Minnie Williams,
was the first witness called to the stand.
After describing the furniture and other
articles found in the pastors study, he
was asked about the chisel marks found
on the door leading to the belfry. The
door and casing through which the
murderer passed with the body of his
victim were brought into the court
and formed one of the most
interesting exhibits produced. The
witness testified that the marss
corresponded in size to chisel found in a
tool box in Rev. John George Gibson's
study. The witness was also asked to
identify shoe supposed to have been
stained with blood which was found in
the pastors study. As Sergeant Rey
nolds did not know to whom the shoe be-
longed, Sergeant Burk was called, but he
was also in ignorance with regard to the
ownership of the shoe.
DR.. VI. Cheney, Of Cooper Medical
College, who was supposed to be the
mainstay of the defense, was the wit
ness next called.
He said the lecture on April began
at $50 and lasted until Ais o'clock at
the close of which the roll was called
The witness did not know whether Dur
rant was present or not as the roll was
called by DR.. T. P. Gray. DR.. Cheney
was temporarily excused and Dr. Gray
summoned. DR.. Gray did not know
whether Durrant was present or not, but
assumed that he was from the fact that
he was not maaked absent on the
roll call.
Questioned with regard to the roll call
book, the witness admitted that the en-
try of April was not an original record,
as it had been transferred from another
page subsequent to that date for the
purpose of rectifying an error. On this
ground the attorney moved that the book
be not admitted as an exhibit. but the
objection was overruled. DR.. Cheney
was then re called and reiterated his
statement to the effect, that he had
no recollection of seeing Durrant
at the lecture given on the afternoon
of April 3. Attorney Duprey was plainly
nettled at the conflict between what the
defense had promised DR.. Cheney would
testify to and what he really did say, so
an effort was made to obtain a satisfac-
tory answer. Witness was asked if in a
conversation with one of the attorneys
for the defense he (the witness) had not
said that he believed that Durrant was
present at the lecture.
AAO SOulb CsohCA dbGOIACJ IL
he was trying to impeach his own wit
ness, and then sustained an objection
interposed by the prosecution. On cross
examination District Attorney Barnes
tried to show that students at the col
lege frequently had their classmates
answer to their names at roll call when
they were absent. The witness was
asked if in his experience as an instruc-
tor at the college he had not become
aware of the existence of such a
practice. The defense objected to the
question on account of its sweeping ma
ture. The court sustained the objection,
but intimated that the question might be
asked If made in proper form Two or
three more questions Of similar import
We're asked, but objections were sus
tanned in each case. Court adjourned
until tomorrow morning, with the cross
| examination of DIR. { henev still incOm