Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1895-11-03


excited when he returned home that
afternoon.
In conclusion Mr. Graham said he de
sired the jury to consider only the evil
donc6 connected with the murder of
I P.-ezel in the C3ilowhin street house,
and nothing else. He paid q glowing
tribute to detective Gayer for his work
i'm unfolding the story.
"This strange tr.al is drawing rapidly
to a close. The question IS has the COM
uOnwealth made out its case? 1 have
tried % convince YOU that IT has. ap-
peal TO your manhood to do what is
/ right As the cr.er asks You so do /,
/ say stand together, good men and true
( I know the courage required for your
duty l ask you TO stand as men and if
YOU believe this man IS guilty, aye,
though it involve death. be true TO your
conscience, and find a true, and just
verdict I ask YOU % do your duty as
men, even though il be repellant To
/ face the ISSUE, TO face the duty and to
/ acQut yourselves Ike men. III You
have a doubt this man IS entitled to the
benefit of 1t. but not such a doubt as
/ arises from the performance OF an un-
pleasant duty / ask you 10 remember
this testimony; 1 ask YOU TO remember
that it is unc0uUadicted, unchallenged,
I admitted. In the face of this testimony
there can be but one conclusion that
this man is guilty in the manner and
/ form rs he stands indicted
3lr. Graham's address, which was
| confined for the most part to a review
reF DE es D.. ,f a ovid
\ UwO hours and q half Holmes appear
/ ed 10 shrink from the district attorney S
! accusing finger, and nerv0usly shifted
/ in his seat as the thunder0us tones Of
/ the prosecuting officer rang through the
/ court room. At the conclusion OF his
( address a recess was taken until 2.30.
/ When court recOnveued there was
/ not an inch of space in the court room
/ or gallery above that was not occupied
\ and the doors were locked TO prevent
/ the entrance of more persons. One Of
/ the peculiar features of the trial has
[ been the number Of society women pres
I ent to witness the proceedings and to-
/ day there were more than ever before.
! In ordinary murder trials there are few
| if any women present.
/ 2:45 o'clock, when Mr.. ROtan, after q
moments C3lve. satiOn with Holmes,
began the argument for the defense.
/ DE was very pale, but self-pOssessed,
/ and received admiration for the pluck
/ and endurance with which he fought
/ practically single-handed against Nhe
/ mighty force of the cOmmOnweal-h's
/ evidence and the skill and experience
of the district attorney. His colleague,
/ Mr.. Shoemaker. who throughout has
/ taken the inferior part in the conduct
of the case. was absent to-day on ac-
count of his illness, and Mr. RO,au was
/ entirely alone.
There was a pathetic note in the way
he began.
Gentlemen Of the jury: There is
/ probably no one in this court room who
can fully appreciate the responsibility
| that rests upon my shoulders. Yet each
of YOU has a much greater response
| bility"
He Immediately entered upon dis
cussion of the evidence and said the de-
] Tense plainly admitted that the body
found i'm the Callcwhill street house was
| that of Pietzel and that me and Holmes
had been conspiring to defraud insT-
I ance companies and at the time OF this
/ occurrence had such a scheme on hand
They also. admitted. Mr.. R0tan said.
| the story of Holmes w2nderings around
/ the country with Mrs Ple,zel. They
| had offered no defence because of their
/ confidence that the Commonwealth had
| not made out It's case and when the
Jury had analyzed the evidence they
/ would find the facts more consistent
| with the theory of suicide than muir
| der. When Holmes went TO the house
/ on Sunday. September 2nd, he found
! the body on the third floor. The at
tornev then repeated the details OF the
arrangement of the body, as already
told but. ne asked, had anything been
produced to show at what time the man
/ had been killed or committed suicide?
is there anything I'm this case to show
that the prisoner secured the policy on
Pietzers life. If there had been the
I Commonwealth would have produced 1t.
Continuing. Mr.. RO3n called atten-
tion to- The fact th9t when Pietzel left
his wife in ST. Louis to come to Pnila-
deIphia. he had told her not 20 be WOr-
red if she heard he was dead, because
he was In a scheme to detraud the in
surance company.
Coming down to the time Of the kill
ing. the speaker denied that there was
ANYTHING to show alcoholic Indications
i'm the mans stomach TO bear out the
commonwealth assertion chat Holmes
had chlOrof0rmed him while be was
drunk.
Concerning the hurried departure of
Holmes and his alleged wife from the
Eleventh street house on the night OF
the murder. Holmes having come home
flushed and warm. and ordered her 10
mack her trunk, Mr.. R0t9n urged that
Miss YOke's testimony showed beyond
question that they had the night before
resolved 10 leave town on Sunday night.
The commonwealth relied on the med
ica1 testimony that the body could not
have bpen found in the rep0seful posi-
-ion I'm which it was. had Pietzel COM
mi--ed suicide by inhaling chloroform.
The defense admitted the truth OF tnlS
-bu- asserted that it was placed IN
srcb position by Holmes after Pietzel
had committed suicide, leaving a note
for him to utilize the corpse to con-
summate the insurance swindle.
Dir. .Rotan reminded the jury Of the
fact that when arrested in Boston for
consDiracv Holmes asked 10 be brought
TO this city to stand trial rather than go
20 Fort Worth. Texas, where he was
wanted for stealing horse. Would
any man have made such q choice, he
demanded. unless he knew just what
crime ne had cCmmitted2
Would he the lawyer demanded, have
avoided a trivial charge in a far distant