New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-07-17
Trr CASE AGAINST COLLINS OPENED
COCHRAN AND SCOTT. TIE COMPANIONS OF
OH. DESCRIBE THE PRINCETON
STUDENTS MURDER.

STUDENTS MI RIDER
r-cntou ~ j.. July ,G (SpeciaD-When Justice
C,mn,ere arrived at the courthouse this morning
10 found a crowd o. probably one thousand persons
a,,,r,, n, ouportun.y 20 enter the courtroom TO
a.c, the trial OF John Collins for the murder OF
Frederick p Oil Princeton College student.
Prosecutor Stockton In opening the case ior the
State told briefly the story OF the Killing OF 'hr
popular Princeton student and the attempt 10 muir
Adler Garrett Cochran we'll. Sevcrty-two witnesses
had been subpoenaed. and on motion OF the de-
,ance they were excluded from the room
Charles Mcmillan professor OF civil engineering at
the college who had prepared a diagram or the
PREMISES where the shooting occurred was the
frs, witness: ana Royal Rose. the Princeton pho
tognpher. then explained his photographs OF the
scenes OF the crimes. John Thompson known
among the students as Sport Thompson. who
keeps a students boarding house a, No. II Wither-
snoon-st then told his story. Thompson did not
witness the murder. but heard the shooting In An
derson's hallway. and was the man who captured
Collins after Cochran had disarmed the negro
William r. Burns. OF Evansville H.. who was grad
uated from Princeton this summer graphicaly de-
scribed the scene in Andersons hallway at the
time Of the shooting Carrot Cochran was the
next witness He said on direct examination:
reside at willIamspOrt. Penn. ] first saw Col Col
ns 9 s s gs a Of
and John s Scott with me There was
don't Know exactly how it started but there we're
some words think Scott stopped first. and We all
went back and talked with the colored men CoI-
He did not draw a revolver The colored man LETT
first and down the street ana entered an aley
] think We stood and talked moment. and
ss ySun man came up 81 an tb BY sn 5sss9 W
these pickets ne went up Nassau-st
Nv friends in Anderson's front room ana,
after passing he place suggested to ON that we
turn and 20 INTO AnderSOn's with my friends. we
had not seen The negroes. but just as we got TO
the hallway heard Collins say something. we haa
Just met him at the door and Fred rushed In. and
l followed. As l entered saw Collins draw the
revolver and rushed forward 10 catch him pefore
he could use the weapon, but just as was leaning
forward he fired the bullet striking me In the
mouth l staggered against the wall. ana then
Collins turned the revolver on OH and hred ] di
not believe Oil was struck by the third bullet.
When went Ia the place we both had the renee
pickets with but could not have used them
had cared TO do so. until after the third shot
the revolver away from him When help arrived
was sent to doctor and the prisoner was secured.
Under cross examination by Senator DAILY. Coch-
ran said he nineteen years old. nearly six feot
in height and weighed about l51 pounds stripped
He was on the rush line OF the Princeton football
team, The Senator then called the prisoner who
is a small fellow and placed him and Cochran side
by side before the jury.
John NJ Scott. ~ Frankfort. KY. was the next
witness He vas with Cochran and Oil on the
night OF the murder. and was with them when they
net the negroes As the three students passed the
negroes made some remark and Scott turned back
they reached Anderson's hallway he heard the
negroes make some remark and soon Cochran and
Oil rushed in and witness followed short distance
behind then: he recalled nothing that happened
witnesses told substantially the same story OF the
shooting.