The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-04

FIGURES FOR THE RAILROAD COMMISSION.


show you that the statement of Durrant that
he was overcome by gas in the upper portion
of the church, and that he was there arrang-
ing electric wires, is utterly improbable, If
not absolutely impossible: we will produce
the plumbers who had repaired and made per-
feet the gas connections few days before
We will show you by the ianitor of the church
and others that the electric wires were in per-
feet condition; that the only places in which
gas could escape from the sun-burners, or the
great cluster gaslights in the top of the church,
of which there were three, were connected by
large tin ventilators and pipes with the roof,
so that any gas escaping from them would rise
through the ventilators to the roof, and so
escape outside the building; and that the only
electrical apparatus in the church were three
wires which. transmitted an electric spark to
these sun-burners, and which were operated by
press buttons in the gallery of the church
itself
When George King left the church, about
quarter to 6, Durrant accompanied him a
greater portion of the way home, although
Kings home lay in exactly the opposite direc-
ton to Durrant's. That evening-Wednesday
April 3, 1S95-was the time for the regular
Wednesday evening prayer meeting at the
Emmanuel Church, which began at half-past z
in the evening. Blanche had not come home.
Her aunt was very much alarmed about her,
although she did not want, as yet. to notify the
police or her friends or neighbors of Blanche's
non-appearance. Therefore Mrs. Noble went
10 the prayer-meeting in the hope that per-
haps Blanche might have stopped to supper
with some of her friends and gone to the
prayer-meeting.
Mrs. Noble did not see Blanche at the prayer
meeting, but she saw Durrant and Durrant
asked her on the evening of the day on which
we claim he had murdered this girl if Blanche
had come to the prayer-meetlng. Mrs. Noble
told him that she had not He then told Mrs.
Noble that he had q book for Blanche, ''The
Newcomes," which he had promised to give
her, and intended to give her, and would come
and leave it at the house for Blanche on later
occasion.
A few days passed and the disappearance of
Blanche Lamont was reported to the police
and made known to the world. Durrant, in
company with George King, called at the
Mobiles house. He offered his services to assist
in finding Blanche Lamont, and suggested to
this sorrowing family, by intimation-as we
shall show you that he stated directly to a
fellow-student of his at the medical college
that Blanche Lamont had gone astray, and was
in all probability in some house of i'll repute
in this City, He offered his services to search
the houses TO find this girl, who at that time
lay strangled to death in the belfry of the
between the 4th and 10th April 1--WE cannot fix
the day more definitely, when ring was Of
fered for sale by Durrant to pawnbroker
named Oppenheimer at 405 Dupont street.
This ring, plain gold band, containing a
chip diamond, belonged once to Maude La
mont, who had exchanged it with her lister for
a garnet ring.
On Saturday. April 13, 1895, a package was
received by Mrs. Noble. 1t was newspaper.
L ,r-,%
around it. Inside this newspaper were the
three rings that Blanche wore when she left
home-the little diamond ring offered for sale
to Oppenheimer and two others. On that Sat
urday morning, April 13, the Saturday preced-
ing Easter Sunday, some ladies went to the
Emmanuel Baptist Church to decorate the
altar and the church with Easter lilies and
flowers.
When they arrived tthe church their atten-
ton was attracted to the Sunday-school library
room and in this library room was found the
murdered body of Minnie Williams. The find
ing of this body led to the calling in of the
police and the search of the church. When the
officers detailed to search the church reached
the door that led into the belfry they were un-
able to proceed further, the door being closed
and locked and the knob of the door being
broken off. They were compelled to break
open the door. The belfry of the Emmanuel
Baptist Church is ascended by means of wind
ing stairway and at the top of this stairway
there is platform
On this platform was discovered the dead
body of Blanche Lamont. She lay un-
clothed upon her back, her feet together, her
hands crossed over her bosom and her head
supported by two blocks of wood in the man
ner in which medical students are accustomed
to lay out dead bodies. In various portions of
the belfry and of the unfinished portion of the
church, in parts that could only be reached by
person entirely conversant with the church
and with its ramifications, were found the
clothes and the schoolbooks of the dead girl.
An examination of the body showed that the
girl had teen strangled to death; her lungs
were congested; her brain was congested; the
thorax and the trachea were compressed; upon
one side of the neck were five tinger-nail Incl
sions, and upon the other seven fnger-nail in
cisions We will show you that the door that
led into the belfry had been closed from the
inside, and that the knobs had been broken off
from the inside and thrown from the inside
underneath the flooring of the gallery upon
which this door opened.
Having accomplished this, the only way in
which the murderer of this girl could descend
into the main body of the church was over the
false roof of the auditorium from the belfry,
coming down behind the pulpit to the bap-
tistry, down the stairs that led into the Sun
day-school room, through the doors from the
infant classroom into the main Sunday-school
room-the position in which Durrant met the
startled eyes of King, the orgsnist.
During the time of the disappearance of
Blanche Lamont and before her body was dis
covered Durrant was seen by Frank Sademan,
the janitor of the Emmanuel Baptist Church,
down at the ferry at the foot of Market street.
Durrant informed him that he had clew that
led him to the belief that Blanche Lamont was
going to Oakland to visit some friends, and
that he was waiting at the ferry to intercept
her.
On April 8, 1895, when Durrant met this
girl and accompanied her to church, his name
appeared upon the rollcall of students who
were present at DR.. Cheney's lecture at the
Cooper Medical College, but this rollcall was
taken at the end of the lecture, when there is
great confusion. We will show that on occa-
sions before this Durrant secured FELLOWSHIP
dents to answer his name as being present at
these rOllcalls when in fact he was not pres
ent, and that there was no student in the en-
tire class who saw Durrant present at the lee
ture.
A few days after this he met fellow-student
and induced him to go into a room at the col
lege and there to read over to him the notes
that he took at DR.. Cheney's lecture upon this
day in order that he (Durrant) might sustain