The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-10-14
FINGER OF SUSPICION.
When 1t First Pointed Toward
Durrant, the Student,
AS MISS lAMoNT's MURDERER
The Bufchered Girls Aunt His First
Accuser-The Case OF the Prose-
cution In Rebutral.

the horror OF The HDrary c4Oset became
known his name was IN every mention or
Il. In a few hours the papers had extra
editions naming Durrant. BY Saturday
evening most people believed that the
murderer was known. DR.. Nogel was
asked 10 give an account or himself, the
pastor told OF his comings and goings on
Friday evening. Elmer Wolfe had 10 put
on his thinking cap. and Sademan, the
janitor. refreshed his memory. The de-
tectives sought TO know why Durrant
was accused, but they were never able 10
find exact Information.
Now it comes out that Mrs. Noble, the
aunt of Blanche Lamont, was the hrst 10
mention his name in connection with the
tragedy. Mrs Noble talked freely Of the
case today. When asked whether Dur
rant told her on the memorable y ednes-
day that he had seen Blanche that morn
ing, she said: Yes; when i went 10 pray
er meeting that evening IL was agreed
between Maud and myself that nothing
should be said of Blanche's absence. We
did not wish TO make any unnecessary
fuss about thing that might be cleared
up in an hour. ] was 50 troubled that
would not have gone 10 church had not
been obligated to hand in a notice Tor an
entertainment. ! do not remember wheth-
er / went in ahead OF Durrant or not out
I do know that he always sat in the back
OF the room during prayer meeting, ana
his coming TO where ] was was unusual.
He asked me, as / have testified, whether
Blanche was there. He said she wanted
THE Newcomes" but he had forgotten II
and would bring il on Sunday. Then he
stated that he had met ner on the way 10
schoo; that morning.
eve suffered silently all day Thursday
and Friday IL was not until Friday that
the anguish became so unbearabIe mat
we began TO tell our church friends. FRI
day morning a little after clock Dur
rant called here. bringing with him Inc
Newcomes" Maud answered the bell.
He asked IL Blanche was al nome, ana
expressed no surprise at seeing Maud,
who would ordinarily have been at school-
When Maud tod him that Blanche was
not at home he said: I thought L might
see her Maud closed the door, and SAID:
sAuntfe | believe he knows that Blanche
is missing. Why should he come 10 see
her at this hour? 1t is past the school
time, and he acted rather strangely We
did not think be knew anything OF her
whereabouts; we were concerned only
that the fact of her disappearance might
become known. Even when the detec-
tives commenced 10 work on the case and
came to me for the names of her friends
7 mentioned DR.. NogePs name first. Dur
rant was an afterthought.
'As has appeared during the trial, he
offered his aervices 10 assist in the
search. The following week dragged
YEARLY on. Saturday morning Mrs.
Keelsr the wife of the undertaken, called
here TO tell me that body had been
found and that 1T was not Blanche's.
Knowing my frightful anxiety. my friends
at the church feared that / would hear
that a body had been found and might
think II was Blanche. so they dispatched
Mrs Keller to tell me that IL was the
body of some one else. In referring 10
Blanche's disappearance and 10 the fact
. IL CT
Mrs. Keller remarked that he had gone
out OF town. Like a fash his conduct
from that Wednesday night prayer meet
ing passed before me. | remembered IL
all-his seeking me al the prayer meet
ing his strange cali on Friday morning.
what Maud had said. and his dreadful in
depreciation OF her absence. sickening
realization came to me, and said TO Mrs.
Keller: 'Durrant has killed that girl "
That was afternoon on Saturday, April
IS When the detectives were working
that afternoon Mrs. Noble said that she
did not know who first mentioned Dur
rants name She did know that she her
self had set the machinery OF the law
against him.
Mrs. Noble. who found the body of Min
ME Williams said today: "Durrant's
name was not mentioned while was At
the church In fact. asked Mr.. Gibson
~ he found ont who did II 10 let me
first mention I knew was in the papers
Or NoCel who was called and ideut
fed the body OF Minnie Williams. says:
"Durrants name was not mentioned AZ
the time the body was found. | heard II
first early In the AFTERNOON. 7 was pre-
sumably the first person 10 tell him that
Blanche was missing. That was the sun
day after the disappearance. when De-
tectivc Anthony called on me. / told
Theodore on his way into cAurch. going
up the stairs. I cannot say now how he
acted when I told him ] had not con-
nected him with her absence. and was
| not on the watch 10 see how he behaved
The case Of the prosecution in rehutrai
! has been carefully gone over by both
! Barnes and Lees and the order Of wit
neSses has been decided upon. Or. Gil
bert r Graham viii he the first witness.
He viii testify that he. in company with
] : nunnigan, visited DUrrant AT the
city prison. and that the prisoner took
him aside and asked him for the notes q
Or Chenev's lecture. saving that - he
had tho notes Of that lecture he could
prove an alihi He viii he followed hy
Dunnirau. who viii corroborate Graham
in All material points.
Students Dodge and Wvck will testify
as TO the conversation with Durrant AZ
the ferry landing on the afternoon Of
April r. when the defendant told them
that he was waiting 20 meet some mem
bers Of tho signal corps
student CHASER will take tho stand and
TESTIFY that on April H. three days before
the discovery Of Blanche Iamont's Nodv.
after purrant knew that the police were
looking FOR the missing girl DWrranf
asked him for notes 81 DR.. Cheney's lee
ture and that he produced the notes and
read them md that p1rrant took notes
% the subject matter fhev contained
Reporters Cooper and Morrison vii he
put on the witness stand 20 contra afc' tha
statement ~ Reporter Marshal REGARDING
the Interview with Detective Gibson on
April e Marshal Who was ~ that time
a reporter on the Ca,l. declares that G}h-
son si-rov erred the prints ~ 70. 2 shoe
IN che dust ~ the hclfry where tho body
81 blanche lamont was found u is a
significant fact that though Marshal
clair-s 20 have hat an Interview wfth the
detective orr April "a the story d58 rot
aurear tr Nis rauer untN Apr1 Is and
then vas credited 70 some policeman Iu
tha Mission. whose name was rct men
tened
% is pointed out rs q peculiar c5rcurn-
stance and one worthy 81 consideration.
that Sc all the circumstances where the
testimony &C the prosecution IS material
pr~rant rarity admits the truth CT she
occurrence. h1t insists that the incidents
wee tsucEested' by the other side. He
admits having a conversation with Miss
Curuirrhauf relative 20 seeing Blanche
Iamcof's bcs3v on the second landing q
the ch4rch he't-v but SAYS the Incidents
ve-e --stIEzes;ei' hy rhe reporter. and
thaf he neither az irmed nor denied any
tAtuE In The same way. pc saws Dr.
Graham .'suEE-stei' tire adv5sabtIEtv q
furnishing him with notes q Dr. Cheney's
lecture The, same admissions and .'sur-