The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-04

ring in the Examiner in the early part OF
April 1t struck his mind that he had
seen the ring before.
told my wife would try to see the defend,
ant and ascertain if he was the man VINO trled
to sell the ring finally saw defendant as ne
was going up the stairs of the new City HAL
to enter the courtroom yesterday. nrst
wanted to see Detective Gibson, to give MN MN
a description of the man who had tried 10 sen
me the ring; but Gibson did not come 10 see
me until yesterday. 1 spoke to a number OF
people about the occurrence. did not try 10
identify Durrant sooner, as my wife was Ill
and did not want to close my store
l saw a good many pictures OF defendant IN
the papers, but did not recognize him SO Wei
as being the man who had tried to sell me the
ring as I did when / saw the defendant yester-
day. l did not read about the rings IN the
paper. only saw the picture OF them. saw
the picture of the rings about the middle part
of April. l did not speak to my wife TILL q
week later. / also spoke to young man
named May, who keeps a shooting gallery next
door, and to several officers on the beat. |
happened to be in court because my wife told
me to 60 and see Durrant and if he was the
man who tried to sell the ring to testify Tor the
prosecution. / was shown the ring Just before
court opened by Captain Lees, but was not
shown the oyercoat and hat before testlned.
l know it was between 10 and IL O'Clock when
the man called on me, because had frequently
looked at the clock to see the time. / know 1t
was after 10 and before IL o'clock.
No one else had been in the store that morn
ing before the man with the ring. NO one
came in until afternoon. Between l and 2
o'clock man with a light brown overcoat
came in. He wore light hat, carried chaln,
wore a rundown collar and looked like
farmer.
AT first glance I took Durrant for one of the
class of men who live off women. He looked
like dude and resembled that class OF men. L
am not a pawnbroker.
1 know Detectives Bee and Harper. They
sometimes come to examine my books. meyer
saw the person who offered the ring before that
7 fha oYT1Q n n q
fore. Rings like the one offered me are made
by the gross and are all of the same pattern.
Edward F. Glazier, who lives at 1907
Washington street, followed. He stated
he was student at the Cooper Medical
College and testified that on April 10 he
and Durrant, who was fellow student,
went over witness notes of a lecture
delivered on April and on which they
expected to be ''quizZed" on the after
noon of the 10th by DR.. Cheney, who had
delivered the lecture. Durrant had no
notes of his own of that lecture to the
knowledge of the witness. As witness
read his notes many of them were copied
by defendant.
DIR. Barrett testified that he was the
physician at the Morgue and made an
autopsy on the remains of Blanche La
cause of death was asphyxiation produced
by strangulation.
George R. King, who lives at 521 Capp
street and is Is years of age, testified that
he knew Durrant.
On the afternoon of April at 5 o'clock l was
in Emmanuel Church. Durrant and I had
keys to the library after the new lock was put
preceding the Sd of April by Durrant and me-.
There were no precautions taken, so lar as
could see, to prevent any one entering the
church when / entered it on the Sd of April.
nurrqnf when bQ pntprp6 whPrA I NAV
ing on the piano in the Sunday-school room
on the afternoon of April 3, had his coat of,
but his vest was buttoned and his shirt was in
perfect order, nothing being dlsarranged.
Durrant's coat was neatly folded up on q
chair in the library and after he put on his
coat and his hat he left with me. DurrantS
demeanor was not different from usual. The
odor of gas was very strong when | entered
the church on the afternoon of the Sd of April.
Durrant usually attended to the electric bat
teries in the church and he also attended to
repairing the gas fixtures and the sun burners.
never saw any improper conduct on the part
of Durrant nor heard him use improper
language to any one.
Edward Gibson, detective, testified to
the finding of the body of Blanche Lamont
in the belfry and to its condition, as pre-
yiously reported.
Three persons entered the belfry when
the body was found. A large mum Der
entered the belfry, tramping all around it,
while he was away informing the Chief of
Police.
James F. Hallett, Deputy Coroner, testi-
fed to having removed the body of
Blanche Lamont to the Morgue, and Eu-
gene B. Herne, a police officer, testified to
the finding of the books of the murdered
girl.
Assistant District Attorney Hosmer then
stated that the defense, to save time, was
willing to admit the clothing placed in evil
dence by the prosecution was that found
in the belfry of Emmanuel Church, and
then announced that the case for the
prosecution was closed.
General Dickinson at once arose and
moved that the prisoner be discharged, as
the evidence was insufficient to prove the
crime with which he was charged.
Judge Conlan replied: 81 shall certainly
deny the motion. Defendant is charged
with the murder of Blanche Lamont At
about O'Clock on the day she disappeared
it was shown by several witnesses, whose
testimony is most positive, that she was
with the defendant on a Powell-street car,
riding toward Market street, and this was
the last that was ever seen of her alive.
"All the witnesses were remarkably posi-
tive on the point. One witness, Miss
Pleasant, went so far as to say, when she
was under cross-eXamination OF the attor-
ney for the defense, that it would be i'm
possible to prove that Durrant was at any
other place at the time she saw him with
Miss Lamont on the Powell-street car.
1.-THE witness Quinlan's story that he
had met Durrant with a lady wearing
clothes like those worn by the murdered
girl in the immediate neighborhood of
Emmanuel Church later in the afternoon
was mistaken on the extremely trying and
thorough cross-examination of the de-
tense. And Clark's testimony was positive
and corroborated that of Quinlan.
EI"Following this defendant was found
pale and excited in Emmanuel Baptist
Church. In connection with these two
cases the hand of the murderer of Miss
Williams was clearly the one that muir
dered Miss Lamont.
'My order is that the prisoner be held to
answer before the Superior Court to the
charge of having murdered Miss Blanche
Lamont"
Attorney Dickinson then said:
SIN the absence of any proof of the kill
ing of the deceased and the absence of any
evidence connecting the defendant with
her death, | ask that he be admitted to
bail according to section 1870 of the Penal
Code, which fully covers this case, in hold
ing that every one of the links where cir
cumstantial evidence only is produced
must be proved"
To this Judge Conlan replied: "That is
just what l have observed in this case.
Not a link in the chain is missing. / deny
the motion to admit to bail.''