The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-01-24

Kest-Great Legal SquabbIe Over tn
Admission of Evidence as to Comics
sions Made by the Defendent-summar,
of the Evidence-only One New Fac
Developed in the Case-Judge Dale
Gently ROasts the Sheriff.
There was standing room only in th4
district court of this county yesterday
When Judge Dale took his seat on
the bench at promptly o'clock in the
morning he looked over the heads OF
the largest crowd of curious spectators
ever assembled in the building.
The streets were a little sloppy but
for all that the ladies started out
gathered up the trains Of their shirts
land walked rapidly to the court house
Eager to get a seat as near the front
ROW as possible.
/ There were old ladies and young
/ ladies present, sweet ladies and sweet
CT ladies, children and babies, maidens
and rnatrons, maids and old maids,
men and boys and kids all jumbled up
together and each asserting their rights
&c about eight inches square Of space.
Some stood up against the railing,
others sat patiently in the seats unable
10 see anything but the ceiling and
others mounted the radiators and saw
the mill Of justice grind from a point
Of vantage.
Hear We, hear we, hear We, the homo
rable district court of Sedgwick county
is now open" said Joe Furnish, the
bailiff, who had scarcely uttered his
eloquent piece when Judge Dale said:
MIR. Bailiff tell the sheriff to bring
the prisoner into court at once"
D.
seating his prisoner Judge Dale said:
Mr.. Sheriff stand in front OF the
bench"
Sheriff Gone walked up in front of
Judge Dale with his hat in his hand.
'sAIr. Sheriff" said the judge, 1T is
row eight minutes past o'clock. You
have wasted eight minutes OF the time
of the court. Hereafter, sir, l want
you 10 have your prisoner here at eX-
actly O'Clock in the forenoon and 2
o clock in the afternoon
RUFF acknowledged that ne deserved
the roast and promised faithfully TO be
as prompt as the minute hand ON the
clock from that moment on.
AS predicted yesterday by the Eagle
the jury was selected before 10 o'clock
and the trial of Mrs. Leonard for the
murder of her husband on the night OF
the 18th Of November, 1895, comnenc-
ed
The jurors are as follows: C. f. Guyer,
James Boylan, L. Vance, William Lit
tie. W. n. Caswell. John Carr, George
Wolf, o. B. Clark, William Mathew
son, A Craig, w. F. Green and T. 3.
Lawrence.
The case was stated to the jury briefly
on teresly and without a moments
waste Of time the witnesses were called,
sworn and examined.
Z AT1s - 7,-cf
witness called. He described the find
ing Of the body Of II. H. Leonard in the
alley and the wounds on the body. The
wounds on the head seemed to have
been made with some blunt instru-
ment
He was given the hatchet which was
found in Ieonard's house and the eX-
coroner then described that several
wounds were found on LeOnard's arms
ard that the poll Of the hatchet exactly
fitted in the wounds. A white shirt
worn by Leonard and covered with
blood was then produced and shown to
the jury as was also the hat and other
clothes found on the body of the dead
man. The hat was a nearly new Stet-
son and half way up the crown was
torn nearly half way round showing a
smooth cut and then as if some one had
inserted their fingers and torn the hat.
rOSs-eXamined by Amdon:
q did hear DR.. Hoffman say that
Leonard might have been struck on the
head with a blunt instrument and
glanced so as to make d long wound.
may have said on the preliminary that
I could not say positively that it was
blood 1 saw on the wall of Leonard's
bedroom"
County Physician Hoffman testified
as to the wounds on the body of Leon
ard and thought they were made by
the poll of the hatchet submitted in
evidence. He did not think that the
wounds were made by the gas pipe
submitted in evidence.
Captain Foster was called and de-
scribed the house on South Lawrence
avenue where Leonard was killed.
q. H. States OF 40l South Main street
testified to seeing Mrs Leonard and
Marion Williamson, her divorced hus-
band, on the West Side. in a carriage
on the Sunday on which the murder
ives committed. The county attorney
stopped here and Mr.. Amidon merely
asked Mr.. States if he knew Mrs. Leon
ard and when he said that was the
first time be ever saw her Mr.. Ami
don said that viii do and the witness
was told 10 go.
Chief Of Police Burrows told Of the
finding Of the body q LEONARD and how
he went 10 the Leonard home that
morning and found Mrs. Leonard and
her son NorVel Williamson in the house
He asked Mrs. Leonard where the old
man was and she said she did not know
that he had gone up town the night be-
fore and she was afraid that something
rad happened 10 him. Il told her
something had happened and that he
wac out there in the alley dead. She
said, Well l did not do il, nor have It
done
continu@d Chief Burrows. and began
TO hook for evidences Of q struggle IN
the house. / found that h5tchet lying
back OF the gasoline stove 1t looked
Hike Il had been cut into meat or some
thing like that in the parlor stove and il
looked Ike cloth had been burned in
there The bed clothes ] er the foot
of the bed. the sheets were clean and
fhe folds showed that they had not been
used. The bed was in the southwest
bedroom. Judging from appearances,
/ should say that nobody slept in that
bed the night before. There were TWO
beds in the house"
Chief Burrows was shown a dress
Identified at the preliminary hearing Is
belonging to Mrs Leonard and he said
also an apron which he said We're damp
and seemed to have been recently WASH
ed he also told Of evidence IN the yard
that a body had been dragged through
AZ Ihere were tracks and blood on the
ground and IN thu stable shed. There