The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-06-25
MURDERER TONI
DENIES HIS GUILT
He Was on the Witness Stand Yesterday
Afternoon.
ILLUSTRATED EVIDENCE OFFERED
Attorney M. J. Walsh Pressed Into
Service by Attorney Martin as an
Illustration..W. II. Davis, of Oily.
phant, Found Not Guilty of Assault
and Battery ON william ROsscr.
Other Quarter Sessions Cases.

fense in the Toni murder case. At ad-
journment yesterday the evidence of
both sides was all heard except the tes-
timony of a few witnesses who will be
put on the stand today to rebut what
some of the witnesses of the defense
have testified to.
The feature of yesterdays proceed
ings was Tonis testimony. He was
sworn at 3 o'clock and he marched to
the witness box in a hurried, excitable
manner. Constant Morisini, the Ital-
ian court interpreter, was called to
translate the defendants testimony
into English. Mr.. Martin brought out
the defendants history. Toni said he
sailed from Italy on May II, 1890, and on
May q his wife died on shipboard. He
reached New York on June 10 and came
Immediately to Old Forge.
He lived there until the time of the
shooting of Rafter and worked In Jer-
myn's mines At first he was employed
as a laborer and afterward became a
miner. While working as such he was
injured in premature explosion of a
blast and after recovering and becOm-
ing strong enough to work, he went
back to the mines, but took the position
Of laborer
PLAYED IN THE BAND.
He belonged to the italian band of
that place and played an alto instru-
ment. On the night Of Feb. 4 last he
went to the room where the band prac-
tices in Hollands hail. and after prac-
tice he came downstairs In company
with Peter Simoni. who plays a cornet
in the band. They walked along in the
middle of the road, bound in the Gorec-
tion of his boarding house. He saw a
crowd standing in front of Hollands
hotel, but did not go near them. After
he had passed q short distance he heard
two shots, but did not know who fired
them and did not know who was struck.
He went right home, put his instrument
away and was oblivious of the fact that
a murder had been committed until the
constable came to arrest him.
Mr.. Martin asked him point blank If
he shot John Rafter and he replied en-
phatically that he didn't. He said he
does not own a revolver now, never
owned one and never carried one. When
the warrant was served on him and he
was taken into custody, he denied the
commission of the crime and has since
denied it.
ATTORNEY MARTINS THEORY.
Attorney Martin introduced into the
case at this point matter that caused
a buzz in the court room. He called
Attorney NJ. ]. Walsh to the witness
stand and said he proposed to illustrate
to the jury that Toni could not have
shot Rafter in the manner in which
some of the witnesses of the common
wealth testified the shooting was done.
Mrs. Sarah Rafter, mother Of the de-
ceased, in her testimony, said her son
was about six feet tall.
Mr.. Martin told the court that Attor-
ney Walsh Is feet II inches tall and
he wished to stand Toni in front of him
and point the revolver downward and
by doing so show that 1t would nave
been physical impossibility for Toni,
who is only feet inches tall with the
| revolver pointed downward to have
shot a man the size of Rafter at the
point where the bullets entered.
District Attorney Jones objected at
| first In mild sort Of way against this
new method introduced by Mr.. Martin
| and Attorney Walsh was not inclined to
stand up and act as an illustration for
Toni to point even an empty revolver
at. Judge Gunster permitted Mr.. Mar
tin to 60 ahead and District Attorney
Jones walked away from the common
wealth's table and stood in front of the
bench strenuously objecting to such a
farce, as he termed 1t.
Attorney Walsh stood up in front OF
the jury box, Toni came down from the
stand and stood facing him three feet
away. Mr.. Martin handed Toni the
empty revolver and told him to point II
downward at Attorney Walsh. Mr.
Walsh ordered him not to point the
weapon, even though it was empty, as
those that aren't loaded are the ones
which usually go or.
THOUGHT 1T WAS A FARCE.
While Toni had the revolver pointed
at Walsh Mr.. Martin said to Mr.. Jones
Come over here until you see."
NO." replied Mr.. Jones. II will have
nothing to do with such farce" And
Mr. Jones also refused to cross s-examine
Toni.
Anthony Bartnell, Louis F'ilone and
Luigi Vasolli were the first three wit.
nesses for the defense. They heard the
shots, saw Rafter fall, but could not
identify Toni as the man who did it.
although they were we'll acquainted
with him. Antonio Manzo swore that
John jenkins told him that night wher
Rafter was carried into Hollands hote
that 1t was another man who did the
shooting and not Toni. There were
other witnesses to prove the In ct that A