The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1896-05-01
The FOurnitr Trial at Greenfield

| The trial CT Levi VI Fourncr, the Montague
| City Frcnchnan charged with causing the dea'h
of his wife whose family live in Greenheld-hy
strangulati0n the night Of Dee 3, 1885. Comncnc-
| ed nj Greenfield Tuesday. Greene Davenport
of Greenfield are Fournier's counsel and the
| commonwealth is represented by District Attor
ney Hammond of Northampton.S Drs Messer and
| Leary OF Turner's Falls testified to the medical
facts ami the autopsy, the pink spots on the
womHn's neck which turned later to black and
| blue. There were also black and hlueS spots
| on Ner breast and right wrist the heart ied
with mud blood, 4 depression on the left side of
| the nee about three miles long and one about
two inches on the right side. TWO rings found
broken in the trochca-a signs of strangulation.
Mrs Jason Brown who was called TO the house
Just after the woman's death also told of some OF
tnese Things, put cross eNaminatoh orou2ht out
the facts that while Mrs Brown and Fourier
were applying iestorativcs TO Mrs Fourner a
heavy bottle was dropped on her breast which
might have caused the marks. II was also shown
that the accused husband showed marked feel
inGs of tenderness and begged piteously OF Mrs
Brown to save his wife's life. lie cried repeat
eddy, "steia, stella, are you dead, just as we
were beginning to think so much of each other?"
Delos Wanscy of Montague City, with whom
Fourier and wife boarded at times from 'al to
'92, swore that one day in the fall of ~ he heard
Fournicr tell his wife that If they ever got into
n house by themselves "she would receive the
damndest humping she ever GOT but on cross
examination he admitted. that there had been
trouble between hisiand thcFournier familiesahd
that he had blows with the defendant. lie also
admitted that he had made a small wager on the !
outcome of the trial. During yesterdays pro
ceediDgs the prosecution rested in the morning
and the defense had submitted nearly all its |
testimonyjwhen the court adjourned. DR. L |
Walker testified that no evidence of disease was
found at the second autopsy. In his onnion the /
woman must have died violent death The |
want of oxygen in the blood was the means of !
her being poisoned by carbonic acid. Mrs Belle |
Tanner who has been summoned by the govern |
ment said that she was called TO the house that !
night and conirastcd the face of Mrs Fournicr |
with that of two women that she had seen hung.
Mrs Fanny Wallace and Joseph Fourier and
wife told OF the happy relations existing be
tween the couple. Titus Williams OF Coli ain, an
uncle of Mrs Fourier, stated that he had never
known any trouble existing between the couple
and this was eorroborated by his wife who also
testified that Mrs Fournier suffered from heart
failure Joseph Wallace of Gnilf0rd the dead
father, said that he did not notice any
marks or discolOratisns on the neck and he was
present at the time OF the autopsy. Mrs Alice
Bush of Greenfield said that she was called into
he Fourier home once and found Mrs Fournier
N dazcd condition. Levi NJ Fourier was
next called To the stand. lie denied the alega-
ion Of Wapzey that he had said In his presence
hat "if he ever got his wife in u hou,c alone
he wOHld get the damndeft thum,,ing ia, ever
,ot." Last summer he and his vile went to
iuilf0rd and stayed, and while there his life I
lad a fainting spell aud he attended I" her as q
husband should. file explained the motions he I
rent through after he entered the house, de-
cribed how he found his wife IN the bed. turn.
d her over and went for help. DIR Il L witch
II of GreeRfcid testified that he made an exam
nation of the body The fact tina; the rings of
'as disputed by DIR Twiieheli. who said that
he 18th and 9Th rings were not broken. 1t vas
Is opinion that ,ne woman died Of suhocation.
lie said the symptoms pointed to heart disease
nd he believed that Mrs Fourier had tainted
way, fallen IN the bed face downward and sui
Dcated. DIR Deane claimed the dsrOOra
ons seemed Ia I've post mortem changes. DIR j
Zabuski as medidal expert, said black and
lue si-tS can be made On persons body after
cath aud they viii exist a. lse as the skin
ods together. The court adjourned III : - and
lntlBued proceedings this morning.