The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-12
Several Witnesses for the Defense
Failed TO Appear, and the Sur-Rebut-
tai Testimony Was Cut short.
CASE SUMMED UP BY M'EWEN
WHO SAID THERE WAS No NEED OF
PROVING THE CORPUS DELECTi.
Testimony Reviewed at Length-Case
to Be Given to the Jury Prob
ably on Saturday.

CHICAGO, Oct. 1.-THE final arguments
have commenced in the Luetgert trial and
the case will be given to the jury by the
end of the present week. This at least, is
the expectation of the attorneys. The de-
Tense expected to-day to take most Of the
session of court in Offering sur-rebuttal evil
dence but some of it's witnesses were not
present when their names were called and
it was decided that the case might as well
go on. Assistant States Attorney McEwen
began the opening address for the state and
he will speak for two days at least. He
will be followed by Attorney Phalen, for
the defense, and Attorney Vincent will close
In behalf of Luetgert. Then will come the
closing Of the state, which will be mace by
States Attorney Deneen.
Despite drizzlng rain the crowd which
reached the court building this morning
was no less in numbers than on other
mornings. The throng was composed of the
same heterogeneous combination of the NOR
bidly curious that has packed the court
room from the beginning of the trial. More
than third of the members of the crowd
which poured into the big Criminal Court
building were women They came attired as
If for a matinee performance, but the rain
drops had in some instances played havoc
The injury to their plumage did not rutfle
their tempers and they chatted spiritedly
as they stood in line waiting for the chief
bailiff TO order the doors leading to Judge
Tuthill's courtroom to be opened. When this
order was finally given there was a rush
for the courtroom which the officers in
charge were unable to check and in few
minutes the room was packed and the
guards closed the corridor doors. Then fol-
lowed the usual flow OF original and
grotesque profanity from those who We're
shut out. The oft-repeated cry of favoritism
ON the part of the deputy sheriffs and court
bailiffs was raised, but it had no effect and
the discontented throng slowly sought con-
ISOLATION by going into other court-ooms
to listen to the trials of less noted cases.
SUR-REBUTTAL4 EVIDENCE.
When court opened the taking of sur-re-
buttal evidence began. Fred j. Swift, a
court stenographer, was called to the wit
ness stand to mpeach Frank OdorofslSy,
Ham Frank who was employed by Luet-
CERT at the latters sausage factory. STEM
ographer Swift reported Odoyofsky's eyi-
dence before Justice Kersten. lie testified
that Odorofsky testified before the justice
that he was not at the Luetgert sausage
factory on May /, but on the day prior to
that date. During the present trial Odorof-
William Lester and Fred Lester were
called successfully and testified that they
saw tallow and grease lying beside the ice
box in Luetgerts factory. IL was broughf
out, on cross-examinaton, that the grease
was observed on May il and the evidence
of these two witnesses was of little value.
The defense next started in to repulse
the attack (which had been made ON the
reputation of William Charles, Luetgefts
business partner, and one of the strongest
witnesses the sausage maker had. u. IL.
Brown, a resident of Chicago for forty
eg6 ysaSf yea for 1 fo He Hears ra and tRat the reps
tation for truth and honesty of Charles was
good. The prosecution took the witness
through a lively cross-eXamination- lie was
led to confess that he had never had any
business relations with Charles and only
Other witnesses falling to respond when
their names We're called, ex-J Judge Vincent
announced to the court that the case of the
Luetgert's chief counsel. A sigh of relief
was heard in the courtroom. After a br1ef
consultation by the counsel in the case 1t
was agreed to begin arguments to the jury
after recess.
MEWEN's ARGUMENT.
Assistant States Attorney McEwen adj
dressed the jury for three hours this after
noon and had barely outlined his argument
at the hour of adjournment for the day.
He will resume the argument tomorrow
morning, and will talk all day. ''The state
was conservative in its assertions as to
what it would prove on the witness stand
some week ago." said the speaker in his
opening I'VE made no boasts" he con-
tinued. ''We told you, in the simplest lam
guage we could employ, just what the evil
dence would disclose Our promises have
been fulfilled Testimony given from the
witness stand has disclosed and developed
more than we promised you. No stronger
case under similar evidence was ever pre-
sentsd 10 a jury. Search the law books tho
world over and you will find no circum-
stantial case TO equal the now world fa-
nous Luetgert trial. The crime Is one Of
the most remarkable in criminal annals, Yet
when the details are followed up and linked
together in a circumstantial chain the mo-
tive and act are extremely plain and unde-
nable. The claim has been made here that
we have failed to establish properly the
corpus delicti and ! suspect you will hear
much about this from the attorneys on the
other side. The body Of the crime has been
sufficiently shown by the circumstances
which establish that Mrs. Luetgert met her
death through criminal agency. There is
no more necessity of proving the corpus de-
licti further than there would be TO pro-
duce house in court to prove that a per-
son on trial for burglary broke into it or to
produce the horse before the jury which a
thief Is alleged TO have stolen;
The speaker referred TO the fact that
nearly SIX months had elapsed since Mrs.
Luetlgert had disappeared from her home
'She still remains absent and Will remain
missing as long as the world endures,
shouted the assistant state attorney, star
ing at Luetgert. Then the case was taken
up chronologically and all the incidents
traced briefly down to the date Of the open
ing Of the trial. This started with theesn-
auiry Of Diedrich Bicknesse for lis
sister and Luetgert's Indifferent reply that
she had left IN a temper and would return
when she got over her mad" Finally
came the notification of the police and the
SUBSEQUENT Developments All these were
traced by the speaker, who praised the po-
Ice for the excellence of their work THE
conviction Of innocent men upon circum-
stantlal evidence has sometimes occurred.
said the assistant states attorney. but
such men died truly to support law and
o
battlt" The alleged relations Of Luetgert
and Mary Siemmering were touched on and
were declared to have furnished the motive
for the crime. Their law was read to inn
press the jury with the scope and signii-
canoe of circumstantiai evidence.
Tomorrow especial attention will be paid
to Mary Siemmering and Williar Charles,
and Dr. Walter Ii. Airport, the bone expert,
Will also be considered at some length. At
torney Phalen will follow Assistant States
Attorney McEwen.