The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-14
To Try Mrs. Hamilton For Murder
ing Her Husband.
TESTIMONY OPENS TODAY
VAN co14 STATES THE PROSE
cUTIoN,s CASE.
Two Opinions Rendered By the State
Supreme Court-Mrs. Lawler En-
tiers Suit For Decentralization to
Recover Damages For an Assault
Miscellaneous Court Cuttings.

The jury to try Mrs. Lou Hamilton
for the murder of her husband was
completed al 4;15 o'clock yesterday af-
ternoon. County Attorney Van Colt
made the opening statement for the
prosecution and court adjourned until
10 O'Clock this morning. when the TAX
ing of testimony viii commence. We
forenoon Of yesterday and most of the
afternoon was consumed in obtaining
the four jurors to make up the Il.
The following is a resume Of the pro-
ceedings;
Jurors Excused For Cause-Richard
Fairbairn, James 4. Boyd, Eugene
Lambourne. George Dryburg. John II.
Walker. ir., Robert w Campbell Will
lam Scott, William R Jones, Jr-, Thom-
as s. Ashworth. James Godfrey.
Peremptorily Excused by the State
None
Peremptorily Excused by the De-
fense-George s. Bailey and Daniel r.
Bateman.
Accepted and Sworn Inc. a Carl
quist, Joseph P. Newman, W. 3. Ennis
and W. r. Foster, who, with the eight
panel of y, as follows:
PERSONNEL OF THE JURY.
E. a. King William Evans. I. NJ
Fisher, w. c. A Smoot, Thomas John
son, Lewis Hoagland, O. ~ Despair,
Robert Fisher, G. A. Carlquistr Joseph
P. Newman, ". 3. Ennis and William
r. Foster.
The prosecution exercised ten per-
emptory challenges and the defense
their full quota Of Is.
The above gentlemen took their
places in the jury box and Deputy
Clerk OF the Court Little read the in
dietment charging Mrs. Hamilton
with murder in the first degree for
killing her husband, John H Hamilton,
under circumstances already fully
stated in The Herald.
Judge Powers then entered an OBJ
lection to the Jurors on the ground
that they had not been summoned in the
manner contemplated by the state con-
5titution and that the act of the legis-
lature relating to Jurors had not been
properly enacted and was therefore
void.
PROSECUTIONS OPENING STATE
AIENT.
County Attorney Waldemar Van
Colt made the opening statement for
the prosecution, related the manner Of
the killing of the deceased and the cir
cumstances leaGinb up to the tragedy.
He reCOunted the fact Of the deceased
QISNURGTIlE INlIES WHICH CUANIuCGG
him that his wife and ". c. Payy had
had criminal relations; his determine
ton TO institute divorce proceedings
and Mrs. Hamilton's strong objections
TO being made defendant in a divorce
suit in which adultery was charged
and her efforts to persuade her nus
hand to abandon the contemplated
proceedings. Counsel said he expected
10 prove that Mrs. Hamilton had con-
Jempiated killing her husband for days
before the shooting and had threatened
to do so, and provided herself with a
weapon and ammunition for that
purpose; that on the night of April 10
1897, the husband and wife met at the
house of Thomas Seldom on West First
South street and that when the nus
band was leaving about $3.50 pm, and
walking from the door down the walk
TO the street, six shots were fred, one
of which went through Hamilton's
heart. killing him instantly and thai
q woman was seen Immediately after
the shots were fired running into the
house. Be expected TO prove that Mrs
Hamilton followed the deceased out OF
the house and that it was she who fired
the fatal shot and all the shots
Court then adjourned until 10 O'Clock
this morning, when the examination OF
witnesses for the prosecution vii
begin