The herald., 1897-03-17
The +" Medical Electrician " Ex.
amined on Another Charge
FANNY NORRIS TEsTIFIEs
She Tells How Hastings /" Treated " Her
and the Results
strong Evidence Against the Abortionist-The
Examination held In Strict Privacy
Behind Closed Doors

Or" Calvin s. Hastings, the ''medi-
cal electrician" and abortionist, was
yesterday given his preliminary exami-
nation in the police court before Justice
owens upon a charge of having COM
mitted a criminal operation on young
colored girl named Fannie Norris. This
last victim, it will be remembered, was
found by the detectives in Hastings s
den in dying condition when they went
to arrest the doctor" for the murder
of Lillian Hattery. She was removed
to the county hospital, where she was
twice operated upon to save her life ana
has been for weeks hanging on the verge
of death.
Counsel for the defense was the same
as at his previous examination, Henry
T.. Gage and J. T. Jones, Deputy District
Attorney McComas appearing for the
prosecution. There was some delay in
starting, the prisoner not being In court,
although the s'heriff's office had been
notified to bring him over. Finally Con-
stable Harry Johnston volunteered to
bring Hastings down, and started off
under orders from the court, but met
Deputy Sheriff White on his way to
court with the prisoner.
The first move after the opening Of
the hearing was made by Mr. McComas.
who asked that all persons excepting
witnesses and reporters be excluded
from the courtroom. This brought At
torney Gage to his feet, who. on the part
of the defendant, asked that every body
not allowed by law to remain be sent
from the room. Mr.. Gage said that as
far as he was concerned he was willing
that the hearing be public but as Mr..
McComas had started in he proposed to
incIuds everybody. The order was
finally made and the courtroom
cleared. An exception was asked in the
case of Detective Bradish, to which the
attorneys for the defense objected the
matter being finally settled by the
prisoner being put in his care by the
court as baiIiff. A lady who occupied
seat at the attorneys table was then in
troduced to the court by Mr.. Gage, who
said she was Mrs. Judge Hatch. an at
torney-at-law, and appeared as assds-
tsnt counsel for the defense. She was
also allowed to remain.
At 11:15 the examination was opened
with the victim, Fannie Norris. on the
stand. She was very weak and ap-
peared to be suffering greatly. Her tes-
timony was to the effect that she first
and from that date until Saturday the
18th. called every day and received a
treatment" She believed she was
pregnant at the time. and Hastings tolo
her she could easily be cured. During
this time she continued at work as usual.
but on the 18th was confined to a. couch
in Hastings place, where she was found
ON the Tuesday following by the off,
GERS. She was, behind a curtain lying
on a couch when the detectives called
and heard them ask for her, but made
no sound or sign because she had been
told by Hastings that she must let no
one know where she was. The girls
testimony was not nearly so full or ex-
plicit as the statement made by her to
Detective Bradish and the district at
torney at the hospital when she thought
she was going to die. The horrible
story was gone through with in all its
details and after being on the stand for
about two hours she was excused and
was taken back to the hospital in a
carriage.
Mrs. Alice Horton. who had been en-
ployed in Hastings place, and who is the
principal witness for the prosecution In
the murder case, was next called and
testified to Fanny Norris visits and
presence In the den. She had waited on
the colored girl at different times, but
knew little of Importance. The irstru-
ments used by the electrician in his
work were here produced and offered in
exhibit being identified by Mrs. Hor-
ton as the same she had seen Hastings
carrying about and using. Detective
Bradish then took the stand and told of
finding the girl in Hastings place and
the circumstances of her removal, etc
He also identified the gruesome instru-
mentst
Drs. L. NJ. Powers, A. Davidson, Bar
ton Dozler and Raymond G. Taylor were
then called one after another, and de-
scribed the condition of the victim when
she was found in Hastings Office and
the operations performed on her at the
County hospital to save her life. She
was at the time suffering from the ef-
fects OF a criminal operation which
could have been produced by the in
struments shown in court. With their
testimony the case for the people was
closed and the prosecution rested
The usual formal motion to dismiss on
the grounds of insufficient evidence was
then made by counsel for defense. which
was denied by the court and an objection
taken. AS the hour was late and the
defense not ready to proceed further al
the time, Mr.. Gage made motion for
continuance, which was granted, the
matter going over until o'clock this
afternoon.