The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-09-30


way.
Beginning with the actions of the
day of May % he took everything up in
detail and conceded every point
brought OUT by the state except that
Mrs. Pleva had put the large coffee
pot on the table. On that point he
asked the ominous question: How did
that pot get there? Concerning the
actions of Mrs. Pleva during the last
illness he stated that it was perfectly
natural that she should go to Mrs.
Abramowski to get her to go for a
physician for her husband. Mrs.
Abramowski argued her out of it,
saying thot her husband had often
Svomited green and that nothing but a
powder was necessary.
Mr.. Lloyd then ridiculed the testi
mony given by the physicians and
Prof. Daniels because they said they
had looked for nothing but arsenic and
admitted that it was possible that
Pleva might have died from some other
cause. He chung to the physicians
testimony until the adjournment of
court for the noon hour.
After the noon recess Mr.. Lloyd took
up the confession made at the Jail to
Peter Trenowski and dwelt at great
length on the proposition tnat she had
been threatened with torture, as one of
the defense's witnesses had stated, if
she did not admit having killed her
husband. He then took up the coming
of Joseph KriZek, to whom the second
confession was made, and before he
had gone far on this point Judge Fish
told the attorney he was arguing on a
wrong tack and that he was treading
on a point upon which the court would
instruct the jury. The court told him
that what Mrs Pleva had told Mr.
Krizek was not privileged communl-
cation and tat therefore he could not
discuss the admission Of this testimony.
He then went back to the point he at
tempted to make in the Trenowski
confession that Mrs. Pleva was still
under the fear that TrenoWski had
placed in her mind when she confessed
to Krizek. He made plea for YER
dict of not guilty because he said he
felt certain the defendant is innocent.
He said the state had not proved that
Pleva died in Kenosha and within the
jurisdiction of this court.
To close he took up the theory of
suicide and stated that the only reason
Pleva never committed suicide before
was that he was not possessed of sutfi
cient courage. 1t was nearly 4 o'clock
when Mr.. Lloyd closed his argum ent.
Mr.. Buckmaster at once began his
closing for the state.
The Closing Argument
District Attorney Buckmaster in his
closing started out by saying that he
had no reply to make to Mr.. Lloyd
concerning the abuse heaped upon him.
He considers justice too high to think
of allowing personalities to come into
the case. He took up the theory of
suicide and passed it as being a theory
only, but that murder has been proved
beyond the possibility of a doubt.
Pleva never attempted to commit sui
eide except when he was drunk. He
took up the actions again of Mrs.
Pleva during the day of the death.
She showed no desire to get physi
clan and sat about allthe time her hus-
band was in the last throes of death,
and quietly sewed, admitting that she
did not speak to him during the entire
time because she was angry at him.
Passing to the confessions he ridiculed
the idea that any electric chair was
ever even mentioned until this trial
was thought of. He charged the de-
tense with not daring to place John
Trenowski on the stand to prove i'm
portant points for fear that he would
be impeached for his extreme friend
ship for Mrs. Pleva. Concerning the
confession to Krizek he charged that
an innocent person would tell his
attorney that he was innocent, guilty
person might tell an attorney that he
was innocent but no one ever heard of
an innocent person telling his attorney
that he was guilty. He brought for
ward a large array of trifing things
to show that they all pointed in one
way, that of showing that Mrs. Pleva
had guilty knowledge of the crime,
and then held that it was impossible
for Mrs. Pleva to have made a confess
sion which accorded exactly with the
facts as they were being found out
without her knowledge unless she was
telling the exact truth. This fact he
held DISPOSE completely of the charge
of intimidation made by the defense
and upon which great portion of the
defense was built. He charged that
the defense had raised scarecrow as
an issue, and in closing delivered a
strong appeal to the jury to do its duty
without regard to sympathy
Judge Fish delivered his charge TO
the jury at 5 o'clock and it lasted