The DeLamar nugget. [volume] (DeLamar, Idaho) 1891-1900, 1897-11-05
TTGIl9llilg C-nViltGd.
Murder in the Second Degree.
Sentenced to the Pen foe Life.


melting, charged with the murder of
Edwin Wood at DeLamar on the night
of August 7, 1897, was placed on trial in
the District Court at Silver City on
Wednesday, 18th inst. The defendent
being without means to employ coun-
Gil, the Court appointed j. G. Watts,
Esq, to conduct the defense, and it is
proper to state here that the defense
was conducted in very able and skill
full manner. The jurors for the term
of court having been s1mmoned upon
an open venire, Sheriff Crocheron had
not only been careful in selecting good
men but had summoned the greater
portion of them from the remote por-
tions of the county where but little was
known regarding the happenings in
the mining camps, and but little diff
Guilty was experienced in securing
jurors for either of the two important
criminal cases coming up at this term.
In the Trembling case only three were
excused for cause and only two were
challenged. The personnel of the jury
was exceptionally good and the inter
ested public were confident from the
beginning that the verdict would at
least be a conscientious one.
1t was at once seen that the defense
would be conducted upon the ground
that Trembling had shot his victim in
self defense. As indictments by grand
juries are almost thing of the past in
Idaho, the case was brought up by Dis
trict Attorney Hays upon information,
furnished at the preliminary eXamina-
ton held by Probate Judge Handy
after the decease OF Wood. (Tremei-
ling was first held upon a charge of
assault with intent to commit murder,
and examination had and commitment
made by the DeLamar Justice of the
Peace, prior to the decease of Wood.)
The prosecution was opened by the
calling of Mrs. Wood, the widow of de
ceased and Mrs. Tremelling, wife of the
defendent, the only persons present at
the time of the tragedy and by intro
ducing ground plan of the house,
showing the position of the rooms,
doors, windows and furniture. The
main difference in the testimony of
these two witnesses was regarding
where they were when the first shot
was heard, Mrs. Wood stating that
she in running away had just passed
through the door from the bedroom to
the sitting room, where Mrs. Tremel-
ling was sleeping, while Mrs. Tremel-
ling stated that both had gone through
was quite an important point because
Mrs. Wood maintained that she saw
her husbands gun lying on the floor,
and not in his hands only very brief
instant before the first shot was fired,
while had she been in the kitchen the
interval would have been more pro-
longed. The Importance of this differ
ence was in the fact that the defense
claimed that Wood had snapped his
gun before II 70 nelling fired but having
as was proven by his wife's testimony
and by his declaration, placed cartrid
ges in the magazine but not in the bar
rel, was at least plausible. Woods dy-
ing declaration, written down by John
Lamb and signed by him and attested
by three witnesses, was next intro
duced and after considerable wrangling
between the attorneys, during which
time the jury was retired from the
court ROOM was admitted. Woods
declaration made it plainly appear that
Trembling held the pistol between his
knees and fired while STOPPING down at
the window before Wood picked up his
gun and Mrs. Woods testimony cor
roborated this.
Several witnesses were placed upon
the stand by the prosecution, all of
whom had heard the shots, and it was
clearly proven that all the pistol shots |
were fired before the rifle shot was
heard, the shots coming, the three first |
in rapid succession, then brief pause,
then two more shots, quickly, then an
other brief pause, then the louder
report.
OThe prosecution maintained, and the
preponderance of the testimony bore it
out, that Trembling had come to the
house at that time of the night without
previous notice, had kicked or pounded |
on the door in Il boisterous manner,
and that when demand was made of
him to explain his actions,he had twice !