The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-01-07

seen the evening before with Durrant, and
although there was nothing else 10 show
that he had any connection with the
crime, the police decided 10 arrest him.
Durrant's home was visited late at night.
but he was not there. His parents said
that he had left at midnight with the sig
nal corps of the National Guard. 10 which
he belonged. TO make some hello
graphing experiments on Mount Dlahlo.
The next train carried two detectives to-
ward the mountain. and. after completing
their journey by stage, Durrant was found
late in the afternoon and arrested. But
the news that he was charged with the
murder of Minnie Williams was not first
impaired to him by the officers. A mes
sage was flashed on the rays OF the sun
by the photographers in this city who were
taking part in the experiments of the sig
nal corps, and Durrant knew that he was
TO be arrested before the officers arrived
While these events were taking place
on Mount Diablo. sixty miles away a dis
covery had been made In this city which
filed the streets with men and women
CRYING for vengeance.
From the first the police associated the
finding of Miss Williams body with the
disappearance of Miss Lamont. and a
search was at once begun in the church
for her body.
M1eS Lannon'S bOOy FOunu.
Mea worked all night tearing up. floors
and breaking down partitions. an1 at 10
o'clock Sunday morning the body Of Miss
Lamont was found. A broken door knob
and a turned bolt excited the suspicious of
the searchers. and the door leading 10 the
heIfry OF the church was broken down.
Up the winding stairs the policemen CROP
ed their way. AMI at the third landing. ly-
ing in the corner Of the darkened belfry
ho Led lNasyv NJ NH raIA
found. No knife had been used NO COM
NIT the crime, as was the case in the muir
der of Miss Williams, but the imprint of
five fingers buried In her throat revealed
the manner in which the young woman
met her death.
that murder was not the only crime that
had been committed. The news of the dis
covery OF the second body in the church
had spread with incredible velocity. and at
o'clock when Durrant. in custody OF the
officers. alighted from a ferry boat at the
foot OF Market street, in this city, he was
met by dense crowd that was om!nous
because of its silence. The police were pre-
pared for an outbreak, however and two
companies OF armed men were present.
Durrant was placed in closed carriage.
surrounded by fifty men armed with VIM
chesfers. and driven to the city prison.
Durrant then protested his innocence. as
he did TO the hour of his death. but the evil
dence against him accumulated rapidly.
and on April II an Information was fled
against him by District Attorney Barnes,
charging him with the murder of blanche
Lamont.
..GuiIty" on Circumstantial Evidence.
The trial. which began on July % and
lasted until November l. was one OF the
most celebrated In criminal Jurisprudence.
Nearly Zoo talesmeD were examined be-
fore a jury was secured. and SIX weeks
passed before the taking of testimony was
begun. The evidence throughout was cir
cumstantial, but when taken together
formed chain so strong as to admit OF no
reasonable doubt. The prosecution pro-
duced witnesses who traced DuIrants
movements on April from the time he
left Cooper Medical college until he enter
ed the church with Miss Lamont. To all
of this testimony the prisoner entered a de-
nial. and in rebuttal produced the roli-call
of the college. which showed that ne was
attending a lecture az the hour when Miss
Lamont was murdered.
The prosecution disputed the reliability
OF the roll-call. and showed that students
were accustomed to have classmates an
swer for them when they We're not present
As the case became more hopeless Durrant
went on the stand himself. and although
he maintained a remarkable composure
throughout. his testimony. on a number of
important points. was palpably false. The
case was submitted TO the jury on the aft
ernoon of November l. 1895 after having
been on trial over three months Twenty
minutes after they left the court room the
jury returned and rendered verdict OF
guilty in the first degree. The California
law gives the Jury power to fix the punish
ment of the criminal. but no recommen-
dation OF mercy was made. Judge Murphy
a few days later. sentenced Durrsnt to be
hanged on February q, 1896.
Every Resource OF Law Exhausted.
Then began fight for delay, vigorous
ly maintained for more than two years
Durrsnt appealed from the Judgment 10
the supreme court. but his appeal was
not perfected for many months pre-
lmlnary proceeding was the settlement
Of the bill Of sxcsptions-a very lengthy
document.
The defendants attorneys at first pre-