The record-union., 1898-01-08

others was Theodore Durrant, who hao
often acted as Miss Lamont's escort.
He seemed greatly distressed on ac-
count of Miss Lamont's disappearance,
and at length expressed the belief that
she had joined the ranks of fallen wo-
men This theory seemed plausible to
the police, and a search was made
among the places where it was believed
the missing girl might be found. Dur
rant assisted in the inquiry, which
came to naught. Ten days had passed
since Miss Lamont disappeared, and
her friends had almost given up hope
of ever knowing her fate, when dis
covery was made which led to the find
ing of Miss Lamont's body.
The ladies of Emmanuel Church were
engaged in decorating the edifice pre-
paratory to the celebration ofthe Easter
Sunday service, when the mangled
body of Minnie Williams was found,
almost naked, in the library. A num-
Der Of ugly knife wounds and some
rags that had been forced down the
young Womans throat told of the I'M
equal struggle she had made to protect
her honor
Miss Williams body was discovered
IN the afternoon, and late the same
night the first clew to the murderer
was obtained. From some of the young
Woman's friends it was learned that
she had been seen the evening before
With Durrant, and although there was
nothing else to show that he had any
connection with the crime, the police
decided to 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 Signal Corps
OF the National Guard, to which he be-
longed, to make some photographic ex-
per1lnentS on Mount Diablo The
next train carried two detectives to-
ward the mountain, and, after compiet-
ing their journey by stage, Durrant was
found late in the afternoon and ar
rested. But the news that he was
charged with the murder of Minnie
Williams was not at first impaired to
MN py the officers. A message was
mashed on the rays of the sun by the
photographers in this city who were TAX
ing part in the experiments of the Sig
nal Corps, and Durrant knew that he
was to be arrested before the officers
arrived.
Whlle these events were taking place
on Mount Diablo, sixty miles away. a
discovery had been made in this city
which filled the streets with men and
women crying for vengeance. From the
nrSt the police associated the finding
OF Miss Williams body with the disap-
pearance Of Miss Lamont. and a
search was at once begun in the church
Tor her body. Men worked all night
tearing up floors and breaking down
partitions, and 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 to
the belfry of the church was broken
down. Up the winding stairs the DO
llcemen CROPPED their way, and at the
third landing lying in the corner of the
darkened belfry the naked body of the
murdered girl was found. No knife had
been used to commit the crime. as was
the case in the murder of Miss Will
Jams, but the imprint of five fingers
buried in her throat revealed the man
ner in which the young woman met
her death.
The post-mortem examination showed
that murder was not the only crime
that had been committed. The news
- NAAN AiStONCiy vi THE StCOHQ DOQY III
the church had spread with incredible
velocity, and at 6 o'clock, when Dur
rant, in custody of the officers. aIighted
from ferry boat at the foot of
Market street, in this city. he was met
by a dense crowd that was onlinous
because of it's silence The police were
prepared for an outbreak. however.
and two companies of armed men
xxerc
closed carriage surrounded by fifty
men armed with Winchesters 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 rap
idly, and on April Dist an information
was filed against him by District At
torney Barnes charging him with the
murder of Blanche Lamont
The trial, which began on July 22d
and lasted until November list. was
one of the most celebrated in criminal
Jurisprudence. Nearly 100 talesmen
We're examined before jury was Sc
cured, and six weeks passed before the
taking of testimony was begun. The
| evidence throughout was circumstan-
tial, but when taken together formed a
! chain so strong as to admit Of no rea-
sonable doubt The prosecution pro-
duced witnesses who traced Durrant's
movements on April Sd from the time
| he left Cooper Medical College until
he entered the church with Miss La
mont. To all of this testimony the
prisoner entered a denial, and in re-
buttal produced the roll-call of the COZ
| lege, which showed that he was at
| tending a lecture at the hour when
Miss Lamont was murdered
| The prosecution disputed the relia-
| bility of the roll-call, and showed that
| students We're accustomed to have
| classmates answer 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 num-
| Der of important points. was palpably
| false. The case was submitted to the
| jury on the afternoon of November
| /. 1895. after having been on trial
over three months. Twenty minutes
after they left the courtroom the jurors
returned and rendered a verdict of
| guilty in the first degree. The Cali
fornia law gives the jury power to fix
| the punishment of the criminals. but as
no recommendation of mercy was
made. Judge Murphy. few days later,
sentenced Durrant to be hanged on
February u, 1896.
Then began a fight for delay, vigor-
| oGsly maintained for almost twenty
months. not even ceasing with the exc
cution of the death sentence. Durrant