The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-25
.AETT|E WILSON'S TRIAL
She Is Charged With the Murder
~ Of Jacob Barrett.
:.
THE CASE FOR THE STATE
Dazsd When She Discovered That
She Had Shot Barrett-There
Was a Tussle.

|
of last month was begun in Judge
Clancys department Of the district
court and will be resumed this morn
| ing and probably concluded to-day.
| A jury was obtained with very little
| difficulty. Very few Of those examined
had an opinion, and some of them had
| never heard of the case. Edward Hud-
dleston, William White, w. o. Roberts,
George Dewey. U. r. Rochleau and W.
T. Wilson We're excused because they
said they would not vote to hang a
/ woman. Only two peremptory chal-
lenges were exercised one by the state
and the other by the defense. The
| jurors retained were: H. M. Edwards,
Edward Hyland, Thomas F. Casey,
Dennis M. Smith, William Busch Will
lam T. Tonkin. John j. Williams, Peter
McDermott, Thomas w. Williams, Ed
ward Ward, w. K. Packer and Arthur
Mcfarland
| County Attorney Connolly, in his
opening statement to the jury, said the
| testimony would show that the defend
ant and Arthur e. Donnelly came to
Butte short time before the races last
| fall, and that the defendant had for
several years followed Donnelly from
| place to place, and that they had prac-
| tically lived together. On the day of
| the homicide, Dec. IS, 1898, they had a
| quarrel and had agreed to disagree,
and she sent a note to his room telling
him she intended to leave the city that
night and wanted him to send her a
pair of ,er rubbers which were in his
room. Donnelly was sick in bed as
the result of spree or some other
cause, and Barrett was stopping with
him. One Jennie Spencer was roofning
next door to Donnelly on East Galena
street, and she came into Donnelly's
room that night and sent out for sew
eral rounds of milk punches, which the
three drank. Between 1880 and IL
o'clock the defendant came to the
Spencer woman's room and asked her
now Donnelly was, and then accom-
panied her to Donnellys room, when
the last round of drinks We're brought
/ in. While Donnelly was drinking and
was, as he claimed, in a drowsy con-
dition, the Wilson woman grabbed
gun off the bureau and started around
the bed toward Donnelly. Barrett in
tereepted her and in the scuff1e which
ensued for the possession of the gun
1t went off and Barrett was fatally
shot, but whether the weapon was dis
charged accidentally or Intentionally
was not known Donnelly, according
to his story, jumped up while Barrett
ana the woman We're scuffiing, but did
not reach them until after the gun had
been discharged and the woman had
placed the gun at her own head He
TOOK the weapon away from her and
handed it to the officers, who had ar
rived in the meanwhile. The officers,
however, claim they received the gun
ho
time of the shooting all the parties to
it We're friendly to each other. After
Barrett had fallen to the floor the
Spencer woman stepped over his body
and went out. She knew nothing about
the Wilson woman placing the gun at
her own head.
Arthur Donnelly was the first witness
on the stand and his story of the affair
was practically as outlined by Mr. Con-
molly. He said he was in bed when
the Spencer woman first came in and
offered him milk punch. That was
between and o'clock in the evening.
When she came back later at night
with Nettie Wilson she remarked. as
she entered, Here is Nettie,'' and the
witness simply glanced in her direction
and paid no particular attention to any
one until she grabbed the revolver and
Barrett had the tussle with her. He
said he did not know that she came to
Did she make any remark before her
struggle with Barrett?" asked Mr.. Con-
molly.
mot that I heard"
did Barrett say anything?"
I heard no one say anything at any
time except Miss Spencer, when she
told me to take the milk punch. as if
would do me good
On cross-examination by J. L. Wines
counsel for the defendant, Donnelly
said he first became acquainted wish
Barrett in the M. & NJ saloon. where
he was introduced to him. The de-
PENDANT first met him about three or
four months before the killing.
Under what circumstances did she
meet him?'
She and were both sick at the time
and unable to help ourselves, and Bar
rett came down to see If he could do
anything for u.s.
Donnelly said the defendant and de-
ceased had always been very friendly |
toward each other.
They seemed to me like a brother
and sister" he said. "They were the
best friends in the world, I never heard
cross word pass between them"
The witness said he did not know
that the woman had a gun until the
shot was fired, and it did not seem to
MIN that she was coming toward him.
ne saw HeF ana Barrett ScuH1lng, but |
it seemed to him like 1.-TWO boys fighting
over an apple" The revolver belonged |
to Donnelly and was a self-acting |
Smith & Wesson. Mr.. Wines asked him |
if it was an easy working gun or other |
wise.
well, when you wanted it to go off |
it went off," was his reply.
Donnelly said that he caught Bar |
rettt as he was falling. and laid him on
the floor Then. for the first time, he |
saw the gun in Wilson's hand and he |
exclaimed. MY God, you have killed |
poor Jakey." She staggered back and |
looked dazed or paralyzed. She re-
piled. well, I've got one here for |
myself and then raised the gun to |
her head and he took it away from her. |
She then kneeled over Barretts body |