Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-03-05
THE FIGHT FOR MOLINEUx.
weeks, Gardiner, md Coroner Have
Another Passage at Arms.
New York Times-ith)

ner Hart. and Barlow s. Weeks In th'
Coroner's Court yesterday, when the case
of Roland b. Mollneux came up for
hearing Messrs. Weeks and Battie ap
neared before the Coroner at IL O'CLOCK
| and asked that the defendant be sent for
The District Attorney contended thai
| the presence Of tho accused was not necss'
| sary. and that the Coroner could MOI
| proceed. he having lest jurisdiction wnel
| the grand jury found an indictment Inc
| Coroner and the District Attorney tnen
| conferred for a minute, and just as the
4 latter began another address Mr. w eeks
! cut in with an objection.
"Nr. Mollneux Is 20 appear before you
| to-day for examination, and ] ask tha'
| he be sent for" said Mr.. Weeks.
"As the grand jury has found an IN
dictment," said the Coroner tine case
is out Of my jurisdiction. r,r
| DO we understand that your iionoi
overrules our objection? tnuhuereu MI
| Weeks. ~ o,,or-
| ruling where there is no Jurlsu4SOO"' PN'
| I'm Colonel Gardiner.
"Tbe grand jury has settled the mat
| torn said the Coroner, grabbing MS nat
| and edging toward the door
"put we protest" cried Mr.. weeks,
,,ontine himself I'm front of the Coroner.
1--WE have rights here, and we VIII not
have them abrogated. We are enutIed
to a hearing .,.,, .ho
Il have nothing more 10 90 with 'he
matter" said the Coroner escaping intV
the hallway. where he was followed by
the District Attorney.
Mr. Weeks was furious. 81 want II
snread on the records that we have been
denied our rights here" he cried. In
defiance Of all rules of justice and de-
cencv the Coroner has left the. court
room without adjourning court lie mas
not passed upon my objections. ana ne
utterly disregarded all legal and Judlclal
form" -
Mr. Weeks and General MolineuX, VINO
has been on hand at every proceedllg'
then left the court and went TO the
Ton1bs. The impression prevailed around
the District Attorneys office yesterday
mat AIollneux would not be tried at the
April term of court, as has been stated.
but that the trial would so over until
after the summer vacation.
INDICTMENT OF HEC<MANN.
District-Attorney Gardiner denied that
he had any knowledge on the subject or
an Indictment against Nicholas a. Heck-
mann the stationer who claims 10 have
identified MolineuX as the man TO whom
he rented letter-box I'm the name OF ii.
G Barnet. 1t is a fact that there Is an
indictment in the Office Of the District
Attorney against one Nicholas Heck
mann. Hickman was indicted by the
Grand Jury on November %. 1854 for brl-
berry. He was then living al NO 5oS flilh
street. and was charged with having ne
eallv influenced the vote OF one Heyhah
Schiffman. He was bailed out on Decen-
her LIST of the same year and pleaded not
Guilty a week later. Nothing more was
done in the matte. Heckmann, WITCH
seen refused to discuss the question
Colonel Gardiner said that tho fact or
his not calling Hickman before the
grand Jury that indicted MollheuN ndu
nothing to do with any indictment. Up
IN the time that his attention was called
TO the matter yesterday, he sald' ne ndu
no knowledge Of the existence OF an III,
dictment. and he said also that he woulu
not investigate the matter any lurlnei,
THE name of the man indicted is spelled
in The napers Nicholas Hickman. while
the Ietter-box man spells his name Heck
mann. and adds the middle letter y 70
his name -.--,,.. Tho
Colonel Gardiner stated yesterday the
reasons that had impelled Hickman ~
make the Identification OF MollneuX lie
admitted that the letter-boX man hau
failed to identify MolineuX In Newark
but explained this by saying that Heck
mann then expected TO get money LOT rs
Identification from a newspaper anu ""'
holding back on that account; -,,..
"Hoel,mann." said Colonel Gardner
"came TO the conclusion that this cI-
fee was about TO ask for the arrest Oh
Cornish as the poisoner, and II was lhen
that he came forward to save an hiiO-
cent man from such charge ne H"t
been i'm the courtroom while the inquest
vras going on. and saw what ne suppoSeu
70 he the trend Of affairs against CORNISH
As soon as he recognized this he came 10
me and offered TO give his evidence ~
TO that time he had not appreclated tno
fact that the Barnet and ADAMS 0"Se'
were in any way allled. .. 80.
Colonel Gardeners statement Is not
,,,,ne ont by the fact that ever since the
Adams case was made pubic the Fame
az Barnet has been intimately assoclatcu
with II and IL has been officially stated
mat one person committed both crimes
THE District Attorney insisted on his YER
eion of the matter even when the above
focts wore pointed out to him. He was
also asked about the evidence IN MS
posscssion against the accused man.
"Of course we have other evidence III
orr possession besides that or HeckHlahh
and the experts, but l can convict nm
ON the evidence of the experts alone
Molineux wrote the samples OF MS manu-
writing from typewriter copies Oh ne
Barnet and Cornish letters ana the au,
dress on the poison package. lie hau
nothing TO guide him.
IAN | will have to do Is 70 have the
several specimens photographer ana pro-
iect them on a screen magnihed 500 dia-
meters. and the similarity OF the two
writings will be at once apparent. IheIe
Is no getting away frcm H. used SINH
Ior EVIDENCE In the Cadet Whitaker case
with success.
EVIDENCE IN RESERVE.
II IS generally stated, Notwithstanding
the contention Of the District Attorneys
office. that there Is other evidence IN re-
serve. and that the prosecution, up TO
this time. has absolutely nothing except
the evidence OF the experts on which 10
proceed. The testimony of Hickman,
it is said, will be discounted from the
start.
II Is also said that every effort of the
police to connect MolineuX with the
poisoning OF either Mrs. Adams or Bar
net so far az the purchase OF the poison
or the bottle-holder Is concerned, has
brought them up against stone wall
Molineux takes the situation phlosophi-
callv the Tombs attendants say and !
has settled down 10 make tho best OF
the time until his case comes TO trial
SING SING PRISONERS GOING MAD: |
Plea of n Lawyer to Have Robber |