The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-12-25
TRIAL OF DIR. OLIVER t. OS-
BORNE.
Begun in City Court Saturday--Some
A a

Begun in City Court Saturday--Some
of the Testimony Adduced.
The trial of Or. Oliver r. Osborne on
the charge of unlawful disinterment Of
the body of Bessie Van Lue, thir-
teen-year-old colored girl, was begun in
the city court Saturday. Several mem
bers of the Van Lue family were called
as witnesses and when each one Of
them was on the stand the other men,
bers of the family We're excluded from
the court room on request Of Attorney
T. p. Goodhart, counsel for the defend
ant Mrs. Van Lue, mother of the dead
girl, was called and said that she never
gave DR.. Osborne permission to per-
form an autopsy and that she did not
give permission for the removal of the
body for an autopsy.
Mrs. Van Lue was aked If she had
ever had any conversation with DR..
Osborne with reference to his operat-
ing upon her daughter to find out what
her ail.nent was. She said no. but he
had asked her If he could operate by
taking the body of the girl. He told
witness he would give her 500 If he
could see into the ehild's stomach or
head and that 1t might be of some BEN
eft to the rest of the family IL they
should be taken i'll in the same way.
Asked if she had ever given consent
to DR. Osborne to take the body and
perform an autopsy on it Mrs Van
Lue said she had not. She said that
she had never given her consent to Dr.
Osborne or to anyone to take the body
of her child from the grave. If the
body was taken from the grave she
said that it was without her consent or
knowledge.
Cross-examined by Mr. Goodhart
witness said that DR. Osborne had
been attending persons in her family
for six years She thought that at
various times she had paid DIR. Qs-
borne as much as $40 for services. She
always paid him when he came. She
said that after the child died Mr..
Beecher came and DIR. Peck came in.
DR.. Peck asked if she had decided to
allow them to have the body and she
told him no, she didn't want to have her
daughter cut up. She said that Mr..
Beecher heard her say that.
The dead girls father, William Van
Lue, was next called and said that he
had not given permission for an
autopsy. He denied that he had ever
said anything on the subject of autop-
sizes to Sexton Ford, but afterwards he
admitted that he had talked with
Deacon Ford subsequent to the funeral
at the graveyard about the child.
did you say to Mr.. Ford that you
We're perfectly willing to let the autop-
sly be performed, but your relations
mo, sir; I didn't say nothing to Mr..
Ford about it,
Henry w. Beecher, of the firm of
Beecher & Bennett, the undertakers
the Van Lues employed to bury their |
daughter, followed Van Lue on the wit
ness stand.
Witness said he had a conversation |
with DR.. Osborne on Tuesday preceding |
the funeral. He called at DR.. Osborne's |
office and the latter told him that the |
Van Lue child's sickness was a very |
peculiar case and that 1t was DESTROYS |
Of holding post-mortem examination |
It was suggested that the body be |
taken from the cemetery, an examina-
lion made and afterward returned to
the cemetery Witness told DR.. Os-
borne that he was not particular about
loing anything like that unless he had
he written consent Of the parents OF