Mexico weekly ledger., 1899-10-26
IN THE Jx5ckR CASE AT PARIS
81 WITNESSES HAVE BEEN
EXAMINED so FAR.
WHAT CULLEN AND JOHNSON SAY.
hore Damaging Testimony to the Old
Prisoner-The Defense May Not
Introduce ANY Witnesses
Given to the Grand
Jury Soon.


ing Of Alexander Jester, charged with
the murder Of Gilbert Gates, to-day.
II has used In all fifty-two witnesses
living In Eve different States. To-day
its theory of the murder was finished
up and rounded ont by the testimony
of a number of witnesses from this
county. W
The testimony given to-day SUBJ
stantlates the evidence OF yesterday.
William Kelly, of Perry, Mo-, former
| ly OF Middle Grove, testified that on
the morning of the alleged murder,
he was travelling along the road from
Middle Grove and came upon a man
and two teams standing in the road.
The man, as he approached, jumped
out of the rear wagon, tied the team
to the front wagon and drove off. Mr..
Kelly followed as far as the Hulen
lane and saw crimson spots scattered
ali along In the snow.
The States contention will be that
Jester murdered Gates at this par
ticular time, In broad daylight, in the
main road, and had finished the job
just before Kelly came upon him.
Mr.. Cullen said the theory is absurd.
It is not probable that the defense
will introduce any witnesses.
The grand jury meets next week.
Mrs. Josephine CLARK gave the most
damaging testimony Of the trial
against the accused and no cross-ex-
animation could shake her. She saw
the dead body of Gilbert Gates lying
In the wagon, as it passed her home,
near Middle Grove. A gust of wind
blew up the curtain and displayed the
ghastly spectacle. Joseph Jolly tes-
tilted that he aaw Jester, the team
and noticed the buffalo calf. E. NJ.
Wetmore, who kept the livery barn
at Paris, where Jester stopped over
night, testified as to bis peculiar ac-
tion and his guarding OF the wagons,
permitting no one to look into them
He slept in one OF them In the barn
all during the cold night.
| Jaster confessed the murder, ac-
cording TO Joe Livesay, OF Monroe
County. Livesay testified this after
noon that Jester confessed to him in
the Paris Jail, stating that he had cut
Gates' throat with a dirk knife and
secreted the body near Middle Grove.
Livesay was the States last witness.
WHAT THE STATE HAS PROVED.
Charles P. Johnson said:
"In my opinion, the state has proved
beyond the shadow of a doubt that
Gilbert Gates was murdered, and that
Alexander Jester was the murderer.
"We have proved that Gilbert Gates
left Fort Scott, Kan, early in Janu-
arg, and have traced them as far as a
point one mile east of Middle Grove,
Monroe county.
"We have proved by unimpeach-
able witnesses that Gates positively
refused to sell his team or his watch
at any price only few days before he
disappeared.
"We have proved that Jester had
these articles In his possession inn
mediately after Gates disappeared,
and have shown that,as they were not
for sale, he must have acquired them
by foul means.
"We have proved that the prisoner
entered the Hulen lane, one mile east
Of Middle Grove, In company with
Gates on the morning of January %,
1871, and that he left 1t alone and in
possession of Gates property an hour
later.
ave have proved that Jester was
seen to get out of his wagon, enter
Gates wagon and remain there ten
minutes while In the west end OF the
Hulen lane, and that after he drove
furiously away from this spot on the
approach of witnesses, a trail of
blood followed his wagon to the point
where 1t entered the private lane
leading to the nearest woods on Reese
Greek.
"We have proved by several wit
nesses that at the point on which the
mover wagons were seen standing on
In the Hulen lane a great pool of fresh
blood was found.
1--WE have proved that body was
seen In one of those wagons few
minutes later and that bis faithful dog
had also disappeared. We claim that
the crafty old prisoner killed this dog
and cast him into the same pool as his
dead master, because he knew the dog
1.-The faithful companion Of the mur-
dered boy for years-would remain by
the side OF his master In death, and
thus reveal the tragedy that had been
enacted. Finally, we have proved by
numerous reliable witnesses that,
though Gilbert Gates drove his own
team into the Hulen lane, Alexander
Jester drove 1t out of that lane and on
to Indiana with his own driverless
team tied to the rear of that wagon.
In word, We have proven Alexander
TESTERS guilt by as strong a chain of
positive and circumstantial evidence
as ever hung q man."
WHAT TIE STATE has NOT PROVED.
Mr.Cullsn made the following state
ment:
"The state has proved that Jester
passed throughMonroe county In 1871;
that Gates was With him at Middle
Grove, but was not with him at Paris.
"The state has also shown that Jes-
ter had some of Gates' property in bis
possession when arrested, and goes
farther and proves that Jester gave
reasonable and true explanation as to |
how he lawfully became possessed OF
said property.
'The state has abandoned the theory |
that Gates was killed In the night