The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-01-06
STORY OF JULIA MORRISON.
ACTRESS TELLS WHY SHE KILLED
FRANK LEIDEN.

Charged That He InsuIted Her FIRE.
quently and Called Her Foul
Names-Asserts She Lost All Com
troll of Herself on the Evening of
the Shooting-Says Systematic Per-
secution Made Her Desperate.
State Rested Its Case.
Chattanooga. Tenn. Jan. 5.--The case of
Julia Morrison, the actress charged with
the murder Of Frank Leiden, on the Opera
House stage in this city Sept % last. was
resumed in the Circuit Court this morn
ing.
Miss Morrison appeared attired in black,
and sat with her attorneys. Mrs. George
]. ANTI, sister of Leiden. the murdered
man, was also in court.
The first witness called to-day was w.
]. Patterson, the stage manager of the To-
cal Opera House. He stated that Miss
Morrison had not changed her dress to
appear in the play. That at the request
of Leiden he had found her and warned
her that the company was waiting for
her.
She then went to the stage from lower
toilet room, by a back stairway. Before
she reached the top of the step, and while
she was within three feet of Leiden she
fired three times. After he had fallen she
advanced and shot Lelden while he lay
on the floor He had not heard Miss Nor
rison and Leiden quarreling, but Leiden
had told him that there was an unpleas>
antness between them.
4
House; ]. H. Wombe and other employees
of the Opera House corroborated Patter-
sons statement. With these witnesses the
state rested its case for the present.
Miss MOrrisOn's Statement
At the afternoon session of the court,
the defense introduced Miss Morrison
Her testimony was sensational and she
frequently requested the court to permit
her to put some of Leiden's language nd-
dressed to her in writing rather than re-
utter the words She said:
My name is Julia Morrison. | am an
actress. 1 was born, to the best of my
knowledge, in Kansas My parents died
when l was an infant, and 1 have known
only foster parents, whose name was
Dale. l was married 20 Mr.. James by
justice of the peace in Memphis under
the name of Rosaline Dale / afterwards
married Under my right name In Louis
lana"
She continued, saying in substance that
after she joined the Mr. Plaster of Paris
Company. Leiden was very friendly until
he found that she was married and that
her husband would accompany her on the
road. From that time he began a system
attic persecution. He had made improper
proposals to her and insulted her fredeunt-
ly; had frequently corrected her in her
lines, without cause; that he frequently
called her foul names and had persisted in
his course of abusing her until she lost
all control of herself.
On the evening of the shooting she stat
ed that Leiden had gone to the toilet room
while she was sick and had offered an in
dignity which she told 10 the court and
which is unfit for the prints. She says
that when he did this she lost control Of
herself and that when she went 10 the
stage by the rear stairway, just as she
reached the top of the steps. Leiden APP
preached her with an appraised cane in his
hand as if to strike her and called her a
foul name.
She stated that from that moment she
has no memeory of what happened. Ex-
planning why she had the pistol on this
particular evening she stated that she al
ways carried a pistol in her bosom. on
cross-examination she stated that she had
borne Ledens insults until she had learn
ed that she was to be supplanted in At
lanta by another woman, and that then
she had become desperate.
Court then adjourned until tomorrow