The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-04-13
Witnesses Testify Ihs! the Prisoner Ad-
,nltted Firing tho Fatal Shot.
CLAIMED HER HUSBAND CHoKEu her.
Had 10 Fix" Him o. Hs Would Hare FIXED" Her
Doctor TsstlfIss ns Discovered No lndlcailonss
si lntoxcaOon on Tho Dead Man.

Boston. April 13.-Thc trial OF Mrs.
NJ. L. Ross for alleged manslaughter in
shooting and killing her husband. John
T.. Ross. at Sharon, April 20. 1899, was
opened yesterday afternoon in the
criminal session OF the Norfolk supe-
rfor court at Dedham, before Judge
Bond
The following jury was empanelled
to try rhe case; Henry T.. Hosmer.
Mills, foreman. carpenter; Alonzo w.
Blanchard, Weymouth, laborer; Silas
II. Blodgett, Hyde Park. clerk; John j..
Collins, Avon. blacksmith Franklin
w. Dolliver, Brookline, clerk: Horace
w. Mann. Stoughton, florist: Charles
+. Mcclure. Quincy milk dealer; l..
Percy Moulton. Milton, clerk; Daniel
$ Pratt. Jr., Wellesley, clerk; William
II. Roberts. Randolph. poultry dealer;
Joseph Squires, Norwood leather
shaver, and william II. Wales. Frank
lin, carpenter.
District Attorney Harris appeared
FOR the commonwealth. and Albert r.
Worthen OF East Weymouth for Mrs.
Ross.
Airs. Ross was not called upon 10
plead having done so Sept. 20, 1899,
when she pleaded mot guilty"
Her counsel. as soon as the jury was
empanelled, moved to quash the in
dictment, the first drawn under tho
new pleadings, setting up as reasons:
Because IL does not describe n crime
or offence fully and plainly. substan-
TALLY and formally, as Is required by
the constitutions: and because II Is
otherwise defective.
The court overruled the motion
Counsel Worthen then asked that he
might file demurrer. covering the
same grounds. The court held that
there was no need of filing "A demurrer
The trial of this case may result i'm
the testing of the consiitutionality of
the new criminal pleadings Counsel
Worthen holding the legislature had
no right to excuse formalities that are
required by the constitution.
District Attorney Harris. in his open
ing. briefly outlined the case. The
commonwealth called eight Witnesses
Dr. William O. Faxon of Stoughton,
medical examiner for the district. tes-
tined that there was shot wound In
the chest of John +. Ross. He ques-
toned Mrs. Ross. Asked her II she
Wlshed To make statement, and she
said she was willing To do So She said
her husband had choked her: she drew
revolver from her pocket and warned
MIN To BE- careful; he paid no heed to
the warning. and finally she fired the
shot that killed him
ihtN Wltness. continuing. said that he
saw no Indications that led him 10 sup
pose the deceased had been seriously
intoxicated" al the time OF the shooting
The deceased had $6.01 In his pockets.
Walter j. Roach OF Sharon testified
that he lived ON the same floor with
the. Ross family. He heard no dis.
turDance I'm the Ross tenement. Mrs.
itoss came TO his place and said: I've
Zone the deed. : He asked her IL she
had shot Russell and che co "a .,.a. >,
Mrs. Ross told him she had revolver
and that she kept Ii under her pillow
oliver II. Derry. Sharon police Of
ncer. testified that he went to the Ross
house. Mrs. Ross was In the room when
ne got there. Mrs. Rose said she had
70 nS MIN cher husband). else ne would
have fixed her" Mrs. Ross gave I'm tba
revolver TO officer Curtis
This closed the testimony up to ad