Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-14
ON TRIAL FOR MURDER
PROGRESS OF; HEABING IN CASE OF
JAMES -LssckToN.
Prosecution Rests ustd Defense Makes
. statement-TkesT estimony
IntradueedcToday.

|
| Shortly after The resumption of the hear
ing this morning in Criminal Court No /
in the case ofsJamey, Lanckton, the old
! soldier, under Indictment for the murder
| last March o. Mrs. Bette Lee Wren. the
counsel for the tgover9ment announced mis-
| case closed.
Ida King, the celoreth attendant of Ellen
Wren. was recalled 70 the stand at the
| opening Of the proceedings today She was
| aske- by Attorney Bean. counsel for
| Lanckton, whether or-not she had stated
to any one that Mrs Wren had complained
| to the witness that she was suffering with
pain in her side at time prior to the
| committing of the alleged assault by the
| defendant
| After The Stars report of the trial closed
yesterday the examination of Ellen Wren
! the invalid sister of the alleged victim OF
Lanckton. was continued. In substance the
information secured from the witness,
| through the medium of motions, was thai
| she saw Lanckton strike the deceased
| blow on the head.
Policeman Testifes.
The govern ment placed on the stand
Policeman Charles S. Baum, who testified
that about midnight the 18th of last March.
as he was passing Mrs. Wren's house on Il
the doorway ana requested the witness and
| lis partner to enter and eject a man who
Lad broken in and was causing disorder.
The witness entered and found Lanckton
there. He was under the influence OF
| liquor, but was quiet Lanckton demanded
to know from Mrs Wren if he had or had
| not always treated her well. She replied
that he had. AS Lanckton boarded at the
house, and as he promised to be quiet, the
witness took no action against him.
Inc last witness of the day was Ida King.
| the colored girl raised in the Wren family
and the attendant of Ellen Wren. She tes-
titled that the evening of the 18th of March
she heard Lanckton say to Mrs. Wren:
If l catch you speaking to Wheatley I'll
Kill you and him both"
Later. SO the witness testified, Mrs Wren
complained to her:
l-anckton struck me the head"
Statement for Defense.
In outlining the defense to the jury after
the government had concluded the intro
duction of its testimony in chief Attorney
Beall gave brief recital of the prisoners
me- Lanckton, according to Attorney
Beaii, Is siXty-six years of age. He served
throughout the civil war, and was wounded
several times. Upon being discharged from
the military service the defendant engaged
IN the show business. About five wears ago
while lying i'll at Rochester n Y his wife
went out to procure medicine. At the first
street crossing she was killed by a passing
.t"tii- Luis occurrence, 1t was stated
proved terrible shock to Lanckton.
Coming to Washington, counsel went on
10 say, Lanckton met Mrs. Wren and
probably because Of her resemblance to his
arceased WIFE, became infatuated with her
Inc jury was informed that Mrs. Wren
TOOK Lanckton to her home. clothed and
led MIN, gave him money and, on one &C.
casion. when he was drunk procured a
cap, Went after him and took him home.
Lanckton had been on spree and his
condition was one bordering on deIirum
tremens the 18th of last March, according
to Attorney BeaN. Therefore no intellgible
| statement as to what occurred the date i'm
question could be secured from the defen-
dart.
We Will show. however, that the death
OF MRS Wren was not caused by the de-
PENDANT, concluded Attorney Beall. How
It was caused we will not be able to show.
we believe, though. that we can demon
strate by learned physicians that 1t was i'm
possible for LaHcktons to have caused the
death or the woman"
Evidencs Not Admitted.
The defense attempted ae- show by Mr..
+. L. Giles, an attorneysat-law,i that several
DAYS after his arrest the mental condition
OF Lanckton was far from rational, but the
matter was not admitted in evidence.
Alphonso A Maxim, superintendent of a
local home for old soldiers, was next
called. He stated that the Saturday pre-
ceding the Monday on which the assault
on Mrs. Wren Is alleged to have occurred
Mrs. Wren called at the institution referred
to in quest of Lanckton. During her con-
versatiOn with the witness, so the latter
testified, she remarked that she was going
TO marry Lanckton: that he was hard
drinker and addicted to the morphine habit.
After several persons, called as witnesses
mad announced that they had seen Mrs
wren In company with Lanckton on the
streets number of times Immediately
prior to the time of the alleged assault
last March, and 1t had been testified that
the deceased was f1fty-four years of age.
DR.. Robert Reyburn took the stand.
Technical Points
DR.. Reyburn gave technical testimony re-
garding the formation of blot ciots and the
effects of the same. Dr. Charles NJ En-
mons. called later in behalf of the defense
testified along the same line He further
declared. in answer to hypothetical aues-
ton based on the facts In the case of Mrs.
Wren, that 1t was not fair, not possible. to
say that the woman died the result of a
blow until after an examination should
have been made to demonstrate that the
organs Of the body were in healthy con-
dition.
Miss A. G.. Odell, Mrs. Mary J. Thomp-
son, Joseph W. Pollock and Mrs SaIlie
Fenwick were examined briefly the prin-
cipal object in calling them being to con-
tradict assertions of the Prosecutors ami
statements made by witnesses for the gov
eminent.
When this report closed Henry Lanckton,
a brother of the defendant. was on the
stand testifying that the relations of the
defendant and Mrs. Wren were of a mos,
friendly character.