Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-03-29

At ten o'clock last night the jury
in the case of State VS.. Joseph Driller,
indicted for the murder of Louis Dit
more on the Fourth day of July last,
on a boathouse on the Ohio side of
the river, returned into Court with a
verdict of guilty of voluntary man
slaughter. The penalty is imprison-
ment in the penitentiary for from one
to five years. The jury was n ot poll
ed, but the Clerk inquired if that was
their verdict, and they responded IN
the affirmative. A motion was made
to set aside the verdict and grant a
new trial, consideration of which was
postponed by Judge Hugus to a future
time. There was quite a large attend
ance of spectators in the Cou room
when the jury came in, and a
dozen or more attorneys were also
present. The jury was only out Two
hours and ten minutes, and thus
reached a conclusion very promptly,
| considering the fact that they had
Twenty-Five instructions to read and
digest and the whole situation to talk
over.
When Court opened yesterday morn
| ing the defense began it's case by put
ting Christian Schnepf, the local
weather observer, on the stand, prov
ing by him that there was good wealth
| er on the day of the alleged murder.
| BY William Truax, the stage OF the
| river was shown.
! The defendant then took the stand
in his own behalf, and his examination
and cross-examination took up the
time of the Court until the noon re-
| cess. His evidence was not materially
! different from that given on the first
| trial. He denied emphatically that he
| killed Dittmore, saying, as on the hrst
| trial, that the last time he saw him
was Monday evening, July Sd, about z
| o'clock, when DittmOre crossed the
| river. He readily admitted seeing
| Watkins, and selling the latter the
| boathouse, and also told of the visit
| to Squire Greer's, and the purchase of
| the key of beer at Walters saloon, and
the transfer of the beer back to the
boathouse, where it was drank. He
denied, however, that he and Dittmore
ever had any trouble. Witness said
he left the boat about 7 o'clock on the
! evening OF July 4th, Tuesday. Defend
ant told the same story as to his sup
posed ownership of the boathouse, say
ing Dittmore had given it to him on
several occasions.
The cross-examination was a long
and searching one, but the defendant
stuck to the main facts in his story,
but admitted that the night of the day
he and Mrs. Parker left the ~boathouse
they remained all night in the yard OF
Ramsey's hotel, in Benwood, where the
woman sat in a chair, she complaining
! she was i'll. No one knew they were
there. He never thought about get
| ting help for her. Leaving the yard at
daylight they went into some long
grass close by, and there remained all
day, the woman sleeping. He never
thought about getting help for Mrs.
| Parker, then, either.
The examination was concluded at
noon, and when Court took a recess the
defense had rested.
! At five minutes of two o'clock Prose-
| cutting Attorney Meyers opened the adj
dresses for the State, speaking until
| three o'clock. He was followed by Mr..
| Boyce from three until four o'clock,
and he by Mr.. John Wilson from four
until five, Mr.. John A. Howard closing
the argument at six o'clock on behalf
of the State.
A night session was announced, and
at even o'clock the instructions were
read, there being six on behalf of the
| State and twenty-three for defense.
The jury went out at ten minutes of
eight o'clock.
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