The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-10-04

Mrs. Garrabrandt, mother of the muir
derer, was then recalled by the defence.
She said that her son for the last three
or four years had smoked between five
and six packs of cigarettes a day. His
conduct was at all times peculiar. He
was irritable at times and the least thing
made him angry. One time he pulled down
the portiere curtains in the house because
the witness refused to give him money
for cigarettes. About three weeks before
the murder he had grabbed her by the
wrists and almost broken her arms. When
the witness demonstrated he said: 'Oh,
mamma, didn't mean to hurt you.'
Mrs. GaTrabrandt said that three or four
weeks before the murder her son had de-
veloped extraordinary destructiveness. He
destroyed music and picked the attach
ments of her sewing machine to pieces.
He associated with children seven or eight
years of age.
The witness identified a number Of dime
novels shown to her as being the property
of her son. They had been found in a
washstand drawer in his room offer his
arrest. The titles of these books were:--
Diamond Dicks Timely Tip, or Side
20. K or the Keno Clubs Warm Member &
1.-THE Black Tiger tom Wrights Rival
OF the Mascot of the Round House,
| 'eThe Care of Diamonds, or Jack Gilman S
Revenge Frank Merriwel's Favor or
True as Steel"
Mrs. Garrabrandt testified that Libbie
Garrabrandt, who is now serving a life
sentence in the Trenton State Prison for
murder, was a sister of her husband.
She said that when born her son had
peculiar marks on his body, one of which
| was hole above the left ear, and another
| the peculiar forma ton of his toes
William Barry and Henry Trout, pris-
| oners in the ward of the County Jail in
which Garrabrandt's cell is located, told
of the strange actions of the young MUIR
derer. Barry said Garrabrandt raised
large scabs on his arms by irritating the
flesh picking it with his thumb nail When
told to do so by his counsel the prisoner
| readily barred his arms and showed that
| they were covered with scabs which he
| termed fox bites Barry said that on
one occasion Garrabrandt had thrown his
| dishes to the floor and on another had
opened his pillow and scattered the feath-
ers about the cell.
| Garrabrandt wodre a smile almost ap-
preaching grin, as he listened to the tes-
| timony of his fellow prisoners, especially
when they declared that they thought him
! insane.
Mrs. William Peters, of No. 1872 Eigh-
teenth street told how on the Thursday
| before the murder she had found a snake
| in bottle and asked Johnnie about it.
She said Garrabrandt only laughed and
told her it was only poison and if it poi
soned the witness that would not be any
thing.
/ Mrs. Catherine Quigley who keeps a
candy store on Eighteenth street, gave
| unimportan testimony about Johnny's
| cigarette habit.
| DR.. John III. Dougherty testified that
he had practiced in Jersey City for four
teen years and was an expert on moral
imbecility and degeneracy He said that he
examined Garrabrandt three times and
| had found evidences of abnormal condi-
| tions.
| At this point Lawyer Simpson told
/, Cara brandt to take a chair in front of
| the jury box. This put the prisoner with
his back towards Dr. Corning, the States
leading expert to disprove the insanity
| theory, who was closely watching every
movement of the young criminal. Prose-
| cutor Erwin objected and Garrabrandt
was placed in chair alongside the wit
| ness box where everyone interested could
| obtain a good view of him
| DR.. Dougherty then testified that he had
/ first examined Garrabrandt to test his
moral senses and see if they were per-
verted. He said that the prisoner
although he had been at school for long
time was unable to answer correctly sim
pie questions in arithmetic and geo.
| graphy
''I asked him why he had killed Mass"
said the physician, land he said he had
seen the same thing done in play and
wanted to try it,"
Continuing the witness said he was i'm
pressed by the smoothness of Cara
brandt's face which, despite his nineteen
! years, was without a vestige of beard.
This was most unusual.
DR.. Dougherty said that Garrabr S
toes were deformed He told of the pc
cuhar shape of the prisoners head, which
! he said was that of a degenerate
For the purpose of comparison the phy-
sician produced a skull which he said was
| that of normal woman. Prosecutor
Erwin objected to its USE claiming a
mans skull should have been produced
| for comparison
The witness said that the difference
between the measurements of Cara
brandt's forehead and the back of his
| head and those of normal person
showed conclusively that the former were
abnormal. He said the anterior lobes OF
/ the prisoners brain were hampered in
their development.
/ The most convincing evidence of the
| boys degeneracy the doctor said he had
discovered in the boys palate He said
that Garrabrandt had torus palatinus, "a
| ridge of bone in the roof of the mouth
only found i'm degenerat tes.''
| AT this point Garrabrandt was examined
by the jurors and all the medical experts
i present. He cheerfully, leaned back in his
chair, opened his mouth wide and dis
closed the strange bony formation referred
to by the physician.
/ The first witness called after recess yes
terday was John Garrabrandt, father oi
| the prisoner.
DIR. ]. III. Dougherty testified that Gar
lrabrandts ears were deformed. There was
a complete absence of the lobe. A char
showing twenty-five different kinds o.
ears all Of the criminal class, was shown