The Savannah morning news., 1901-11-23
AYRES' UNDERSHIRT
SIGHT OF BLOODY GARMENT Ex-
CITES MRS. BONNIE.
POLICEMEN ON THE STAND.
wAsHINGToN's TIREsOME sENsA-
TIoN CONTINUES.

Appearance of the Body and the
Rooms Condition Told by Police
Witnesses-PhotoEr of the
Room Put i'm Evidence-Testimon
Thnt Mrs Bonine Had Arranged to
Leave the Hotel Ruled Out by
Court.
Washington, Nov. 22.-Five witnesses
were heard to-day in the trial of Mrs.
Lola Ida Bonine for the murder of
James S. Ayres, Jr. Four of these wit
nesses were police officers who had
gone to Ayres' room after discovery of
the body by the employees of the Ken
more Hotel. and the fiftb-was W. W
Warfield, who was proprietor of the
hotel at the time of the tragedy. The
policemen testified to details of the
wounds, position of the body and ar
rGngement of the furniture in the
room. Mr.. Warfields testimony was
very brief. In response to a question
by Attorney Fulton of Mrs. Bonines
counsel, he said that Mrs. Bonine had
made arrangements to leave the hotel
before the tragedy occurred, but both
question and answer were subsequently
ruled out. 1t is understood to be the
intention of the defense to recall Mr..
Warfield later for the purpose of elicit
ing information from him upon this
ard other points in Mrs. Bonines be-
half.
Mrs. Bonine's party in the courtroom
was increased to-day by the addition
n hsaf =,
lives at st. Joseph, No. Only once
during the day did ms. Bonine dis
play emotion, and that was when the
bloody undershirt which had been
worn by Ayres on the night of the
killing was identified by officer Brady
Policeman Walter S. Brady was the
first witness called. He was on duty
near the Kenmore Hotel on the morn
ing that Ayres' body was discovered
and he was summoned to the hotel at
about S:20 o clock by the proprietor, w.
w. Warfield, who told him that he
thought he had suicide upstairs. The
witness was then escorted to Ayres'
room in company with three or four
other persons. Finding the door fasten>
ed he had, under Mr.. warfieldS In
structions, forced it open. Upon subse-
quent investigation he had found that
the door was bolted and not locked.
| The body Of the dead man was, he said,
lying on the floor near the window in
bent position, and with the
arms drawn up in front OF
the face. The head lay across one
of the rounds of a rocking chair and
the only clothing on the body was a
light undershirt. The shirt was open
at the neck and the upper portion Of
it was covered with blood. There was
some blood on the left sleeve of the
garment. The hands and feet also were
bloody. the latter looking as If he had
stepped in the blood which was on the
floor in considerable quantity. Three
wounds were found upon the body, one
being in the breast, another in the arm
and the third in the thigh. The bed
looked, he said, as if some one had lain
in it and had gotten up, throwing the
cover back as he did so. There was
no other disorder about it, and the
was only on indentation in the pillow
Ayres' coat, vest and trousers had
been carefully laid over the back of a
chair. He said that a pistol and a
small single -barreled shotgun lay on
a trunk in the room and that the bar
rel and the chambers of the pistol
were covered with blood. The pistol
was exhibited to Mr.. Brady and iden-
titled by him. He handled it freely as
he described the condition of the wea-
pom. Mrs. Bonine regarded the wit
ness and the weapon with close scru-
tiny, but gave no evidence of emotion.
Undershirt I'm Evidence.
There were blood stains on the win
dow sill, the washboard and the rock
er. On table in the room there were
nine cartridges lying loose. The gas
was burning when he entered the
room, but was turned low. The lower
sash of the one window in the room
was up as far as 1t would go. The
string on the window shade was COW
cred with blood, as If it had been
drawn through bloody fingers. In
concluding his examination in chief of
the witness, District Attorney Gould
put in evidence the undershirt found
on the body of Ayres. 1t was well
stained with blood. The sight of the
garment apparently affected the pris-
oner more than any preceding Incl
dent in the course of the trial. On
cross-examination Officer Brady said
a boy had first notified him of the
tragedy. Mrs. Bonine's Oldest son was
told to stand up, and Lawyer Douglass
asked the witness IL he was the mes
senger. The witness failed to identify
him. He had not noticed any finger
prints on the pistol he found in the
room. He had discovered what he be-
lieved to be finger prints on the win
dow sill. The detached piece of the
window sill was identified by the wit
ness, who said the bloodstains were
more distinct on the morning Of May
Is than now.
Officer Brady said in reply to other
questions by Mr.. Douglass that the
loose pistol cartridges found on the ta-
BILE were filled and were OF 80 caliber.
the same calibre as those found In the
revolver. In that weapon there were
three loaded and three empty shells. He
said the bed as shown In the photo
graphs Of Ayrcs' room was much more
disordered than when he first went 10
the room, but he did not know who
had disturbed IL before the photograph
was made. Mr.. Douglass brought out
the fact that the top bottom hole of
Ayres' undershirt was torn out.
Policeman Wolfe gave testimony COW
oring much the same ground as that OF
the preceding witness.
Policeman y. II. Williams was an
early visitor 20 the scene OF the trag-
edy. He cOwobOrated the statements Of
shoes ana stockings were under the
bed. lie also said that the blood marks
on the pistol Indicated that n had been
Rrasped around the chambers and bar
rel by q bloody hand.
Mr Williams said rhpt he had dls-
covered no evidence of d struggle n
Ayres room when he entered lt Hs
also replied ln the negative a. Ofucers
Brady ard Wolfe had done when osk-
20 Y be- had discovered any hairping
0n tire floor
On cgosa- examinatlon he fsid he had