The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-12
TELL OF RICH MANS MURDER
MORE WITNESSES HEARD IN
THE HAMILTON TRIAL.
Considerable Evidence Favorable to
the Accused Reporter is Brought
Out by the Prosecution.

Minneapolis, Mimi, Feb. Ian
eager throng, containing many women,
blocked the spacious corridors Of the
court house today striving to get into
the large court room to witness the
proceedings in the trial Of Frank II.
Hamilton on the charge of having muir
dered Leonard Day, the young million
aire. The first witness for the day was
William G. Bennett, a st. Louis travel
ing man, who was in the billiard room
of the West hotel at the time of the
tragedy. He saw Day on the floor be
tween the two tables. Barbee had hold
of his right hand and was supporting
him. Hamilton was not there The
witness continued:
Il rubbed Days other hand and then
returned to the bar for the brandy
Failing to get any, 1 returned TO the
side of the dying man and found Ham
iltOn and Garfield there. I told Ham
iltOn to slap Days hands and take on
his shoes and rub his feet as his eS-
tremitieS were getting cold. Neither
Hamilton nor Garfield said anything.
/ said, He is dying. Hamilton said,
Is he% and reached his hand over
Days breast. We continued to rub his
feet and apply hot water. About ten
minutes afterWard the doctor came in
and five minutes later Day died.
L said Let us offer a prayer 1
H.
my side The prayer was a silent one
Stephen O'Malley. Waterman at the
hotel, said he saw Hamilton on top of
Day. but saw no blows struck. Not
single witness thus far saw a blow
struck by Hamilton.
O'MaIley arrested Hamilton on the
advice of Garfield. who was one of the
prisoners companions, but who said to
him, Hold that man"
Hamilton said not a word W to the
time O'Malley turned him over to PO-
Iiceman Rooney, to whom the state
charges that he made a. confession.
O'Malley identified a big wooden han
died knife, with one broad, rusty blade,
as the one he picked up near Days
body.
On cross examination, the watchmaa
mentioned for the first time in the case
"a mysterious stranger" When he
came back after putting Evans out,
he saw a "slim, tall man with iron
gray mOustache. weighing about $50
pounds" standing near a billiard table.
This bit of evidence greatly pleased
the defense.
Knife Not There First.
J T. Gray, a boarder at the West
hotel. gave some unexpected evidenced
He had been attracted to the billiaFdt
room by hearing that some one had
been hurt, and had gone in twice. Each
time Day was lying on the floor. The
first time there was no knife by his
body, but the second time there was.
He swOre positively that there was
no one near Days body the first time
he went in. This cOntradicts the testi-
mOny Of several of the states wit
neSses. There were other important
/ discrepancies between his story and
those told by the others.
Girl Called as a Witness.
The sensation of the day was the
calling of Miss Caroline Slagle as a
witness. She said she had known both
Day and Hamilton for about three
months. She admitted having visited
Hamilton in jail, and said she was still
on friendly terms with him.
Asked if she had had a certain con-
versatiOn with Hamilton before the
judge and said:
Il understand that it is privileged. 30
The defense insisted that the witness
be instructed that she need not testify
to anything that might tend to inCrim-
mate herself At least the state should
put its questions in writing and sub
NIT them to the court before they We're
put to the witness. After a consulta-
ton between the court and the lawyers.
the court ruled that if the evidence
tended to incriminate the witness she
need not answer.
''That is all" said the county attOr-
ney. Court adjourned.