The times., 1901-05-25
AN ATTORNEYS OPINION.
The killing of Ayers and Mrs
Bonfne's Character AnaIyzed,

| yesterday evening a prominent attorney
who has had an extensive experience in
| criminal practice made the following
| statement of his views concerning the
| status Of the Ayers -Bonine case. This
| legal opinion presents some of the fea-
lures of the case in a new and interesting
| light. The attorney said:
1T is true that l have investigated
thoroughly the alleged murder of James
Seymour Ayers jr. While my investiga-
ton includes much that has been collect
! ed by the authorities in regard to the
| case, it has also extended to lines TO
which their attention has not been di-
rected.
Il should state at the beginning that
regard the weight of the evidence as
| tending to show absolutely that Mrs. Bo-
nine killed Ayers and as equally certain
| that she cannot be held legally RESPONSE
! bic for the act. If the defence that her
! case admits Of is set up. The only fact TO
! be considered In determining who killed
! the young man is that only Mrs. Bonine
! was present when the fatal shot was
| fired.
Separating that fact from her ex-
| planatory statement. there is no mystery
| In the case, for the nature of the wounds
! shows that they were not self-infiicted.
! This being admitted. it follows inevitably
| that Mrs. Bonine inflicted them.
Now as to the murder. The fatal
wound is in the left breast. the bullet
! severing one Of the main arteries Of the
| heart. That would cause death in one or
! two minutes sometimes instantly. We
are forced to conclude that that was the
| first wound inflicted, for the other two
wounds were not disabling Had they been
first inflicted Ayers, who was an ath-
lete, in a small room, 12xS, could have
seized his adversary.
The next wound, l hold. was the one
on the outer side Of the left leg. The
wound on the left leg ranges up, show
ing that the leg was elevated at the
time he received the wound. the natural
result Of his fall to the floor.
The wound in the left arm has no
powder burn. That would Indicate that
in his fall he had succeeded in drawing
her down by motion of one of his legs
when she approached to fire the last shot
At that point Of time he died. That ac-
counts for the blood on her dress. Too
weak to draw her over, he caught her
( in falling
NO powder burn at the wound in the
breast shows that the pistol was at a dis
tance Of over twenty-five inches as
long series of experiments with pistols of
that character with No. grain powder
fred at that distance will show powder
burns
Now. if Mrs. Bonine had come for
ward and stated distinctly that she had
Intentionally shot Ayers, that statement
would not have the weight as legal evil
dence as will the physical facts that l
have stated. assuming that she alone was
Assume for AN instant that Ayers had
been found with only one gunshot
wound, and that in the centre of his back,
between his shoulders and that Mrs. Bo-
nine adhlitted that she alone was pres
ent. Thefts would be no mystery, al
though she denied the fact. Yet the ply
sical evidence in this case is as strong,
owing to The absence of powder marks
and the location of wounds.
Now for the facts that interpret the
mind of Mrs. BCnine just before and just
after the killing: These do not depend
on her statement at all, and are very
strong.
''First-she left the room by the fire.
escape, which compelled her to pass 50
near the dead boy. the feet of which lay
under the window leading to the ire
escape, as to probably brush 1t with her
dress. She must have heard the call made
from the windows of two Of the residents
nearby, Baker and Hopkins, who enquired
the cause of the shooting, and there was
evident danger of her being seen by them
or by persons In the brightly lighted street
in front of the house.
Her room WAS forty-one feet from the
room Of Ayers, communicating with 1t by
a dark passageway' where she would not
have been observed, virtually on the same
floor with Ayers room, the descent TO It
being by three short steps. But If she
had gone out of the door of Ayers room
she could not have left il bOlted. and she
had in her mind her purpose to impress
those who found the body with the idea
that IL was a case Of suicide from the
fact Of the door being bolted from the
inside.
'.She was temporarily successful in that,
for the next morning both the proprietor
Of the hotel MS wife, and others conceiv-
Cd the idea of suicide. To reach her room
she had TO traverse the fre-escape, the
parior, a long passaSeway. and up the
stairs, d distance Of 200 feet, and the
danger of discovery was In proportion 10
the distance she Travelled to conceal her
self in her room. A further indication that
she supposed that she was leaving behind
her evidence OF case Of suicide is seen
in the fact that she left the pistol there,
with nine or ten cartridges, on the table
indicating that the deceased, in order to
make certain that he would take his life
by shooting. had placed an ample supply
OF ammunition within his reach
Il should state further in view of the
conclusion which / have arrived at and
which ] have started, that according to
the statement Of Mrs Bonine. Ayers
raped al her room door shortly before
the shooting, or about o'clock in the
morning, and on her opening the door in
formed her that he was afraid that he
was about TO have a chill That she told
him that she had come pills that she
thought would benefit him. made search
for them, returned to him at the open
door OF her room. and told him that she
could not find them. That he then put
his arm around her and asked her to let
him enter her room, and she declined
permitting 1t on the ground that his
presence there might awaken her sons or
cause some scandal if known, thus !gnor-
ing entirely the moral aspect of the case
She then consented TO go to his room
and talk over former differences. telling
him to wait until she dressed herself He
was then partially dressed. She dressing
quickly, arrived at his room door which
he opened and bolted. She then saw that
he was naked. except for short under
shirt. That he put his left arm around
her and pointed pistol at her saying:
Now / will make you listen to mer
She does not say what answer she
made TO such remark. and. unfortu-
nately, the authorities did not ask her
the question. If they had her reply to
them would have rendered her statement
still more wide of the truth She says
that she uttered only the word help
when the natural means of alarm in
woman is scream; that she broke away
from him and rushed toward the frees
cape, but tripped on the bottom of her
wrapper and he-caught her again Then
she turned the pistol with the point to-
ward him and ii was discharged, she
not being able to tell how many shots
were fired.
Remembering that Mrs Bonine is n
small woman, having the development
only of the average child of twelve years
of age, and that Ayers was an athletic
and sober, as Mrs. Bonine states, we per-
ceive how utterly impossible her state
mcnt is.
My conclusion. therefore. is that Mrs
Bonine presents an extreme type of hys-
terra, a form of Insanity which disposes
its subject to take the life of the dearest
objects of her affection under the i'm
pulse of extreme jealousy, which her for
mer association with Ayers and his re-
cent conduct toward her, together wit
his purpose to leave the hotel that morn
ing, might well give rise 10. The admit
ted evidence. not denied by her, is that a |
few weeks before the killing Ayers, who |
had previously been on close terms of
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