The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1902-12-26
|LAURA'S BIG,
BIG HEART
Miss Biggar Says She viii
Spend Money to Buy a
New Trial for Hem
drick and STAN
ton.
LAWYER NOONAN'S PLANS
The Verdict Idiotic-Actress
and Friends at Christmas
Dinner Together in
Jail.
LAWYER NOONAN'S PLANS

| Laura Biggar, the actress, who was
acquitted of the charge of conspiracy at
Freehold on Wednesday, will leave her
erstwhile codefendants, Stanton and DIR.
Hendricks, in the Jail awaiting their
sentence to be given on January 2,
some time today. She is coming to New
York to her Eighty-third street house,
which she intends to make her home for
the present
Miss Biggar, after a good rest, was
in mood for talking today and she
made the following statement:-
Il want it understood that although
| have been acquitted am not through
with active participation in this case by
any means. My reputation has been
saved by the verdict, but the two men
now in Jail are still to be freed. OF
course everyone knows that the verdict
was absolutely senseless. If those two
men are guilty, then l am. I'm sure that
at the retrial in February they will both
be acquitted. Such verdict as this one
| must be set aside.
"And | intend to spend every cent. of
my share of the estate, if necessary, to
bring about their acquittal Although 1
suppose l have been the chief recipient
| of sympathy during the trial because of
| my sex, want to say that DIR. Hen
bricks wife is suffering as much as
| could have, with her husbands fate to
consider"
! Inasmuch as Miss Biggar will receive
| almost S2000 from the Bennett estate,
she will have to employ rather expensive
counsel and fight a long fight to make
| hole in the fortune.
| Mrs. Hendrick, who has ben with
her husband in his cell almost constant
| ly since the verdict, will remain in town
| only a few days longer, when she will
| leave for Hoboken. She is brighter than
| she was and faces the future with hope.
A Christmas dinner was held in Dr.
Hendricks cell yesterday, at which were
present Laura Biggar, Mrs. Hendrick,
the prisoner and his little ten-yeareold
son Tommy. Holly and evergreen had
been used to conceal the bare walls of
| the improvised dining room, and all the
| members of the party were in high
! spirits.
NOONAN WILL APPEAL.
Lawyer Joseph NJ Noonan, who was
one of the counsel for the defence in the
| famous Bennett conspiracy case, when
asked this morning what he had to say
of the verdict returned by the jury on
| Wednesday afternoon, replied
Il consider it the most preposterous
and idiotic verdict ever found"
'What steps will you now take?" he
was asked.
Il understand that January has
been fixed for the sentencing of the con-
| vieted men, and on that day | will move
for an arrest of judgment on the grounds
that the verdict is not an honest one, be-
cause it is manifestly dishonest unless
the jurors were insane, and if that was
the case their finding should surely be
set aside. If this application is refused l
| will Immediately apply for writ of err
ror, and have no doubt of favorable
| decision ON the appeal.
| What do you ascribe as the reason
Tor the jury yerdlct!
"To begin WITH replied Mr. Noonan
''the concensus of opinion of those who
| heard the testimony was that an ac-
quittal or at the worst disagreement
would result. Even Mr.. Wilson, of the
States representatives, after the jury
retired, said that there undoubtedly was
| grounds for reasonable doubt and that
he expected a verdict of acquittal. There
undoubtedly were such grounds and the
benefit of that doubt should have been
given to the defendants.
| II attribute the acQuittal of Miss
Biggar underNAe circumstances to the
fact that the jury's sympathy was
ACCUSED in her behalf because of, the
fact that it was clearly proved that
Bennett had repeatedly introduced her
as his wife, and that whether cere-
monial or contract of marriage had been
entered into the fact remained that she
had nursed and cared for him during his
long and loathsome illness, and the jurors
| felt that she was entitled to almost any
| anything for her years of devotion.
'.There was less evidence against DR..
Hendrick than any. of the three He was
in no way connected by the State with
/ the alleged fraudulent marriage certifi-
cate. and had only appeared as eounse.
| for Miss Biggar to advocate the probate
Of Benefits will, which course would be
i Numerically opposed to the conspiracy.
charge He afterwards delivered the
woman of a child Of this there was 20
! doubt. The body Of the child was for
warded 70 the executors under the lRet-
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