The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-14
TRIAL OF POTTERS
FOR DOUBLE MURDER OF GUGIE
BOURaUIN AND HIS SERVANT.
WILL BEGIN TOMORROW.
ALLEGED MURDERERS WILL Of
FER ALIBIs AS THEIR DEFENSE.


Week-TestimOnyU Upon which the
Stnte VIII ReIy-WiII Weave "A Net
of CfrcumstantiaI Evidence About
Accused to Prove Their GuiIt-De-
Tense VIII EndeavOr TO Show That
tho Potters Were Not at the Scene
of the Crime.
The trial of w. ]. Potter and his son.
Swayne Potter, for the double murder
of Gugie Bourquin and his negro SER
want, Fred Taylor, on the Dean For
est road about a month ago. which
begins tomorrow in the Superior
Court, will occupy the court the great
er part of the week. and promises to be
one of the most bitterly fought and
thoroughly interesting murder trials in
the criminal history of Chatham coun-
t..
Both the prosecution and the defense
have given a great deal of attention to
the preparation of the case. and many
interesting developments are expected.
Both sides claim they have trump
cards to play which the opposition is
unaware of.
The number of witnesses subpoenaed
gives some idea of the zeal with which
the case is to be fought. In order that
a jury may be selected with as much
dispatch as is possible, Judge Barrow,
apprehending many strikes by both
Sides has drawn an extra panel Of
eighty-five jurors from which to Sc
lect a trial jury. These were served
yesterday, and with the witness sub
Nhn e5In g Off
The States Case.
The state claims that 1t will throw
net of circumstantial evidence so
completely about the Potters, that 1t
will be impossible for them to escape
conviction 1t will, the attorneys say,
disclose to the jury, by means of wit
nesses, and convincing testimony, every
action of the accused on the fatal day.
Starting from the home of the Bodi-
fOrds, they will follow the footsteps
of the two men throughout their hunt,
and finally to the scene of the crime.
By evidence purely but strongly cir
cumstantial, it will picture the murder.
The position of the bodies when found,
the character of the gunshot wounds,
and the various other circumstances
connected with the finding of the bod
les which furnish evidence of foul
play. Witnesses will tell of repeated
threats made by Potter and his son,
of the enmity existing between the two
men, of quarrels which they had pre-
viously had, and of the reputation of
the elder Potter for brutality.
The Conflicting Statements.
One of the strongest points of the
states case will lie in the reputed con
ficting statements made by both Pot
ter and his son after the killing and
of the various ways in which they
accounted for their whereabouts that
day, the elder Potter saying to some
that he was hunting on the south side
of the Louisville road when the muir
der is said to have been committed to
others expressing his delight of having
been at home in bed, since he was GER
tain as soon as he heard of the crime
that he would be suspected.
The solicitor general himself, as well
as almost every member of the con-
stabulary, was, for several days sub
sequent to the homicide, and up to the
time that the Potters were arrested,
tireless In pursuit of every clue,
and in the acquisition of testimony.
They have in their possession facts
which have not yet been made public,
but upon which the prosecution de-
ponds in the main.
At the Scene of the Crime.
BY it's witnesses. the prosecution ex-
poets to show just where the Potters
were throughout the day, and to show
beyond the shadow of a doubt that the
two men were at the scene of the
shooting and could, in the light of rea-
son, have been nowhere else. For the
purpose of proving these contentious,
they have summoned at least forty
witnesses.
The defense, on the other hand, says
that not only Will 1t meet every charge
of the state and prove conclusively
that its position and theories are UNI
tenable, but, by competent and con-
vincing testimony, will prove conclu-
sively that on the day the homicide
occurred, neither Potter, nor his son,
were within one mile and half of the
scene.
For the purpose of establishing these
alibis, and for meeting the charges of
the state, the defense has summoned
about thirty-five witnesses. OF this
number several have also been sub
poenaed by the state, both the defense
and the state relying on the testimony
| of the same witnesses In several in
stances. The defense is of the opinion
that the state will not use an of the
| witnesses which have by them been
| summoned
Position of the Defense.
The position of the defense will be
| purely defensive. 1t will guardedly
attempt to rebut every bit of damag-
ing testimony adduced by the state
| The burden of proof is on the state.
| One of the most important items of
! evidence will be the question of
| time. On the time when each witness
made observations which he will be
called upon to testify about, will de-
pend a great deal. 1t is not at all
! improbable that some of the most
warmly contested points in the case
will revolVe about the question of
| time.
The defendants counsel will RELY to
a great extent upon the statements of
their clients. They're sure that the
| demeanor of the two men, and their evil
| dent ignorance of the crime, will show
itself so conclusively during the trial
as to eradicate every other reasonable
! hypothesis save of their absolute in
| nocence.
The defense will contend that the ac-
| tons of the accused on the day of the
homicide. and subsequent to that time.
have been the actions of innocent men.
IL will claim that guilty parties could
not have feigned ignorance of the KILL
| ing, and talked so freely of their
| whereabouts on that day without hav-
ing given abundant evidence OF their
| guilt.
TcIl-TaIe Incidents.
They viii cite incidents. to which no
Importance would, at first blush. be at
tachcd, but the careful consideration OF
which, in connection with the crime
/ teens with evidence OF innocence. one
of these small incidents ,..hf.h -.