The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1903-12-10
MURDER CASE
Jury For Trial Of Mabel ROg-
erS Secured.
JEWETT FIRST WITNESS
III. M. BaSSett Told Of the Finding
Ofthe Body of Marcus Rogers
In River.
JEWETT FIRST WITNESS

After spending more than a day in
getting a jury the trial of Mrs Mabel
Rogers for the alleged murder of her
husband is in full swing.
The court suspended at o'clock
yesterday for one hour in order to
permit the sheriff to find jurymen.
One of those called as jurors defined
capital punishment as standing firm
in your mind" That let him out
Several have been excused because
they we're opposed to punishment by
death.
When court adjurned the jury still
needed one to complete, although fifty
six men had been summoned.
Mrs Rogers wears her wedding-ring
and when talking to relative after
court yesterday was seen to dry her
eyes frequently. At all other times
she has appeared perfectly emotion
less.
The storm kept many away this
morning. Women still make up a
large proportion of the audience and
line the halls when the prisoner passes
in and out of the court room.
The jury was finally decided upon
this morning, as follows: E. W.
Barrows, Dorset; Mead Brownell,
Pownal; Oscar Chase, Readsboro;
o. M. Derby, Manchester; VIM Ham
ilton, Sandgate; Andrew Jepson,
Stamford; W. n Mattison, Glasten-
bury; John F. Sheldon, Rupert; Geo
V. Slade, Winhall; VIM n. Smith,
Manchester; p. c. Crea and Edward
Bingham, of Bennington.
The jury was chosen from ffty-eight
men.
The clerk read the indictment of
Mrs Rogers to the jury, to which the
respondent had already pleaded not
guilty.
o. M. Barber, for the prosecution,
made brief opening statement of
the case and its circumstances, setting
forth what the state expected to prove;
that Marcus Rogers was murdered by
Mrs Rogers, assisted by young Per-
ham, who was infatuated with her,
that she and Perham had had illicit
relations, that her motives were to be
rid of Rogers in order to marry a
young man, who is to be witness in
the case, and in order to obtain the
money on a insurance policy which
Rogers carried.
The defence took an exception to
the part of the above, alleging that
relations to have enlisted between
Mrs Rogers and Perham.
Samuel l.. Jewett was the first Wit
ness to take the stand and was inter-
rogated by MIR Stakeholder. Jewett
testified that on the morning of Aug
ust l3 or IA, 1902, he brought a hat to
Bassett's store, to which was pinned a
note signed Marcus Rogers, !" saying
that the writer had committed suicide.
he then went to Morgan's field, and
loofing along the river bank, found
the murdered Rogers, face down at the
bottom of the river. Jewett was not
crOss-eXamined
Mr. h. M Bassett took the stand and
testified that hat with paper pin
ned TO IL had been brought to his
store on East Main st by one L. B.
Hathaway the day before the body
was found He identified the hat and
the note, which we're produced in
court.
Bassett saw the body after it had
been taken from the water; he said it
was very wet and covered with sand
and dirt. He was unable, however, to
identify the dead man as Marcus Rog-
ers. The defense did not cross-exam-
inc Mr. Bassett.
b. b. Hathaway, being called as a
witness, testified that the evening be-
fore the body was found, he had his at
tention called to hat which was tied
to a tree in Morgan's grove east of
the path running from Stafford street
bridge to Grove street. He took down
the hat, read the note pinned to it and
took them both to Bassett's store.
Mr. hathaway identified the hat and
p.lts 10 theil plescut ccnari !, ad