The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1904-05-28
TRIAL OF WILLIAMS

MATTED STRANDS AND BLOOD
STAINS MAY SEAL WILL
LIAMS' FATE.
Found in an Empty Grave-Strong
Circumstantial Evidence Intro
s duced at the Dalles-The
Defense Is Defiant.
The Dalles, Or, May 25.-'
Straight to the vital of the Williams
murder case went Henry McGinn,
attorney for the thin-lipped pris-
oner, when be made his opening
address to the jury this morning.
| "Gentlemen," cried the lawyer
as he faced the IL men, "the state
Of Oregon cannot prove death in
this case. The prosecuting attor.
ney knows it. There are suspicious
but nothing more"
And on this single point hangs
the fate Of Mormon Williams. There
are no producable bodies of the
missing women. The corpus delic-
ii is wanting. Upon Q few strands
Of matted hair and q blood-stained
ganny sack disinterred after being
buried in the ground for four yeare,
the prosecution must rest all the
fabric of circumstantial evidence
with which it hopes to overwhelm
the defense, and the defense de6es
them.
All attempts to pile up suspicious
circumstances, previous convictions $
of the prisoner or evidence of his sa-
tanic character for easy inspection
by the jury are bafied by the de-
lfense. "Alma Nesbitt and her
mother may be alive" says the de-
fense to the prosecution. "First
prove that they are dead, then prove
that Norman Williams murdered
them"
So the prosecution with its 40
witnesses ;s bending every effort,
first to show that the wisps of hair
found in the grave belong to Alma
and her mother, and, second. to
build around the prisoner such a
chain of circumstantial evidence
that from it there shall be ne es-
lcape. How strong this chain must
be is matter of doubt.
With public sentiment in an en-
tire county so inf1amed that 25 men
out of forty confessed to having an
unalterable conviction that the de-
fendant was guilty, it would seem
that the technical and legal merits
of the case might be entirely over.
looked. The defense must win an
overwhelming victory to win at all.
The net result ofthe prosecution'l
efforts today has been to prove con-
ficting statements ON the part O
Williams as to the date on which
be last saw the missing women. S.
Bolton, deputy county clerk, testi
fed that the prisoner told him tina
he had driven the women to the de
pot in Hood River on the morning
of march 9, and that they had tax
en- the train for Portland from
. there. Against this the prosecu
ton had placed the testimony o
the o. R. & Ms train dispatcher
: who stated that the only morninl
!. train passed through Hood river a
bout 5 o'clock A. NJ.
By other evidence 1t was show
that Williams left in team from
Hood river in the evening before
, bound for his ranch, 20 miles ava,
, and the conclusion was drawn tha
) it would have been impossible TO
him to have made the drive ther
and back ON stormy night in tim
ito catch the train, even if there bat
. been any reason why the trio shoul'
!. drive all night nearly to return t
!. their starting point in the morning
: It was shown also by the liver,
3 stable keeper that, while William
J. in this case professed to have re
E. turned with the women at 5 o'elocl
: be did not return the team until al
{ ter 8 O'Clock, at which time he wa
j. seen driving into town along th
q road which led to his homestead.
! In another case it was testified t
that Williams told J. B. Colt,
e surveyor that he had not seen th
y missing women since Alma's birth
e day, January 25, on which day
{ little reunion had been held by th
u girls Oregon friends and neighbol
n n in her homestead. This story We
e also told by Williams to other pc,
i sons, but was contradisted by tt
n version told to Bolton and, tt
e prosecution says. will be torn to ia
r ters tomorrow by the evidence