Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-15
details were examined prior to the luncheon


Miss Julia Ivey's Testimony.
The afternoon session of the court to-
day began at 1s3O o'clock. Miss Julia F.
Ivey of 45e M street northwest. another
sister Of the deceased wife of the defend
ant, was called to the stand. She told of
her sisters employment in the Treasury
and Agricultural departments subsequent
sister were constantly on the street to-
gether. Shaffer frequently followed and
annoyed them. He would turn up from I'M
expected quarters.
The cross-examination developed only adj
ditional detail as to the various occasions
on which Shaffer attempted to join his for
mer wife and her sister on the street.
DIR. ]. Ramsey hewitt, the District coro-
ner, was called to the stand The evening
of the alleged murder he was notified of the
happenings at 4th street and Massachu-
sets avenue. Proceeding to the scene ne
found the woman dead.
There was no cross-examinatiOn.
Miss Agnes Ivey, a third sister of Mrs.
Shaffer, testified to the relations be-
tween the defendant and his wife during
several years preceding the divorce. When
Shaffer was sober, she said. he treated his
wife kindly At other times he was brutal
Once she said. the defendant struck her
lunch she had prepared. The witness said
the defendant frequently cursed his wife
and called her vile names
Attorney Davis Objects.
Attorney Davis objected to the whole
line of this testimony. saying it had no
direct bearing upon the crime, and was
brought in for the sole purpose of preju-
dicing the jury against the defendant.
The court oyerruled the objection and an
exception was noted by counsel.
Miss Ivey showed much feeling from time
to time during her testimony. A number
of her answers had to be stricken out, as
they went beyond the limit of questions
lad hyrn -nI ov,1 fy,H.n lx-o1 ffnrc
opinion. 1t became necessary for the court
to admonish the witness to be more eircum-
spect and to withhold her answers when OBJ
jectlons were made.
An effort was made to identify by Miss
Ivey letter alleged to have been written
by the defendant to his divorced wife some
time before the alleged murder. The let
ter is said to have been found among the
effects Of the deceased.
Miss Ivey testified that she was familiar
with Skaters handwriting, because of hav-
ing had to deal with orders written by him
to the grocery store where the witness has
been employed bookkeeper.
The letter has been destroyed, according
to statements by the prosecuting attorneys,
but 1t is their purpose to show that the writ
ing contained discriminating threats. Mrs:
Ivey, mother of the dead woman, declared
on the witness stand that the letter was
lost in the confusion of moving.
The prosecution hopes to finish the pre-
sentation of the governments case this af-
ternOOn.
Testimony Given Yesterday.
Yesterday afternoon j. F. Taylor was the
second witness for the government. He
was coming down Massachusetts avenue
when he heard the screams of a woman.
He saw a man apparently choking a
man. Running up to the couple he grabbed
the man and pulled him away from the
PROSTATE form.
He noticed then that the woman's throat
and she apparently dead. Inc
man who had made the attack said some
thing about its over The witness saw
else in the vicinity at The time eX-
cept a coored man standing in the street
some distance away. Taylor remained on
the scene but minute. During that time
spoke to the defendant. He did not
see the until it had fallen to the side
walk.
officer George B. Johnson of the police
force called to identify certain official
photographs taken of the scene of the
crime.
Private James A. Sullivan of the fire
department, a member of Engine Company
No. q, on Massachusetts avenue, was also
called as an eyewitness. He heard the
screams of Mrs. Shaffer and ran to the
scene of the cutting. The body of the wo-
man lay partly on the sidewalk and partly
in the street. Sullivan said he asked SHAFT
fer why he had killed the woman, and
Shaffer replied She did me dirty" The
witness held him until the patrol wagon
of the sixth precinct arrived when he
turned Shaffer over to Policemen Asterman
and Hanley. Shaffer offered no resist
ance.
On examination the witness re-
peated that Shaffer was cool and collected.
The defense sought to gain an admission
from the witness that he (Sullivan) believed
at the time of the murder that Shaffer
was intoxicated Fireman Sullivan testi-
fled that Shaffer did not show any signs
of having been drinking, far as he could
judge.
Mrs Mary E. Hoy of 404 Massa chusetts
avenue northwest said she was sitting on
her front porch the evening Of August -
last, when screams attracted her attention
toward the corner of the street.
Il saw the man put his arms around
the woman's neck said the witness.
Then he drew something and couldn't see
what it was. Then l saw the man cut the
woman's throat, and she screamed. The
woman fell to the pavement, and l hasten
ed to her assistance"
The witness said a man was standing
by the woman. She asked him who killed
the woman. The man said "Oh, she's AL
right. but the witness could not say wheth-
er this man was the whom she saw
meet Mrs. Shaffer on Massachusetts ave-
nue. and the man who killed the woman
not.