The news & observer., 1905-09-07
VERDICT OF FOUL
PLAY IN NALLCASE'
Coroners Jury, After Inquest and ost-Mortem,
Declare Insane Patient Died From At
tendants' Blows.

the jury and the solicitor and that on
| Sunday the body of Nall was eXhumed
/ and examined by DR.. Jordan and by
/ DIR. j. NJ. Taylor, of Pittsboro, who
was here yesterday. The further sit
ting of the jury was then postponed
until the return of the solicitor from
| Harnett county court.
AS the visit of the coroner to Chat
| ham county was presumed to be in the
nature of preliminary investigation
| to determine the necessity for a post
mortem. the fact that the body had
been brought to Raleigh and the ex-
animation of witnesses continued fore
| ShadoWed the verdict and the arrest
of the attendants of the hospital con-
cerned in the capture. Late in the af-
] ternoon it became known that war
! rant had been issued although Off
| ciaI announcement of the fact was
not made until after the actual arrest
| of the defendants.
| When asked last night to give an
outline of the further evidence re-
ceived at the hearings before the jury
DR.. Jordan stated that the session yes
terday had lasted until after five
O'Clock and that it was impossible for
the stenographer to prepare the mass
of testimony before today; that he
would prefer not to say anything as to
the results of the post-mortem other
than what was implied in the findings
of the jury and that the entire evil
dence would be given to the public
at the earliest moment possible.
1t is learned. however, from a relia-
BILE source that upon the body being
eXhumed there were found other
marks upon it than those testified to
at the former hearing.
The Story of Nails Death.
Although it has been given in detail
before il is though we'll to here recapi-
tulate the circumstances so far as
known which attended the escape, cap
ture and death of Nall, as given by
, witnesses examined
Nall had been admitted to the hos
pital last December, after having once
before escaped from the hospital. He
was a powerfully built man and very
strong physically By the attendants
and authorities at the hospital he was
regarded as a violent and dangerous
man, subject to sudden attacks of in
sane temper On Thursday, a4th White
being exercised in the grounds of the
hospital, he suddenly reached down
and tore large Slat from q bench,
waved it at the guards and stated that
he was goinS to leave or kill some
body. He then started off at run
followed at some distance by three of
the men now charged with his death.
The fourth man joined in the chase
later and came up with the others
shortly after the final capture. The
chase thus started continued for con-
siderable distance, the attendants trail
ing the patient who ran to the best
of his strength out to the road, past
the Caraleigh Phosphate Mills and
across. bridge beyond, finally leaving
the road and ascending a Slight hill
on the top of which he was caught
by his pursuerS.
A hall an hour or so later, he was
brought back to the Phosphate Mills
in fainting condition and supported
by his captorS, one of whom carried
in his hand the slat which Nall had
torn from the bench in the grounds.
He was covered with blood from
wound on top of his head, there was
bruise on his left cheek, his legs
dragged and his head sank between
his shoulders Topping from side to
side as he was half-carried along by
the attendants. 1t was in evidence
that after the arrival at the mill the
wounded man was placed against the
house and that he could not support
himself and was scarcely conscious,
though at times he struggled to free
his hands which were tied behind his
| back with stout strap. 1t was also
stated by several witnesses that the
treatment accorded the man at the
mill by the attendants was exceedingly
rough, that he was jerked about and
that when he was carried to the pump
to have his wound washed he was
roughly seized by the hair in the at
tempt to make him drink water SO
violent was the treatment accorded the
man that Professor Chamberlain re-
Ifnonstrated and> over the protest of
the attendants, telephoned to DR.. Jas.
Mckee, the superintendent of the hos
pital who at once sent a carriage to
bring Nall in. While waiting at the
mill, the attendants are said to have
attributed the wounds on Nails body
to his having run into a barbed wire
fence.
The Death Certificate.
At the hospital Nall was stripped
and examined According to the
statement of DR.. Mckee published in
this paper the cut on his head was
only a scalp wound which did not
penetrate to the skull, the bruise on
the side of the face had been there
since the admission of the man to the
hospital and, with the exception of
slight abraiSons on the breast, there
were no other wounds on the body.
He testified however, that the symp-
toms of Nall were those of a man suf-
fering from violent and long-contlnued
eXertion. His pulse was exceedingly
rapid, his skin of a purplish tin2e, and
he had great trouble in respiration.
Although stimulants were admins
tered death followed in half an hour
after his return to the hospital The
death certificate was made out at the
hospital as death resulting from over
exertion. DR.. Mckee stating that the
physicians afterwards thought that
there might possibly have been the
rupture of blood vessel.
NfaSSnx-