Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-18
III,


The prosecutor leaned against the back
of his chair and silently studied the jury
for some moments after his opening words,
and. although 1 was not the only person
who shifted nervously in his seat during
the solemn pause, l felt that l alone dis
turbed the quiet of the court.
In following this case, gentlemen" he
begain again. speaking slowly and i'm
pressively, Il think it Will aid you, and
know it will help me- If you will strive to
remember who and what 1 represent. /
am the public prosecutor of this county
not a lawyer with a case to be won or
lost. II is my province to seek out the
facts surrounding the commiss on of any
crime and to present them to a body of
men knewn as the grand jury, and to re-
ceive from it instruction as to what person
or persons should be tried for the offense.
Now. murder has been done In our commu-
nity-the surrounding circumstances have
been laid before the grand jury and it has
ordered me to place upon trial the pris
oner at the bar. But although l am firm
ly convinced that this Indictment was JUS
tilted, and that the guilty party Is now be-
fore the court, l want you to under
stand at the outset that you are
the sole judges of the facts, and that am
here IN the public interest-in your inter-
est-in the interest of all law-abid.ng citi-
zens, to present those facts in an orderly
of justice demand. In other words, l am
for no one but the public, and against no
one but the criminal, and you are to de-
eide the guilt or innocence of the accused.
EARLY in the morning of November j,
1892, one Gregory Shaw, a well-known resi-
dent of the village of Pollicet, in this
county, was found dead in the private
study of his dwelling. The body was dis
covered by q servant named Field, who do
tected the odor OF gas escaping from her
employers study, and, finding the door
locked, summoned other members of the
household to her assistance and forced an
entrance to the room. Mr.. Shaw was found
lying face downward on the floor near his
desk, and, as all the gas jets were turned
on and a deadly atmosphere filled the
room, there was little question at the mo-
ment as TO the cause of his demise. A
hasty examination of the premises disclosed
a heavy rug stuffed up the fireplace CHM
ney wet blotting paper in the keyhole and
damp newspapers in the crevlceS of every
door and window In fact, there were all
the indications OF a deliberately planned
suicide, and the coroner, convinced that
Mr. Shaw had taken his own life, gave per-
mission for the removal of the body with
out holding an autopsy. Had it not been
for the presence of DR.. Walter MacIlean, a
friend and neighbor of the deceased II is
highly probable that no investigation
worthy of the name would ever have been
held, and the most singular crime which
has ever come under my official notice
would thus have escaped detection. But
DR.. MacLean examined Mr.. Shaw's body
Immediately after 1t was moved, and at
once discovered that his friend had been
stabbed through the right eye by a slender
weapon which had penetrated the brain in
such manner as TO cause instant death
without visible effuson of blood.
THE police authorities We're Immediately
notified, and a minute inquiry was begun
into all the circumstances surrounding this
mysterious tragedy. In the first place, 1t
was demonstrated that the evidences of
suicide might easily have been concocted
by the murderer, who might have made his
escape by the window. boiling It from the
outside by removing one of the upper
panes of glass and replacing 1T after his
work was accomplished. Acting on this
theory the authorities began Their nvesti-
cations, which We're attended by the best
possible results. The window of Mr..
Shaws study opened upon the sloping roof
of Veranda, and upon this was found a
small pool of candle grease, and a single
on one of the upper window-panes Care
full work then revealed that the old, hard
ened putty OF this pane had been removed
and replaced by sticking 1t together with
| library paste. All this showed the same
cool elaboration and forethought which
| had characterized the suicide ruse.
But, gentlemen. most criminals, even the
| coolest and cleverest, make at least one
mistake, and this particular criminal made
no less than two.
THE first error consisted In leaving the
| uflpplnSS OF cdHQle grease on the NeraQda
| roof. and the second was In kneeling on
| those drippings before they were quite dry.
AS though 1t had been Il hand gripping the
| skirt of the criminal, that wax held in its
| clutch half dozen threads of a hairy
1 cloth, blue In color and of a texture known
| to the clothing trade as dress goods When
| you have found the wearer of the cloth
| from which those threads were torn, gen.
| tlemen. you VIII have found the murderer
| of Mr.. Gregory Shaw.
Gilbert paused, and every man In the Jury
| box stole glance at the prisoner, only to
| find his vision obstructed by Barstow's
| broad shoulders as the lawyer leaned to-
| ward his client In whispered consultation.
Having demonstrated that some one had
| tampeyed with the window pane" Gilbert
| continued, slowly, the police bent all their
| efforts upon discovering how this person
| had effected an escape. The veranda roof
I was not far above the ground but there
| was no sign of any one having jumped or
| climbed from 1t, nor were there any foot
! prints 10 the flower beds, which were soft
| from recent rains. Plainly, then, the person
| who had turned glazier at Mr., Shaw's win
| dow had not escaped by way of the Ye-
| randa roof. 1t was obvious, also that no
| exit could have been effected through the
\ study door, which was bolted from the irl-
| side, and 1t was physically Impossible for
/ any one to reach the roof except with the
| aid of ladder, as you will presently see
/ for yourself. In fact, there was only one
feasible avenue of eScape and that vUas