Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-04
WIFE FAINTS At
LONG SENTENCE
HOPED HUSBAND WOULD BE
PROBATED
Falls to the Floor When Judge Says
Ten Years, Dropping Her Baby
Girl on the Marble
Pavement

Rendered frantic by the sentence OIL
ten years Imprisonment In states penn
tentiary imposed upon her huspa,iu,
Mrs. Marguerite Contrares yesterday
tainted in the corridor Just outside De.
nartment one of the superior court anu
ber babv falling from her arms TO ths
marble floor, was severely bruised.
rho woman remained unconscious
for more than an hour and physician
hastily summoned stated tnaI i1 llie .sso
feet of the fall as well as collapse
would keep the stricken woman under
a nhvsician's care for several weeks"'
Mafeo Contrares, the husband, was
ast week convicted of manslaughter,
in connection with the killing of Angel
Garcia at Pomona on September z.
At that time Mateo Contrares, who is
scarcely more than a boy, and his
brother, Romero r. Garcia, were ar
rested, charged with having committed
the act.
Killed in a BraWl
Both men were brought to Los Ange-
les for trial and the elder Contrares
will appear before a jury during the
week. The younger man, atter q hard
fight, was convicted. At the trial 1t
was proven that there had been a
drunken brawl in which the three men
had participated and a fight had fol-
lowed. Contrares had drawn a revolver
and there had been a fight for its pos
session during which Romero Contrares
was stabbed several times and Garcia
was shot dead.
Self defense was alleged by the de-
fense, and the elder Contrares un-
dressed the upper part of his body in
court to show the ugly scars of the
scarcely healed wounds where, he said,
Garcia stabbed him during the fight.
At that time the wife of the accused
man had hoped for an acquittal. She
appeared in court with her two-year-
old baby girl and testified in behalf of
her husband. She further testified that
she would soon become a mother for
the second time, and Attorney Reymert,
representing Contrares, pleaded for
mercy especially in view of the fact
that the shot had been fired without
malice and during fight over the re-
volver. The jury could not see the case
in that light however, and returned a
verdict of manslaughter.
Wife Falls to the Floor
Even then the little wife, who had
borne the trouble of disaster and trial
without murmur, hoped for proba-
tion charge, and went to the criminal
department yesterday with that hope in
her heart.
Little attentions was paid to the wo-
man as she slipped quietly into the
court room and seated herself in one of
the back rows. Sne wore a heavy re-
boza over her head and shoulders and
carried her baby girl tucked away in
the folds of the shawl.
When the court meted out sentence
of ten years in Folsom penitentiary.
sshe-uttefed' not werd. She watched
MIN as she deputy sheriff led him from
the court room and then sbe.st q epered
10 her feet and started to leave. No
one one noticed the pathetic little figure
an Th sne sHpped out into the corridor.
mere her strength left her and with
a d wi.d scream and throwing out her
i,Iilos faII - 70 & save herself from falling. she
1870, 5em 70 the moor, her head striking
adsaihst the marble. With a little cry
rn sne pany tumbled from the folds of the
fenoza feno ana rolled several feet away be-
sore sentod atIorney 6 Reymert, who repre-
sented Contrares at the triel lifted ~,
5ne shrieking infant and summon eS
norpt nerp for cIotas the mother. Just before the
recovered consciousness ana n,os ta,l dres
away in carriage. 'aAeh