The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-12-01
Fate OF gillette WILL
soon Be IN JURY'S hands
STATE CONCL UDEs IT'S CASE AND
THE DEFENSE ALSO
RESTS.

Latter Merely Reserves Right to Call
One More Witness To-day is It Sees
Fit--Gillette, After a Bitter Ty,nns.
sition Lasting Nearly All nay, steps
Calmly From the Witness stand
Never Wavered as to Actual Death
Scene ON Lake.
Herkimer, N. Y, Nov. 3o.-The trial
of Chester Gillette for the alleged rnur-
der of his sweetheart, Grace Brown.
practically came to a close to-day, SO
far as the taking of evidence is con-
cerned. The defense, while reservtne
the right to swear one witness If it sees
fit tomorrow, rested just before 4:SO
o'clock. The remainder Of the after
noon was spent by the district attor-
ney in calling several witnesses back
to the stand in rehuttal.
The defense sWore several witnesses
to-day, but so little was expected Of
each one of them that it was less than
two hours after Gillette himself stenped
down from the stand that Attorney
Thomas announced that the defense
rested.
There were no really striking features
of interest in the case to-day outside
of those furnished by the defendants
own testimony. Gillette went through
the ordeal of ross-examination with
out wavering in his testimony as to the
actual death scene on Big Moose lake.
He apparently had made up his mind
to take his time in answering the dis
trict attorneys questions. Gillette
Withstood the searching -eRanina-
ton at the hands Of the district attor-
ney astonishingly we'll He sat with
legs crossed and coolly responded to his
questions, even If 1t were nothing more
definite than Il can't say" which Prov
ed his pet expression.
When he finally stepped down from
the box he was calm and unruffled.
Gillette to-day swore that many of the
things he said and wrote, and which
the prosecution took as links in its
chain of evidence, were simply false-
hoods concooted for one reason or an
other, and that many of the things he
had done, and that the prosecution
took as indications of guilt, were mere
ly acts of cowardice.
Gillette left the stand at 3:20 and
then the defense called it's eight or ten
witnesses in quick succession. One Of
them was a tennis player, who simply
gave the weight of Gillette's tennis
racquet as thirteen ounces. He proved
a witness for the prosecution instead
of the defense, because he afterward
swore that it would be possible to break
the strings in the racquet by striking
hard with it. Other witnesses for the
defense were called to give their opin-
ions of Gillette's character and reputa-
tion. Most of them testified that his
character was good, but the district at
torney compelled all to admit that they
were not then aware of Gillette's rela-
tions with Miss Brown.
A few persons employed in the skirt
factory at Cortland, where Grace
Brown and Gillette worked, testified
that they heard the girl sal that she
did not want to live, and that she was
going to leave Cortland, perhaps for
ever. To these District Attorney Ward
said;
You didn't see Gillette trying to
comfort her, did your" and they replied
in the negative.
There was some surprise among the
spectators when the district attorney
allowed Gillette to leave the stand
without a more minute description Of
the incidents Immediately preceding
the girls fatal plunge into the lake.
One feature of Gillettes testimony
was his swearing that a certain roll Of
camera film found in his suit case had
never been exposed. The district att
torney then showed Gillette picture
made from the roll. It was picture
Of Hattie Benedict, the Cortland girl
who was alleged to be Grace Browns
rival.