Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-01-31

II NdS ono OF the longest ana liOSl
sensational police court hearings ever
held in this town, lasting until
O'Clock in the afternoon. Much interest
had been awakened and the grand jury
room where the hearing was held was
not large enough to hold the crowd
which overTloWcd into the probate court
room and crowded the corridors. For
the prosecution three witnesses We're
called, Mr. Brown being represented by
L. n. Merrill of Skowhegan.
The complainant was the first to take
the stand. He testified to the facts re-
corded above. CroSS-eXaminatiOn failed
to shake his evidence.
Chief of Police Adams of Skowhegan
| testified to being called upon by Mr..
Brown to so with him to the Pierce
restaurant in case his services should
| be needed as protection. After Brown
had been in the house two minutes
Adams heard the cry of Police! PC-
Iice!" and tried to enter. Some one was
holding the door, but he pushed his
way in. llo saw Thompson running
down the stairs and called to him to
stop. Thompson kept on going and he
after him. Thompson finally stopped
| in the yard, saying he would be around
town the next day, 50 witness did not
arrest him that night.
The evidence Of Crindall Il. Brown,
| the third witness, was of but little i'm
pOrtanCe.
For the defence four witnesses were
called to the stand. The respondent.
Mr.. Thompson. denied all the allega-
! tions. Mr.. Thompson testified that he
never struck Brown. that he did not
| see him that night iii the Pierce res
| taurant, that he was not in Mrs.
Browns room. that he did not know
where her room was until he had been
| told by Robert Jennings, and that he
| was never in her room in his life. He
| explained his presence in the house
that night by saying that he had called
| upon Jennings on matter of business
| and when the cry of 'POlice!" was
raised left the room because he had re-
nained as long as he wanted to. He
| denied that he ran out. He stated that
! he WAS III his shirt sleeves, because
earlier in the evening he had been i'll
| the kitchen of the restaurant on the
| ground floor and it was so hot that he
had removed his coat. He alleged that
| Mr. Merrill and Brown were trying to
put up job on him." and that he
| could prove it and that Merrill was
| taking the case ON halves. This WAS de-
| MED by Mr.. Merrill, who stated that he
| never took Il case on such terms and
| that he did not conduct his law busi-
ness on such plan.
The second witness WAS Robert Jen-
| nines, the bOarfler 1T the Pierce restau-
rant. He testified to admitting Brown
TO the house and that there was n
| squabbie. He corroborated Thompson
as to his whereabouts.
The principal witness Of the day was
Mrs. Brown. She swore that Thompson
was not III her room when her husband
called. She said that her husband met
ffr on the stairs and said that he
wanted to talk to her She invited him
TO so into the parlOr. He insisted that
they go into her room. She objected, as
she said that she was afraid of him, he
having threatened her life on several
occasions. They clinched and he pushed
her up SX steps of the stairs when they
feli 10 the floor, She on top. Then
Ihohipson came out of jennings room,
stepped over their PROSTATE bodies and
went down the stairs Up to that time
she did not know that he was in the
house.
MIS-. Brown said that she instituted
proceedings for divorce from her hIs-
band lii July last and the papers were
served on MN in Minneapolis. Mimi,
and about that time she received sew
erai letters addressed to her husband
when mad failed to reach him and
which had been forwarded to Skowhe-
gan. From these she learned that he
had been paying attentions to woman
named Bertha Stone of Boston, who
had written TO him agreeing to meet
him i'll Boston and in the West. He had
ceased sending her money and failed to
support her. She broke up ,housekeep-
ing last October. since which time she
has been making her home at the
Pierce restaurant.
Thompson was represented by Hon.
Forrest Goodwin of Skowhegao. who
briefly summed up the evidence. He
stated that the action was brought with
the sole purpose of obtaining evidence
hich would be used later in y suit In
extort money from his client.
Mr.. Merrill in his closing argument
, was unsparing of the respondent. He
I Continued on Page Three,