The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-10
BY FRANCIS v. FITZ GERALD.


Ogden Oct. 9.-The story of the ira
gedy in which Dr. Earl s. Beers lost his
life, and for which Fred c. Walker and
Edward Lawrence are charged with
murder. was vividly told today from
the witness stand by Mrs. Gertrude
Hull and her daughter, Bertha Hull.
During the entire struggle, lasting
thirty-five minutes. Mrs. Hull and her
daughter occupying apartments
above the room in which the encouter
occurred, were listening intently to the
sounds of the conflict. Above the noise
of the fight and the scuffling came the
screams of pain and appeals for mercy
from DR.. Earl S. Beers.
The testimony of these two women
was booked as a sensation, but it ex-
ceeded all expectations in this respect.
The evidence was particularly damag-
ing to Walker, although 1t tends to ex-
onerate Lawrence. In response to the
repeated entreaties for mercy, Mrs.
Hull swore positively that she heard
Walker say:
II have got you now and I am going
to kill you while I have got you
When the fight was about half over.
Mrs. Hull testified that someone inter-
fered. His words were so mingled with
the means of the injured man that she
could not recognize the voice or diStin-
guish the words used. In response to
the intrusion she said that Walker al
most shouted:
ATTEND to your own business or ]
might kill you"
Several Separate Struggles.
During the entire time that the trou-
BILE was going on there we're several
separate struggles. each followed by a
short period when the assailant had
apparently stopped from exhaustion.
At these times Walker asked several
questions. They were asked in low
tone as though they were Missed angri-
ly through the teeth. Mrs. Hull could
not tell what they were, but the re-
plies of Beers came distinctly. They
were to some of the questions. "Once, "
repeated several times. and to others.
MY God, / never; / swear before God
I never also repeated several times
After the fight was over and the
moaning of the victim had ceased Mrs.
Hull thought that he was dead. A lit
tie later, however, she heard Lawrence
speaking in a kindly tone to the in
jured man. She heard the water run
ming and presumed Lawrence was look
ing after his injuries. Lawrence asked
Beers where he would take him, and
Beers replied anywhere. Later n cab
drove up to the street i'm the rear of
the place on a street level with the up
stairs of the office, which is located on
a slope. so that the rear room upstairs
is really on a ground floor level
On looking out of their rear door into
the store room at the rear, Mrs. Hull
and her daughter saw Lawrence and
Herdti carrying Beers upstairs. His
face was cut and bleeding. There was
court plaster over some of the cuts. He
was put in the cab and driven away.
Stories Are Consistent.
She heard voice that she knew 20
be Walkers say, "Ill have to get an
other shirt; I'll have to burn this
From the front window she saw Law
renee go across the street and a little
later return with a package. Some time
afterwards she and her daughter saw
Walker washing and combing his hair.
They looked out the door and the
daughter said:
you ornery thing for fighting So"
And the mother said to him: 1.-THE
police know about this"
Walker looked up at them, but said
nothing. Afterwards, on looking out
the store with Lawrence. He stag
gered as he walked and appeared TO
be exhausted.
In almost every detail the story of
Mrs. Hull was corroborated by her
daughter. Under a rigid cross examina-
ton neither one was in any way con-
fused. Mrs. Hull had fixed the time of
the fight as almost exactly thirty-fiye
minutes. Attorney Hutchinson tried to
get the daughter to contradict this
statement by having her estimate the
exact number of minutes of each strug-
gle and each intermission. The daugh-
ter did SO, and the estimates totaled
thirty-two minutes, eighteen of which,
by the girls estimate, were taken with
actual fighting.
Mrs. Beers Overcome.
In cross-examination Attorney Hutch