The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-03-15
DEATH HALTS
THE TRIAL
Two Jurors in MaSSucc0-T0m-
aSi Case Called Home
CASE GOES TO MONDAY
Defendant Admits That Religious Mar
riage Ceremony Was Performed and
Allows That He Wanted Civil
Ceremoney, Too.

Death halted the wheels Of justice In
the Massucco-T Tomasi breach Of promise
trial in Washington county court last
evening, two of the jlnymen being sum
moned home to attend funerals Of mem
bers of their families--an unusual oc-
currence. The two iurymen are w. Al.
Averill of Roxbury, whose son-in law
died yesterday forenoon, and S. p. Sib-
ley of Berlin, whose brother died We'd
nesday afternoon. Up to adjournment,
fairly good progress had been made in
the case in spite Of the fact that the
trial had to be conducted largely in
the Italian language through an inter
prefer, II. M Andreani. Most OF the
witnesses were not able to talk English
very well, and as the Italian vocabulary
of most of the attorneys was limited
to "Si and eNon," there was need Of
an intermediary, which Mr.. Andreani is
filling acceptably The trial will be re-
sumed Monday morning.
Dominica Iomasi Of Montpelier, the
defendant in the suit for $4,000 brought
by Irene Marie Massucco, was ON the
stand during the greater part of the
closing session yesterday. He admitted
that religious marriage ceremony was
performed in Italy, but no civil cere-
mony. He said that on their return
to the United States he repeatedly adj
vised her to 60 through with the civil
ceremony, but that she refused, further
more that her disposition was not es-
request he sold out his business in Mont
pelier and returned to Italy with Miss
Massueeo.
There, declared the defendant, his par
ents and her parents tried to persuade
Miss Massucco to marry bin, and she
insisted that she wanted nothing furth-
er to do with him. Their quarrels con-
tinued in Italy. Finally he paid her
passage money back 60 the United
States, and she came back with A. To-
masi and his wife.
Under cross-examination by attorney
I Lord for the plaintiff, Tomasi admitted
that he had lived with the plaintiff and
expected to marry her and treated her
as his wife. Attorney Lord tried to get
lhim to admit that he had introduced the
woman as his wife to various Montpelier
people. but the witness said that lie
couldn't remember dong so.
Attorney Lord then produced petit
4 tion presented to Supreme court by the
Hate j. r. Iamson, who was Tomasis
lawyer up to the time Of his death. In
/ ii were afiidavits to the effect that To-
masi had denied living with Miss Mas
succo as husband and wife, and had
| further denied that he ever introduced
/ her as his wife, ard that he had carefully
read the evidence of the plaintiff in the
former trial Of the case, and that the
evidence was false. Attorney Lord ques
toned the defendant as to whether or
not he signed the affidavits, and the lat
/ ter said that he signed what attorney
LamsOn gave him to sign, placing reli-
ance on his lawyer, as he himself was
not able to read English understanding
lly.
The last witnesses Of the day were two
| Minooski men who had formerly been
EMPLOYED in Tomasi's store during the
year after the plaintiff and defendant
lcame back from Italy. They testified
to frequent rows between the two, in
which the woman was the aggressor,
and that she seemed TO want to leave.
Finally, they testified, Tomasi agreed TO
take her back to Italy, and he sold out
his store so that ne cOulu go uaek. lug
witnesses had never heard the matter
Iof marriage talked over. At this point
the trial Of the case was adjourned un-
It'll Monday.
The case win probably be concluded
early in the week. The Massuceo wo-
man, by the former trial, secured $4,000
damages for breach Of promise, but the
lsupreme court remanded the case for re-
trial on the ground that the defendant
was in Italy at the time Of the triat
and could not therefore put in dc.
fense.