The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-13
Is Charged With Murder of
George Freeman
TWO WITNESSES HEARD
Or. Fox Describes Effect OF the Wound
and Says the Defendant Washed
Blood From the Dead
Mans Face.

The trial of Richard Wray, charged
with the murder of George Freeman.
commenced yesterday afternoon In the
first division of the criminal court.
The state is represented by Solicitor
H. P. Hefin, Assistant Solicitor ]. B.
Aird and Attorney c. P. Beddow.
Attorneys B. M. Allen, CASTOR & Pettus,
r. N. Bell and e. c. Winston, Jr, repre-
sent the defendant.
court all day to hear the testimony and
the defendant was accompanied by sew
eral relatives.
DIR. B. A. Fox was the first witness
for the state. He testified that when
he arrived on the scene at $50 p. m. on
Tuesday, February 6, 1906. the deceased
was lying on his back, dead, with blood
oozing from his mouth and nostrils that
pistol was lying on the floor close to
his body and that the defendant Wray,
and several others were in the room; that
he asked the defendant to wash the blood
from the dead mans face, which he did.
The witness stated that death was due
to gunshot wound, the bullet entering
the right side just below the floating rib,
passing upwards through the liver and
falling back into the abdominal cavity;
that, in his opinion, death was instan-
taneous and that the deceased fell just
where he had been standing. The wit
ness described the room and Ats contents,
and said that the dead man was lying
parallel with the front wall Of the room
his feet being close to a wardrobe which
stood in the corner.
The cross examination tended to show
that the bullet ranged upwards at an
angle of 45 degrees from the point of
entry and that 1t would seem to have
been fired from pistol on the floor.
The next witness was Miss Irma Hen
derson, who stated she was In the room
at the time Freeman was shot. She said
she did not know who did the shooting;
that when she heard the shot she ran to
the window to look out as she thought
1t was a torpedo on the car line. Wit
ness said there were five OF six people
in the room at the time; that Wray had
just washed his hands In a bowl which
stood ON washstand In the corner and
was waiting for a towel to dry his hands;
that Marie Martin was at the wardrobe
getting a towel and George Freeman was
standing behind her. The witness said
she rushed from the room when she dis
covered a man had been shot and did not
return for ten minutes
On cross examination the witness said
in the room all the morning and were
preparing to leave when the shooting oc-
CURED; that Wray and Freeman were
apparently good friends and that Wray
had just previously sent out and bought
a collar for Freeman and had tied Free
mans cravat Witness said that when
Wray came to the house he took off a
holster which held a pistol and threw
both on a lounge in the room, where
they remained all the time; that when
she saw the pistol beside the dead man
the holster was lying a little distance
away from him. Witness said that at the
time the shot was fired she was talking
to one of the men In the room and was
not looking at Wray, but that Wray
had just washed his hands and was wait
ing for the towel.
Court adjourned at o'clock to meet
this morning punctually at $3.50. There
are about sixty witnesses summoned In
the case and 1t Will probably take the
rest of the week to finish.