Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-02-07
A. I. DAY PLEADS
SELF-DEFENSE
CoIored Man Claims He Believed
That Voss Had Gun
Ready.
TELLS STORY OF SHOOTING.
State Concludes Its Evidence and Now
Tho Defense Has an Inning In
Murder Trial.

The attorneys for Albert T, Day. the
colored man on trial in Judge Arm
sirongs court for murder IN the Srst
degree, win endeavor to show by the
evidence of their witnesses that Day
acted In self defense when he shot
Horace H. Voss, a prominent colored
politician, In a room on Franklin aven-
ne last fall. The defense opened its
case at II 80 this morning and the first
witness called was the defendant. DAY
told The story of the circumstances
which led up to the shooting ana de-
clared that Vpss made movement aS
IL to draw q revolver and threatened TO
shoot Day oft of the alley" whereupon
the latter drew his gun and shot Noss
in the head
Days examination was conducted by
Atty, w. W. Little. The colored man
first told where he had been employed
since he came TO Salt Lake about
a. year ago. lie then related tne Ia .fo o,-
bic he had with Mathew Edwards on
the day before the shooting. He said
that Edwards called a certain woman
liar In the presence of Day ana tnat
he tried to make him apologize, but
Edwards refused to do 1t whereupop
Day gave him a heating. The old man
finally got away and ran into house
The next day he said Voss met him
and began calling him down be-
cause he had whipped old man Ed
wards, Noss said to Day; You am
foolin' with old man Edwards now. u
YOU monkey With me III blow YOU on
of the alley After that the defend
and said that he Weir and Voss went
into the house and it was then mat
Voss made the move as If he were GO
ing 10 draw a gun. whereupon he shot
him. Day told OF his escape from the
place and of being followed by crowd
of colored people and OF his arrest by
the officers. He was still under direct
examination when the court took re-
cess until this afternoon.
WITNESSES FOR STATE.
Dr.. f. w. whitney was the last wit
ness called by the state, He testified
as TO the autopsy performed by he and
DR. Calderwood on the body of Voss
and told of the wound which caused
Voss' death. DIR. Calderwood was also
examined on the matter at tho session
yesterday afternoon.
Other witnesses examined by the
state this morning We're Police Officer
Shultz. Capt, BurbidGe and Detective
Raleigh.
Yesterday afternoon Mrs Voss, the
wife of the dead man. was called TO
the stand i'll behalf of the state. She
said that she was warned BY negro
by the name OF Washington that Day
had gun. and in fact she was talk
ing with Washington when tho shot
was fired which killed her husband.
Upon hearing the shot she ran into
the house and mot Day coming out.
She said TO him: You black bear,
you've killed my husband" She said
that Day replied :S"Yes have, and I'll
kill you too" he then started out on
n run and she followed him for a
short distance and then returned TO
her husband.
on ross-examlnation by Mr.. Little
she denied that she took a gun out
of her husbands clothes when she
returned to him. She also denied that
she had ever served term In the
state prison in Colorado for serious
crime, She admitted that she assault
ed Day at his preliminary hearing
but denied most enlphatically that she
ever said she was sorry for having
struck him
Fred Washington, colored. and Mar
shall Mart a white man. testified that
they saw Day, Voss and Weir talking
together in an excited manner on the
morning Of the shooting. and that they
saw Day make Il move as Ii to draw
gun. They saw the men go IN the
house together. WASHINGTON said that
he warned Voss and his wife that Day
had gun. Mart said that he saw Day
break the gun and examine II 10 see
If 1t was loaded just as he was going
into the house and he afterwards saw
Day come out of the house with the
smoking revolver in his hand.
Henry Page testified that Day had
tried to borrow a gun from him but
no would not loan him one. Day
afterwards came back and showed
Page a gun which he said he bought
~ a pawnshop on Commercial street,
IT Is very probable that the case will
be concluded tomorrow and VIII be
submitted TO the jury