Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-02-05
MURDERED MANS SON
FIRST WITNESS CALLED
Tells of Leaving Father a
Few Minutes Before His
Death ~ Meyer Cohen
on the Stand

New York, Feb. 4.-The famous
Thaw trial is on. l,ortly after court
opened today Assistant District At
torney Garvan presented the case for
the prosecution. A4e spoke about ten
minutes and then the first witness
was called. All the witnesses except
the experts were excluded from the
court room. May Mckenzie, Mrs. mar
ry Thaw and Mrs. William Thaw were
included in this order.
States Case Presented.
District Attorney Garvan said 1t was
the claim of people that on the night
of June 25 last, Harry Thaw, the de-
fendant, "shot and killed with preme-
ditation and intent to kill" one Stan
ford White. He then briefly outlined
the movements of White beginning
with the Saturday preceding the trag-
edy and ending with the actual shoot
ing at the Madison Square roof gar
den.
With Boy Before Shot.
Garvan told how Stanford White
had on June 25 last, taken his son,
Lawrence, and schoolmate Of the lat
ter to dinner at the Cafe Martin. That
the boys had bought tickets to the
New York theater roof garden and
had declined the invitation of White
to accompany him to the roof garden.
White" said Garvan, went to the
Madison Square roof garden and sat
at one OF the small tables there, watch
ing the first production Of the play.
Dramatic Story Of Shooting.
"The defendant was there with his
wife and two friends, Truxton Beale
and Thomas McCalb. The defendant
walked constantly about the place.
In the middle Of the second act the
defendants party started to leave the
roof. The defendant let his party go
ahead and he Jagged behind. Passing
the table where White was sitting the
defendant wheeled suddenly, faced
White deliberately and shot him
through the brain, the bullet entering
the eye
White was dead, but the defendant
did not know this. He feared he had
not completed his work and fired
again, the bullet penetrating Whites
cheek Still to make sure he fired q
third time
White, or rather the body Of White,
i tumbled to the floor. The defendant
turned facting the audience and held
his revolver aloof with the barrels up
side down to indicate that he had
4 completed what he intended to do.
The big audience understood. There
was no panic"
Garvan concluded by giving the de-
tails of Thaw's arrest and his indict.
ment by the prosecution.
\ Garvan spoke less than ten minutes
1 and always in conversational tone.
Thaw sat with head downcast and face
i flushed.
Mother and Wife to Testify.
i AS Garvan took his seat District At
torney Jerome sprung a surprise by
4 asking the court to exclude all wit
nesses in the case except experts. BY
doing this Jerome at one blow dis
closed the fact that Mrs. William Thaw
and Mrs. Harry Thaw are both to take
the stand for the defense.
z On the advice of Thaw's counsel they
left the courtroom with all other wit
+ nesses. May Mckenzie was included
Thaw's mother is expected to testify
to the prisoners eccentricities as a
youth. The prisoner seemed greatly
} downcast at the exclusion Of his moth
: er and wife.
Whites Son First Witness.
!, Lawrence White, the son Of the dead
architect, was called as the first wit
!. ness. Thew fastened his eyes on the
i table before him and did not once look
, at the witness. White said he was 19
years old and a student at Harvard uni
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