Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1907-04-05
Gregory Page. Himself. Was
Last Witness For
Defense.
FERGUSON MAKES
SPEECH FOR PROSECUTION
Verdict Will Be Either Murder in
Second or Third Degree or
For ACquittdl.

The Page murder case is now in !
the hands of the jury The attorneys |
finished their arguments at 1880 |
O'Clock this morning. Judge Abbott !
used the remaining half hour OF the |
morning in instructing the jurors and
jury room.
Attorney FERGUSON began his first
argument at $3.50 o'clock this morn
ing-at the opening of court-the de-
fense having rested its case until
Thursday evening. His plea to the
jurors was based upon the evidence
of the doctors, who were used as wit
nesses. Most of the physicians had
testified that Jones wounds had the
appearance of having been inflicted
by some heavy and hard instrument.
Mr.. Ferguson urged that the defend
ant must have used some kind of a
deadly weapon in his assault upon
Walter Jones' despite the prosecu
tons evidence to the contrary. Mr..
Ferguson recalled the testimony of
a physician saying the blows could
not have been caused by Pages fist
alone, and urged upon the jurors the
fact that DIR. Wroth and DR.. Haines.
who had testified for the defense, had
not seen this particular case and had
only the evidence of other witnesses
upon which to base their testimony.
He held that as these physicians never
| had seen Walter Jones they We're not
| competent to give expert testimony.
| In closing, the attorney urged the
jurors to not allow the fact to escape
their minds that had Jones not re-
| ceived his wounds he never would
have contracted erysipelas and died.
Attorney Dobson, for the defense,
made but one address to the jury. He
begun his argument at 1920 O'Clock
and had finished at IL o'clock. Mr..
| Dobson recalled the evidence of the
bartender who had seen Page shortly
after the blows had been given. This
evidence, as has been given in this
paper, was to the effect that Page was
unarmed when the bartender saw him
and as but a few seconds had inter-
vened between that time and when
he again saw him leaving the saloon
after Jones was hurt he could not
have disarmed himself had he at first
carried a weapon.
Doctors Wroth and Haines, who
yesterday afternoon had the witness
stand in behalf of the defense, had
testified that the wounds OF Jones, as
they understood them, could have
been produced by the fists, and in his
argument this morning Attorney Dob
son suggested that the blow in the
eye might have been struck by Page
with his fist and that the wound on
the head may have been caused by
the man striking his head against an
iron railing when he fell.
The attorney further insisted that
the blow was struck while the de-
fendant was in the heat of passion.
He stated that Page had found Jones
within few minutes after his wife
had repeated the conversation which
took place in Jones room, and that
the insult to Mrs. Page was of suffi-
cient provocatiOn to warrant the as
sault. In closing his address, Mr..
Dobson argued that ii was Jones neg
lect of his wounds, and not the
wounds of themselves that caused his
death.
At II o'clock, when Mr.. Dobson
had finished, Mr.. Ferguson took up
the argument again and kept the floor
for twenty-five minutes. His second
argument was based along the same
lines as the first.
1t was now 1880 o'clock and the
attorneys heard the courts instruc-
tions read. Immediately following
! this, the instructions were read to the
jury and it retired with the case just
at noon. In his instructions Judge
Abbott gave now signs OF his impress
sions of the case. He merely stated
the law in such cases and the nature
of verdicts that may be rendered
These We're murder in the second de-
gree, murder I'm the third degree or
! acquittal. The jury was given three
verdict blanks and will return one OF
the three results named.
No witnesses were examined in the
Page murder case this morning. DR.
Wroth finished his testimony Thursday
afternoon, and the defendant i'm the
case. Gregory Page, also gave his tes-
timony before adjournment was taken
yesterday. II was not known, how
ever, but that another witness for the
defense would be introduced until
! court convened this morning, when
: Attorney DObsOn stated that he had
finished the case for the defense.
: Pages testimony yesterday after
noon, just before the adjournment
was 10 the effect that he found Jones
in the saloon just after his wife had
. told him what he, Jones, had said 10
her. He went up 10 Jones and asked
, him if he was the man. Jones re-
| piled that he was, and II was then
that Page assaulted him. The defend
! ant denied that he used any instru-
ment or weapon in his assault other
than his naked fists.