Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-07
Believed. That Evidence Will Be
Concluded Today.
LETTERS BEFORE THE JURY
Defendants Endearing Messages to
Man She Afterward Shot.
COUNSEL NOTES AN EXCEPTION
Alienists Placed ON Witness Stand by
the Prosecution-Substa
=
Of Testimony.

Va AV0SAAAASys
According to statements made by attOr-
neys for both sides when the noon recess
was called In Criminal Court No. today,
the presentation Of evidence in the trial of
Mrs. Jennie L. May on charge OF assault
with intent to kill in connection with the
shooting and death of Lucien Conen, a for
mer member of the Marine Band. will be
concluded this afternoon. DR.. Edward N.
Brush, an alienist from Baltimore. was the
only witness on the stand this morning.
The feature of the proceedings today,
however. was the reading of a long series
of letters. said to have been written to
Conen by Mrs. May. Strenuous objection
to the entering of the notes in the evidence
was made by Attorneys Fulton and Gibbs
Baker. representing Mrs. May, but Justice
Stafford. after allowing an exception, ruled
that ali should go in and Assistant District
Attorney Given read the letters to the jury.
Practically all of the missves contained
arrangements for meetings between the
couple, most of the appointments being for
street corners parks or other places in diff
ferent sections of the city, and several
| which contained invitations for COnen to
come to the May home spoke Of signals
Instructions to Burn Notes.
1t was evident that the writer Of the notes
endeavored to take precautions against
| their coming before other eyes than those
| for which they were intended. because there
! were frequent instructions for this note
| and all others to be burned as soon as
| read Obviously Conen had not followed
| the requests, because the notes covered a
/ do in limo nd aY,r,or anti "
| comprehensive record of the meetings.
During the course of the reading of the
| letters before the crowded court room Mrs.
| Mays face alternately flushed and paled,
| and when the ordeal was finished her face
| was curousy blotched with spots of red
| and white and she breathed in evident re-
/ lief. -
| Letters introduced as Evidence.
When the court opened at 10 o'clock Dis
| trict Attorney Baker announced the pres
| entation of the whole series of seventy
| seven letters said to have been written by
Mrs. May to Conen Justice Stafford. who
| read the notes yesterday, assented to the
admission of the letters. An exception was
| noted by the defense. and Assistant Dis
| trict Attorney Harvey Given proceeded to
read Mrs. Mays alleged writings.
Nearly all of the notes contained ar
rangements for meetings with Conen. at
| the May home and at various places in
| the city. The three letters following were
probably the most damaging to the defense:
Letter No. 77.-'WeH. boy, received
| your letter and was glad to hear from
| you. You are mad. but you can't blame
me for not writing things on paper that
| some one else might see. Besides, 1t Is
against my religion to write anything that
| anybody else might see. Ha! Ha!
Il miss you very much. and it seems as
though some one is dead here. I don't
think there will be mucn love left for
- when 1 get all want. She said a
| bottle of wine and a basket of fruit
would go good. Don't bother about any
thing for me. Some day after I am dead
you will have more money than you
know what to do with but don't stint
yourself for me. l would IKE to be there
with you if we had lots of money to
| o.. What is the matter? Do you two
speak? This is the last time l will write
you to st. Louis"
Letter No. 76-"Meet me out by the
in the woods. same old place. If you
don't see me there come up in woods,
same old place. where the old tree is"
Letter No. 14.-'Can you spend the day
/ $50 O'Clock? Send me work If you can
meet me-"
Aienist on Witness Stand.
| After all the letters had been read and
| submitted to the jury, the prosecution
Baltimore. He declared from the descrip-
tions given in evidence Of the spasms, or
| commissions, suffered by Mrs May, that
| all the attacks seemed to be characteristic
| of hysteria. and not of epilepsy, as claimed
| by the defense.
rs the fact that a person has hysterical
| attacks any indication of insanity" asked
| District Attorney Baker.
mo" DR.. Brush replied, land epilepsy is
| not Indicative of insanity"
The various kinds of epilepsy and hysteria
| laid down by different authorities were de-
| scribed In detail by DR.. Brush. and he said
| the attacks said to have come upon Mrs.
evidences Of hysterfa, but of no othertnen-
tai or nervous disease.
Have you observed Mrs. May since you
| have been in court?" queried the district at
| torney.
| YES"
"And what would you say about her con-
| dition as indicative Of an epileptic?'
She Is bright, alert and intelligent. A
| sufferer from epilepsy-particularly from
| renal epileptic attacks-would show signs OF
| mental deterioration"
Expert testimony Of practically the same
Stars report closed yesterday by Dr. Smith
| Z. Jelline, an alienist of New York.
Prayers for instructions.
| Within twenty minutes after the opening
Of the afternoon session and upon the clos
ing of the crOss-examination Of DR.. Brush
District Attorney Baker announced that the
governments case was before the jury.
| In sur-rebuttal Attorney Gibbs Baker
called Mrs. Lille King and George Myers
both previous witnesses, who testified t.
minor points at slight variance with thai
| adduced from government witnesses
/ Joseph F: Oulahan and his wife. both
| friends Of the Mays. were the last witnesses
for the defense. and at 2 o'clock the at
| torney announced Mrs. Mays case closed.
] The court then took UP the question of
/ prayers for instructions to the jury regard
| ing the problem of the sanity or insanity
| OF Mrs. May and covering other essential
points In the case.
SIMPSON NOT GUILTY.