Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-11-20
ATTORNEYS WRANGIE over
ADMISSION OF Confession
The QUESTION is WHETHER OR NOT NANCY BAcHus DID Or D
NOT MAKE HER SEVERAL CONFESSIONS UNDER THREAT On
INTIMIDATION OR WHETHER SHE WAS PROMISED soxE IA.
voR-LARaE CROWDS ATE ND THE TRIAL

Did Nancy Bachus make her sav-
eral confessions under threat az
duress, through fear or through
promise Of favor? The answer to
that question will determine wheth-
Ell or not her statements will be used
as evidence before the jury In the
trial OF her case.
Despite the inclement weather.
the court room was we'll i1lled at
both sessions today with spectators.
who were rewarded for their pres
ence and attention with the waxing
OF a legal battle over the admissa-
hiIity OF evidence. The Jury wee
excused from the rooms and the a.
torneys were engaged In presenting
to the court the circumstances uu-
der which the statements were secur-
ed from the defendant, the prosecu-
tion seeking to show that they were
of her own free will and the defense
seeking to cloud the evidence by the
fact that the defendant was laboriug
under fear or duress when tho state
ments were made. For this purposs
the defense introduced the prosecute
Ing attorney, Daniel Needham, ana
questioned him closely about the
questions he propounded to the de-
fendant when he was securing the
statements subsequently placed ~
fore the corOner's Jury.
The liveliest interest In the Nam
cy Bachus case this morning centsr-
ed about the admissability OF her ~
legged confession, and the attorneys
for the state and the defense were
s,ill fencing on the legal proposition
when the court adjourned for The
noon recess. The jury was excused
from the court room while the point
was being determined, and all wit
nesses were also excluded.
The legal point ut issue is whether
the confession was obtained in such
manner as would indicate that the
statements were freely and volun-
tarily offered by the defendant. To
make this point clear to the court
the officers and others r..-.'n. Ut the
time the confession was made were
put on the stand. These were George
Erb, the notary public who swore
the defendant to the statement:
Harry Lydon. the sheriff OF the
county, and Daniel Needham, the
county attorney. These. with RALPH
Thompson. we're the ones present
when the alleged confession was
! made in the defendants room in the
county Jail on September IL.
+ The confession in question is the
| last OF several made by the defend
ant and the one in which she takes
all the blame for the killing upon
herself. In the first of her state
ments she duplicates others, first par
| ties to her unknown. then Mccall,
then Anderson. but the officers had
proven these allegations not tenable.
However in the statement OF Sep
temper IL Mrs. Bachus confesses
that she did the shooting and details
how it occurred. This is the confess.
sion that the prosecution Is seeking
10 get before the jury
The earlier hours of the morning
session were taken up with with the
Introduction OF testimony concern
ing the contents of the trunk, and
the condition of the trunk. It's To-
cation. etc. The witnesses called for
the state were J. M. Pearce, Mrs.
| Thomas. Coroner Vassar and Mr..
Henderson. According to this testi-
nony the trunk was closely packed
with the clothing OF the defendant,
with table linen, silverware and 9TH
er household accessories that w0-
man would prize. The trunk was
/ 40 feet from the house. The grass
was all burned of the ground be-
meath 1t and about It'll. On the side
nearest the house the handle OF the
trunk was burned of and the wood
er slaves that bound 1t were scorch-
ed and partly burned.