The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-11-29

could not speak, ana then expressed
the greatest surprise and wondermehI
such verdict. Judge Maginnis will
ask for a new trial. If this is denied
him he will take the matter to the
supreme court.
When the surprise occasioned by the
verdict was over, there was Il consid-
cradle amount Of wonderment rs to how,
in the face of the evidence, the jury
could possibly have arrived at the ver'
dict they did. Several of the Jurors
were asked, but refused to }. speak
Finally, Lafayette Hanchett. foreman
OF the jury, explained, in reply to cues
tions fired at him by Mrs. n. B. Vance,
sister-in-law of the convicted muir
derer. he admitted that the beating ad-
ministered by Vance to his wife did
not enter very greatly into the case,
although he thought il had httle
bearing upon her death as having weak
ened her vitality. The entire question
hinged upon the poison theory, and he
felt convinced, and the other Jurors
seemed to think only in the same chan
mel rs he did, that the very fact that
Vance looked into the room proved that
he placed the poison in the glass OF
water on the sewing machine.
Point Is Explained.
Explaining this point, Mr., Hanchett
said II was of the opinion, until
Vance left the stand, that he had not
poisoned his wife. I had thought then,
and despite the fact that | am the
busiest man in the west, | should have
fought for either second degree
verdict or one of assault with intent
TO kill, because | believed one of those
verdicts perfectly fitted the case, but
the moment be left the stand l knew
ne was guilty of having committed
one Of the basest murders in the his
tory of the city, He lied repeatedly,
and it was he. who has hung himself,
lie has placed the moose about his
own neck. When be showed how he
looked into the room, that settled his
guilt in my mind. He only had to
reach in about ten inches, and he did
1T. He showed how he placed his
hand on the door casing. He did that
for. 9 purpose: His hand on that
planned this all out, and didn't mean
TO be detected. He kept his hand there
so that II the children made a noise
IN the kitchen, he could jump back;
or II his wife awakened, he could get
out Of the way without being seen,
glass of water his hand was his eyes
TO get out OF danger. That was con
elusive evidence TO me that he wanted
his wife TO die. But if that was not |
sufficient, then this was. He talked |
with his wife on the night of the eth, |
and she said then that she had been |
poisoned. When the doctor came the |
next morning he did not mention the !
fact to him about the poison, although /
she had again told him that morning !
she had been poisoned. Taking for (
granted that the man is ignorant, as
he IS, still any man with a heart /.
would have rushed for a doctor and /
made known the poisoning fact, If he .
had not wanted her to die
Doesn't Deserve. Mercy.
"We did not recommend mercy for
Vance deserved mercy It was evi-
dent to US that he had shown no
mercy TO his wife. He did not act like
man when ne found she was i'll on
the 9th day Of November He ad-
mltted going TO the door, and then sat
down and ate his dinner. He did
not 90 near the room again, and did
not even shut the door leading into
the bedroom. II be had wanted the
noise kept from her so that she could
sleep undisturbed, and he said ho
dld not speak to her because he did
not want TO awaken her; then why
dlfn q IT, + he .ti shut the door,
verdict than it did il would have
shirked its duty I believe we are
twelve men VINO are as fair minded and
unbiased as any twelve men could he
Other Juries might have brought in
different verdict, bat had they. done so
they would have shirked their duty, and
that IS just what we did not do.
i want TO say that the defense
fought hard and put up a grand bat
lie. They tried to make oft a good
case but failed, because they had moth
ing to base a defense upon. No other
man could have done what Judge Nc.
glnnls did, but his theory that Mrs
nrr- to- sr,,,. Il.
PoIson was not theory. but Just
big puff OF smoke. it was clearly dem
onstTated that she had not taken anv.
thing, to rid herself of a child, and
mad she attempted to perform an abor.
non upon herself her organs would not
nave oeen IN normal condition, as the I
physlcians testified they were. Tho
cause of her death was bi-chloride of
mercury poisoning and the beating she
had received. This had so weakened /
her vitality That the poison was enabled
TO do more deadly work than otherwise
would have been the case
Closing Arguments.
Upon the opening Of court Saturday
morning Attorney John T. Tobin opened
for the defense and was followed by /
Judge Maginnis. VINO made an eloonent
plea for the life of the man he was de.
tending: District Attorney Loofbourow
followed with the closing argument for
the prosecution, and the charge Of the
At the county Jail, where Vance is
being held, 1t was stated that be acted
IKE Wild man upon his return from
the court room. He was unable to con.
troll himself and bemoaned his fate hv
swearing and in outbursts of anger, AZ
apple and two nuts which haa been
gwen gwen him by his children during the
afternoon were taken away from him
when searched, and he was allowed
only to, keep. his pipe and tobacco.
orders have been given not to allow
the. man even in the corridors for ex.
ereIse, as 1T IS feared he NAV make an
attempt to get away. He will be kept
Locked bs Hsa up PIN in his small, dingy cell, where
be constantly under guard. "''
a. B. Vance of Ogden, a brother of
EGo psis99sr stated after court that ne
pr9posed TO nght the verdict and would
take the case to the supreme court if
necessary