Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-05-28
news OF TIL COURTS hmm f

ment of McCofnaS as false when ne said
he gave her a. drink of whisky at his
rom.
He said, "a little whisky would be
good in this defense. Nobody but a
poetic genius could evolve defense
like that"
He said, "It is one of the most scien-
tific crimes ever recorded in the his
tory of the United States courts. The
chemical reaction on this mans face,
and in the dark. This victim. of Mrs.
Noyes' scientific mania"
Mr.. Horton took UP a revolver said to
have belonged to McComas. With 1t in
his hand he illustrated to the jury the
story of the shooting.
He showed the jury the door by
which McComas is said to have stood
when the first acid was thrown at him.
He said he did not believe the story of
the acid throwing by Mrs. Noyes.
Then followed a dramatic account of
the shooting and acid throwing as Mr.
Horton assumed it to be. Turning again
and facing McComas, Mr.. Horton said:
1T never occurred to him that she
threw the acid until after the shoot-
ing"
ut is one of the most beautifully
manufactured defenses ever made" he
said.
Mr.. Horton said the shooting could
not have taken place where McComas
said it did.
No Acid on Skirt
He requested the jury to examine the
binding of the woman's skirt, inform
| ing them that they would not find the
| least bit of acid upon it. He told them
of one little spot of acid upon one of
| the Uoman's shoes, which, he said,
could never account for the vast
amount that was scattered ABOUT tne
| floors He explained to the jury that
| ~ l,.axr in
direction in which she is alleged to
have gone, or there would have been
more acid upon her skirt, as 1t dragged
alonp the floor.
"Oh, ridiculous! ridiclilous!' he said
when explaining the acid throwing
| story, that woman snoulu Worh
that"
He handed a collar to- the jury, one
of the exhibits, and alleged to have
| been taken from McComaS on the night
of the tragedy He challenged any one
to find a spot where water had marked
the collar. He said that if any water
was thrown it must have splashed
upon the collar.
| He told the jury about. Mr.. Hit. He
said: Hit comes along and Hit goes.
Whit a friend Hit must hive been!
| Leaving his friend in despair and mis-
cry, when # ever MAN needed a
| friend it was then. Now. on the eve Oh
|
| it is now Mr.. Hit telegTaphs to the
| DISTINGUISHED counsel for the defense
| that h is in New York. oh, Mr.. Hit,
what a friend, Gentlemen, Mr.. Hit
| was never in that house, or he would
have been here as the principal Wit
ness for the defense. He was never
there, or he would have been here. This
defendant would have raised heaven
and earth to have him hare If he had
| been in that house on that night
Mr.. Horton said he had no doubt
that the vast amount of acid was
spread by the defendant to cover up
his tracks.
Mr. Horton wanted to know where
the vial was that contained the acid.
| His answer to his own query was:
Heaven and the defendant only KNOW
and he won't tell
Mr.. Horton told about others hearing
three shots fired, yet McComas don I
| about the officers finding two empty
chambers in the gun. isn't that re-
markable circumstance" was the
| scornful query.
He repudiated the statement of the
| witness that he had trouble with the
gun because it would not revolVe, IL
| lustrating to the jury the easy action
He ridiculed the testimony of the
| defendant in regard to the olive OIL
| theory and how he realized that ne
still held the gun only when ne went
| to the olive oil bottle. "Oh, this m
stinct of the gunsman fresh from the
| frontier" he said.
| He spoke of the defendant sentl-
ment in regard to the dead woman.
He again scathingly repudiated the
testimony about Hiking Hit. Mr.
Hiking Hit, who was brought into the
house by the defense (the attorney
paused here and resumed in tones au-
dible only to the jury and those near
the jury was never in that puiloihg
| on that night; he never left the Motel.
He was blind. But he saw Carey
and the other officers" Numbered the
attorney. HE was deaf, but he heard
| Carey on the steps down below.
"Then in regard to the defendants
statement to the officers: L don't think
I had better talk, had l" Does tnat
| show a man who was frenzled!
az shot once to scare the poor kid
and she ran right into the second shot
and it went clean through her. Does
that sound like the statement of fren-
zied MANI" beloved Mr. Horton.
Audience Clasps
/ AS with one impulse the attentive
audience gasped as the next statement
left the excited attorneys lips: He
| chased her clear through the house ana
murdered her in cold blood in the hall
! way." He followed it with 1.-THE gun
went off, off, off. Where? He knew
i not. What direction? He knew not,
except that he shot ahead. shot ahead,
always ahead. Well, he was shooting
to get some one, and don't you for
get it,"
Horton resumed with an account of
how the defendant is alleged to have
seen the woman lying on the floor.
"Then he gives us some poetry about
If seeming like a thousand years before
any help came.
LET us give the defendant every
possible doubt that is proper and to
save YOUR life you can't render any
verdict except justifiable homicide or
voluntary manslaughter unless you
take the defendants own story. An eff
fort was made by the defense to eXag
eerate every phase of the story that
7 appeared to be in his favor. I don't
criticise the defense for that. Perhaps
If is due to the zeal of the counsel and
is not a matter for criticism.
81 have only the kindliest thoughts
for the defendant. / don't believe, how
ever. when you take the evidence of
i every witness who was on the scene
right after the murder but what you
will see that an unlawful killing took
Mace in that house; that the defendant
killed the woman in passion, long
after and far removed from the time
and place of that passion. I don't be-
lieye that you will let this man go forth
among the people of this community
acquitted"
Tn all probability the case will go to