Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-02-26
HERBERT WOODBURY.
PLEADS NOT GUILTY,
The State at Hearing Presents Its
Evidence on Charge Of Having Muir
dered His Wife at FoxCroft,

FoXcroft, Me, Feb. o5.-Herbert
Woodbury. was given his first hearing
today in the Dover municipal court
| on the charge of the murder of his
wife, Phoebe Henderson Woodbury.,
whose body was found last Tuesday,
hanging to a door knob in an upper
| room of the Exchange hotel, a lodging
house conducted by the Woodburys
Four witnesses We're heard today, their
testimony having to do with the find
ing of Mrs. Woodbury's body after it's
| disappearance of over three months,
and with facts learned at the autopsy
Perhaps the most startling testi-
mony given today was that by DR.. VIII
liam Buck and Coroner H. A. Holt,
each of whom expressed the belief
| that the woman's death was not caus-
ed by hanging from the door knob
DR.. Holt testified that in his best
judgment the woman had not met her
death by hanging, but by some other
form of strangulation. The autopsy
disclosed, he said. that the womans
windpipe was in its normal condition.
Had the woman been choked to death,
DR.. Holt thought, the windpipe would
naturally resume its normal condition
upon the release Of the pressure, where
as death had been caused by hanging
the windpipe would have remained
closed.
Sheriff James NJ. Knowles, who tes-
tilted as to the finding of the body,
and the condition of the rooms, and
Clayton K. Hall, the undertaken, who
cared for the wOmans body. were the
other witnesses. Mr.. Hall testified
that the woman's clothes were not
dsarranged and that 50 far as lie
could see there were no marks of yIO-
lencc upon the body. Upon the whole
Woodbury. was encouraged by the
days testimony. The hearing will be
resumed tomorrow morning.
FoXcroft. Ne, Feb. 25.--The prelimi-
nary hearing on the charge of muir
der against Herbert Woodbury. for the
alleged murder of his wife, who dis
appeared Nov. 4 and whose body was
found week ago in a room On the
top story of the Exchange Hotel. was
held today in the Dover municipal
court before Judge Edgar S. Smith.
Mr.. Woodbury., who has been con-
fined in the Piscataquis county jail
at Dover since his arrest the day upUl
Kt-l,i I
q rope to a door knob, was formally
arraiGned for the first time.
1t was expected the State would
introduce only sufficient evidence to
show probable cause for holding him
for the grand jury and that the de-
Tense would present none at all but
would move for the prisoners dis
charge for lack of evidence. contend
ing that Mrs. Woodbury. had taken her
own life.
Joseph W. Mountfort Of Portland,
one of the witnesses summoned by
the state. arrived this morning. 0.
III. Barbour, the missing livery stable
omploye who drove Woodbury. from
Bangor to this town, had not appeared
when court opened.
The court room was packed with
people and hundreds were unable to
gain Gdmittance when the court was
called to order at II O'Clock. Wood
bury listened to the reading of the
warrant and pleaded not guilty.
County Attorney Burgess briefly out
lined the States case and called Is
witnesses. They were Everett Love-
JOY, brOther-ir-law OF :he dead woman,
Edward Henderson, her brother. JO-
seph W. Mountfort of Portland.
Sheriff James NJ. Knowles Detective
Richard F. Leader of Lewiston, DR..
H. A Holt. who was the coroner who
investigated the case, DR.. G. c. Hall,
Woodburys physician, Or. William
Buck who with Drs. Holt and Hall
performed the post-mortem eXamina-
ton, L. A. Richards. a telephone line
man, G.. c. Mathews. f. A. Kicker,
Lewis Moore and Undertaken c. X.
Hall.
Sheriff Knowles was the first wit
ness to take the stand. Sheriff
Knowles told of being called upon
by Judge G. w. Brown, counsel for
Woodbury., to search the Foxcroft Ell
change at 4.3o O'clock last Tuesday
afternoon and that he went there in
company with Mr.. and Mrs. Lovejoy,
Edward Henderson, Judge Brown. De-
tectiye Leader and Miss Helen Wood
bury, daughter Of the respondent By
the first of his three wives.
Sheriff Knowles said the party final
Iv went TO room No. Is and succeeded
in swinging open the door enough so
tbatit was possible to look into the
room. He said Judge Brown was the
Ise-aa 10 .,I,
ness Immediately left the house and
summoned DR.. Buck and County At
torney Burgess by telephone. When he
returned to the room it was partially
filed with people. but he could not
remember just who was there. He
described the body, the moose around
the neck and the condition of the floor
which was covered with coating
of plaster dust. There were no signs
OF a struggle or disturbance.