The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-25
VICTIMS DEATH
DUE To INJURY
+, AND POISONING
DR.. Kerr'S Testimony to This
Effect at Vance Trial Vigor-
ouSIy AsSaiIed by Defense.
RELATES SYMPTOMS AND
P0ST-M0RTEM FINDINGS
EXPERT WITNESS is PUT
THROUGH HIS PAGES BY
JUDGE MAGINNIS.

At the afternoon session Of the Vance
murder trial Dr. \. 4. Kerr was put
on the stand and passed a most I'M
comfortable two hours under the cross
examination Of Judge Maginnis. Dr.
Kerr admitted that the idea that Mrs.
Vance was suffering from poisoning was
nrst suggested TO him by Mrs Amanda
Ward, sister OF Mrs. Vance, and also
admitted that number of other poi
sons besides mercury would produce
idenucally the same symptoms exhibit
cd by Mrs Vance. He started out by
stating that Mary Vance's death was
caused by mercurial poisoning and other
injury, that is, the kick bestowed upon
her by her husband, but afterwards adj
United that death could not have re-
suited from the bruises alone.
An interesting legal question was
brought out during the day. Under the
ruling of the court the certificate com
monty attached 10 transcripts of testi-
mony by the court stenographers was
shown TO be insufficient and not accord
ing to the statutes.
The cross-eXamination of Mrs. Aman-
da Ward brought out the fact that she
was deeply prejudiced against Thomas
Vance.
Mrs. Ward cross-Examined.
She stated. in reply to a question,
that she had had no i'll will toward
Vance prior TO the time of the trouble
between Vance and his wife in Novem-
Der. 1907. Judge Maginnis then read in
terviews given by Mrs. Ward to the To-
cal papers, and Mrs. Ward announced
that she had not given the interviews as
they were printed. She admitted making
some statements and to giving pictures
of the accused man and his family to
The Herald. She said that she had given
these statements because she believed
it would be right 10 do so.
With regard to her statements as 10
the experience OF her family with the
Vance family, she stated that she was
glad that no more of her family had
married into the Vance family Mrs
Ward, her sister. Mary Vance, and a
brother all married into the Vance fam
fly. She denied that she had prevented
Lena from going to visit her father
and also that she was the person who
had first started the story that Mrs
Vance had been poisoned. She admitted
that she had found other tablets than
those found by her in Thomas Vance's
trunk and which were found to contain
bichloride of mercury. She stated that
she discovered these tablets in the
Vance house and that she had given
them to DR.. Kerr for examination. She
attempted to state that they contained
nothing harmful, but was stopped by
counsel. Judge Maginnis attempted to
pin her down as to the time the two
lots of tablets We're found, but she
switched so rapidly from one lot of
tablets to the other as to avoid a def
rite answer. She denied, however that
she found the tablets before Mary
Vance's death. as she stated in the pre-
liminary hearing.
Missing Woman's Testimony.
Mrs. H II. Richards was then called
but did not appear. 1t was said that
she had sent a letter TO the court ex-
planning her absence. but Judge Arm
strong stated no such letter had been
received. Hiram H. Richards then took
the stand and identified a letter re-
ceived by his wife from Mrs. Cora f.
Rehpennig. who formerly lived next
door from the Vance family. The testf-
mony of Richards was introduced to
show that Mrs. Rehpennig was outside
the state and could not be secured as a
witness for the state. Mr.. Loofbourow
then attempted 20 read the testimony
given by Mrs. Rehpennig at the pre-
liminary hearing. This was objected 10
by the defense, and during the argu-
ment the jury was excluded from the
room. During the recess Edwin and
Florence Vance. children of the prison.
or. We're brought into the court room
by Mrs. Bert Vance, their aunt. and
kissed their father and sat with him for
ten minutes.
When court convened in the afternoon
Judge Armstrong Overruled Judge MaSin-
mis- objection after the stenographer at
the preliminary hearing, Irwin +. Pratt,
had been placed upon the stand, and pro-
duced the original stenOgraphic notes and
had altered his certificate that the trans