Milford chronicle., 1908-01-24
THAW'S DEFENSE
NEARING CLOSE
Cross Examination of Prisoners
Wife Concluded.
MAY GO TO JURY NEXT WEEK

New York, Jan. 22.-District Attor-
ney Jerome's long and severe cross
examination of Mrs Evelyn Nesbit
Thaw at the trial of her husband has
ended. The attorneys for the defense
then succeeded in placing in evidence
a letter written by the defendant in
the fall of 1908, which completely cor
roborated the claim that the girl who
was to become his wife did tell him the
story of her relations with Stanford
White much as she related it upon the
stand at this and the former trial.
This letter was one of a dozen which
were read to the jury as te@ling to
corrobOrate young Mrs. Thaw's testi-
mony and as further tending to show
the effect her story had upon the de-
fendants mind Most of these letters
were read to the jury in the former
trial, and were considered as one of
the strongest bits of evidence in the
hands of the defense. Mr. Jerome OBJ
jected to their introduction into the
record, but was overruled by Justice
Bowling after Thaw himself had made
a waiver of the confidential relation of
counsel and client, when Frederick w.
Longfellow, his former attorney, ap-
peared on the stand to identify the
letters.
Some of the writings were address
ed to Mr. Longfellow and others had
been sent to him to be delivered to
Miss Nesbit. They all contained ref
erences to the girls history and to her
experience, and in the letters intended
for the young woman Thaw constantly
bespoke his love and respect for her.
Many of the sentences rambled on in
coherently and there were many
scratches, erasures and interlineatiOns. |
The first letter Mr.. Littleton read
was a repetition, largely, in the de-
fendant's own words, of the story the
Nesbit girl says she told him In Paris |
in 1903 In it, however, Thaw refers |
to two "drugged champagne" incidents
one at the Photographic studio in
second street and the other in |
the Twenty-fourth street house, |
whereas Mrs. Thaw twice testified that I
while luncheon and wine were served |
during the posing at the Photographic |
place, nothing out of the ordinary Oc-
Cured Thaw's letter corroborated |
Mrs. Thaw in that he declared it was
in the Twenty-fourth street house that
she and Stamford White first We're
alone.
Mr.. Jerome was much quieter in his
handling of young Mrs. Thaw on the
stand, and his voice lacked the high,
hard pitch. The cross-examinatiOn re-
solved itself for time into a verbal
battle between prosecutor and witness
and there were several lively tilts
which ended only when Justice Dowl
ng took hand.
The defense is nearing its close.
Thaw's will and the codicil made at
he time of his marriage to Evelyn
Iesbit, both of which were introduced
asst year, as further evidence of ira
ionality on the part of the defendant,
will be proved and introduced as evil
lence. Then will follow the testimony
II Miss Belle Moorehouse Lawrence, of
California, who was Thaw's teacher
when he was six years old, and could
lot talk ineligible, it is said. Miss
lawrence kept a dry in which there
ire many entries concerning young
Thaw, and an effort will be made to get
his in evidence. Mrs. William Thaw
S expected during the day to COM
,lete her testimony. The insanity ex-
,erts should be reached not later than
thursday afternoon, and the defense
opes to close its case by Friday
light A week later Thaw's fate
hould be in the hands of the jury.