Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-24
ATTEMPT TO SHOW
CASE OF SUICIDE
-----------------------------
Counsel for Thomas Vance Tries
To Break Testimony Of
Mrs. Ward.
WAS A DAY OF ARGUMENT
Motion of Defense to Exclude Trans
cript of Mrs. Rel,pennins's ESi-
dcncc is Under Adviscmcnt.

in her death viii be the chief conteil-
ton Of the defense in the ThonlaS
Vance murder trial judging from cues
lions propounded to the states W.T.
tcsses by attorneys Of the accused,
While the greater part OF the inoFlt-
ing session To-Day was consumed Ill ar
gument, the hearing was not without
interest in the matter of evidence al
duced.
Immediately upon the opening VI
court the cross eXamlnation oil MIS-
Amanda Il. Ward commenced. Mrs.
Ward was formerly the wife of George
W. Vance, a nephew OF Thomas Vance,
the prisoner at bar Mary Vance VIE
| of Thomas Vance and whom he is ac-
cused of numbering, was her SISTER
| Yesterday afternoon Mrs. ward toid
Of the events leading up TO the death
| OF her sister, She was not present
III the coffee episode of Nov. 20, when
! Thomas Vance was accused of knock-
| ing his wife down and kicking; ller. SHE
SAW her sister. however on the follow
! ing day and was shown by Mrs. Vance
| 4 bruisn upon the abdomen, which she
/ was told was caused by KICK gwen
| by Thomas Vance to his wife. Later
in the day MIS-. Ward again sax her
/ sister, and this time the latter was very
I i'll, and was vomiting blood At the
| hospital several days later when MIS-
1 Ward had been told by Dr. Kerr that
| Mrs Vance would not live, she had
! tluwn W. Il statement as dictated pE
! the sick woman. who, when 1t WAS rcau
| to her. asked Mrs. Ward to sign it for
1 her. inasnluch as Mrs. Vance was too
(! i'll To hold {; pen. she subsequently
| found some bichloIidc Of mercury tab
/ lets In the till of the trunk belonging
/ TO her brother-in-lay. Thomas Vance.
TRY TO BREAK TESTIMONY.
/ An attempt was made by Judge Ma
! giilnis of counsel for defense this MORN
| ing to break the force of Mrs Wards
/ testimony. In answer To questions on
! cross examination, Mrs. Ward said that
4 she had been told three days after Mrs.
1 Vance went TO the hospital that she,
4 Mrs. Vance, had been poisoned by her
/ husband Directing the witness at
tcntion TO the preliminary hearing,
1 Judge Maginnis asked Mrs. Ward II she
q Ehafl not at thar time testified tina she
4 had told DIR. Kerr before Mrs. Vance
j was taken from her home to the, hos
i pital that her sister had been poisoned.
1 Witness admitted that she might nave
so testified
us II not a fact further queried
! Mr. Maginnis. that in your house
! and in the presence OF your then
/ husband, George w. Vance, your sis
| ter complained OF her broken health,
/ attrbuting the same TO frequent
/ child bearing, and threatened that she
would take her own life?"
mo such conversation occulsedI
answered Mrs. Ward emphatically.
/ on redirect examination Mrs. Ward
! stated to ounty Attorney Willard Han
/ son that her sister had sometimes
! spoken of her sorrowful life because
of family difficulties and had re-
marked that she would be better off
| dead.
In answer to questions. Mrs. Ward
said that she had no bitter feelings
/ against Thomas Vance, but later adj
/ mittcd that her sentiments towards
him were not of the most pleasant
4 character. She dsclaimed against hnv-
ing told the Vance children how to
testify against their father. and ex-
planned that she had gone to River
ton and Hunter last Sunday and
brought the Vance children to this
city and to her home, and said that
she had done so at the solicitation Of
District Attorney Loofburrow. She
was accompanied by DeputySheIiff
Beckstead
DECISION RESERVED.
An interruption to the taking Of tas-
timony occurred when the state at
q tempted to introduce as evidence Il
4 transcript OF flue testimony given III
the preliminary hearing by Mrs. Cora
Rehpenning. The latter is no longer a
resident of the state The prosecution
called Hyrum H. Richards and Deputy
Sheriff Andrew Smith, Jr., to the stand
to prove that Mrs. Rehpenning had re-
(! moved TO Oregon in March of this year.
The defense objected to the introduce
ton of the transcript. and the jury was
excused from the courtroom while ar
guments were made. Judge Maginnis
contenGed that the transcript was not
properly certified to by the reporter,
THAT the deposition was not signed by
the witness, and that the transcript
was not filed within the prescribed 10
4, days. These objections were taken up
by SIR. Hanson, and the court retained
his decision until 2 o'clock this after.
noon
YESTERDAYS PROCEEDING.
Yesterday afternoon Lena Vance, the
l2-year-old daughther of Thomas and
| Mary Vance, was on the witness stand,
placed there by the state to testify
| against her father. She told of the
! trouble that occurred between her par
cnts on Nov %. Her father COM
planned that his cup had been filled too
full Of coffee, and said further, Didn't
| | tell You not TO fill my cup up with
! coffee" Mrs Vance replied that she
, | had not 50 understood him. Vance said
: You had better say you heard me-
but Mrs. Vance would not make the
admission. The coffee was then thrown
, | at Mrs. Vance and the cup struck the
WALL Vance picked up chair. and his
wife said, Don't strike NE with that
He then said, Course you. l will xii
you. and struck her with his fist
knocking her against the stove. The
children screamed and the mother raj
out of the door and asked some one tc
| call for the police. She re-entered the
house when Vance grabbed her, threw
her to the floor and kicked her. Mrs
}, Vance lay ON the floor a short time anc
, then arose and sat in q chair; Vance
, finished his meal, smoked. and thef
[ went away. With no words passing pc
5 tween husband and wife. In the after
noon Mrs. Vance went up town, return
ing at 5 O'Clock. Vance came home
about $50 o'clock. Next morning Mrs
Vance prepared breakfast. after SEN
for her sister and then laid down OH The
bed Beside the couch she placed
glass OF water. Vance came home
about noon and asked where his Wit
: was. He went to the room where sh
, was, leaned in from the door casing
, moment and then Went away.
About an hour afterwards MUS Fanc