Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-11-19
NANCY BACHUS Being TRIED
FOR MURDER OF HER HUSBAND.
JURY WAS SECURED THIS MORN.
ING-COUNSEL FOR STATE
OPENS CASE-FATHER or,
MURDERED MAN ON STAND.

MURDERED MAN ON STAND,
Whether or not Nancy Bachus
fired the fatal shot that ended her
husbands life or 1t was done by
some accOmplice or some other per-
son, and in either case what was the
motive OF the murder, Is to be the
gist Of the case as 1t develops under
the direction of the states attorneys
in the days devoted to the trial,
which began at 1870 o'clock this aft
ernoon. when b. M. Bachus. father
of the deceased. was called to the
stand.
His testimony was directed princi-
pally to the description OF the prem
ises and the exits and entran ,es to
the house, and pertinently to the
firearms that were on the place,
which he said consisted OF two worm
out shotguns not At for service, and
a 45-75 Winchester, which was In
troduced into evidence after 1t had
been identified as the gun which
stood by the cupboard in his sons
house. and from which ne had drawn
the cartridges 10 days prior to the
date of the shooting. Mr.. Bachus
testified that he was the first to nnd
the remains of the gun In the fre
and had observed that It was still
empty. and the inference Is that 1t
was not the one used In the shoot
ing.
Mr.. Bachus was still on the stand
at 2:3O and was under cross-exami-
nation by Attorney @. w. Tannahill.
who was seeking to learn II there
was not timber or underbrush near
the house that could have conceal
ed q man and horse had there been
one lurking in that vicinity. The
cross-examination also drew from
the witness the position Of the
bookcase and table when In the po-
sition that his son usually had them
when he sat in the evening to read
Statement Of Counhel.
It was finally IL o'clock when
County Attorney Needham stood be-
fore jury for the opening statement
of the case and detailed the efacts a
the state viewed them from the tes'
timony that had been secured. He
said that the family OF the deceased
consisted of himself. his wife. the de-
fendant. and a 5-year-old daughter;
that the Bachus home was from four
to five miles from Clifford, where the
deceased had worked in brickyard
the day Of September 4. the might
Of which he was murdered; that. hi
came home before night. bringing
some groceries, among which was Z
sack OF sugar; that about & or
o'clock a gunshot was heard and
shortly after the deceased's hous'
was seen to be afire. Later his wife
the defendant. appeared at neigh
bor's Mr.. Hocker's. and told OF tn
origin Of the fire and stated that sh'
feared her husband was killed. Sh'
sent the neighbor's son to the scene
and with him arrived several other'
who were attracted by the fire. Th'
body of Bachus was found dead di
rectly in front of the ruins of th'
home He had fallen forward acros
sack Of sugar and was found t
have been shot through the head, tn
bullet entering below the base o
the skull, ranging upward into tn
; Uranium, coming out just above tn
, right eye. His feet were burned L
crisp, the clothing burned from
the body or charred by the heat from
heels to head and the hair singed.
, The contents Of the house ha
been partially removed. and espe
( cially a trunk, which was found t
contain all the wearing apparel Q
. the defendant, with table linen an
| silverware closely packed and all tn
; trunk would hold. Later the defend
: ant admitted that she had ired tn
= fatal shot that ended the life OF he
husband. These, with other detail
and incidents, the states attorne
said he expected to prove, and whe
proven to ask OF the jury a verdic
OF conviction.
An attempt was made bv the d.
fendant's attorney. G. w. Tannahil
!. to have the state disclose all Its lin
of testimony at this time. but tn
demand was not made by the cour
The Jury was finally secured an
sworn In at 1890 o'clock. after
panel OF % names had been calle'
n and the Jurors questioned and rCs
a ed. or these four were excused IL
i cause. and FIVE peremptorily, tn
g state using only one OF its cha
e lenges, while the defense used fou
e Following are the Jurors: Jam'
l. Banks John Jackson. Marion
e Grosclose. John Shuss, Sr. Samu
I Sumptor. ]. D. Ellis, James McCu