Lewiston evening teller. [volume] (Lewiston, Idaho) 1903-1911, 1908-11-23
FATE Of NANCY bACHUS IN
THE HANDS Of THE JURY
- SHE GUILTY OF coIDB1ooDE MURDER OR is SHE GUILTY OF
AIDING OR ABETT1Na THE CRIME OR IS SHE mNocENr,-
THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS THAT CONFRONT THE JURY IN
CASE OF NANCY AcHus, ON TRIAL FOR MURDER,

" ie"SoA VI tHe explosion
Oh cartridges that were loose in tn
cupboard. These cartridges were I,
crock n according to the testimon
OF r. NJ. Bt.chus, and in a room re
mote from where the fire originate
and from the place where the bod
OF the murdered man was found. T.
nave reached him from where the
were placed it would be necessar
Tor the bullet to have penetrated tw,
partition walls before it struck IN,
body OF the murdered man, He cite,
too, the fact that this theory did no
account for the wound from som,
blunt instrument that had crushe,
In the skull of J. M. Bachus. indi
eating plainly that he had been foul
ly murdered.
The condition Of the trunk. pack
ed and removed from the house in ,
mysterious manner, the removal q,
the flowers to place of safety. tn,
evident attempt of the defendant t.
throw the officers of the scent. te
guide them astray and misleaf
them, were all pointed out as cir,
cumstances that pointed strongly tc
the guilt OF the defendant, who was
attempting to shield herself or some.
one known to her to nave committed
the deed.
Attorney S. o. Tannahill, opening
for the defense. cited the Jurors te
their oath, where they swore to give
the plaintiff fair and impartia
trial and only under strong AMI con.
vincing evidence find her guilty. He
cited the fact of the woman's de-
meanor on the day Of the crime
where Witness Mrs. Daisy Rankin
testified that she was happy, calm
and collected and went about her
work as was usual for her, and said
1t was not the demeanor of a WON
an planning a deliberate murder. He
asked what motive the state had
shown for the commission of the
crime. He spoke of the conflicting
statements. saying they were caused
by the over-zealous action of the
officials who wrought upon the wo-
mans distracted condition till she
was not responsible for the results.
He closed by an admonitiion to the
jury to weigh well the facts and be
sure that they were so clear, sc
strong and so convincing and SC
satisfying that there could be nc
reasonable doubt.
Attorney G. w. Tannahill charg-
ed the state with abandoning, step
by step, its line of defense, showing
that they did not rely upon its ma
teriality. and asked the jurors II
this was the evidence they would
consider sufficient to fasten upon the
defendant the crime of cold-blooded
willful and deliberate murder. He
stated that there was no evidence
outside the confession and he pro-
ceeded throughout the argument to
set up the circumstances by which
the confession was obtained.
The attorney set up the brutality
OF the husband, the uncertainty OF
the evidence and the failure to show
motive for the crime, and said the
state had not only failed to prove
beyond a reasonable doubt that the
de- fendant committed the crime, but
that the evidence and surrounding
circumstances actually proved the
defendants complete innocence and
that these facts are clear. strong
and convincing.
1t was O'Clock when County At
torney Needham rose to close for the
state, but there was no abatement
of the interest, though the argument
had proceeded at that time for five
hours.
The states attorney made strong
presentation in reviewing the argu-
ments, under the theory OF the prose
cution that the defendant either fir
ed the fatal shot or was an accom-
pIice before the fact. He empha-
sized the suspicious circumstances
and asked for a verdict for the state.
Judge Steele then charge dthe jury
on the law governing the evidence.
and the retirement was taken al
about O'Clock.