Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-29
HAT MYSTERY
IS WE'D
HEADeEAR WORN BY MRS. COR
WELL IDENTIFIED
WITNESS SHOWS COURT BULLET
HOLES IN ToouE
Letter Written by Prisoner on Day Of
Shooting Is Read in Court Room
to Show Condition of
Her Mind

Two mute pieces of evidence which
are expected to have a decided bear
ing in behalf of the defendant in the
trial of Estelle Corwe1 were yesterday
introduced by her attorney, Horace APP
pei, and created the only interest in the
short two-hour session of court, which
adjourned at noon until tomorrow
morning, in order that a number of
other cases on the calendar might be
disposed of.
The first of these objects was let
ter said to have been written by Mrs.
Corwen to Miss Emma Quinones, her
cousin, on the day of the shooting, and
which was received by Miss Quinones
at o'clock that night.
The other article was black toque
hat, trimmed with two ostrich tips. This
piece of headgear looked innocent
enough in itself, but close examina-
ton revealed it's value to the defense
in proving their contention that on the
night of the tragedy a struggle took
place between Mrs. CorWell and George
T. Bennett, and in this struggle the
shots were fired which ended Benefits
life.
In the rim of the hat, on one side
and near the front, there are two holes,
said to have been made by a bullet from
the revolver which Mrs. Corwell car
ried.
Question Important One
The question whether the defendant
wore a white or black hat the night
of the shooting has been an important
one throughout the trial A number
of witnesses have been called to testi-
fly concerning this matter. Police Off
GERS have sworn the woman wore a
white hat on that occasion, but this
was yesterday denied by Miss Quin-
ones, who said her cousin wore black
hat. She is upheld in this declaration
by the testimony of the matron at the
county JAIL who declares Mrs. Corwell
wore the black hat when she reached
her department following the prelimi-
nary examination in police court.
The letter introduced was included
in the first evidence given at the re-
sumption of the trial yesterday. 1t
tends to show that Mrs. Corwell was
laboring under a severe mental strain |
and had determined 70 destro. herself. |
Miss Quinones whose testimony was
unfinished when court adjourned Mon |
day, was recalled anu identified the |
letter as being one she received from
Mrs. Corwell on the day of the trag- |
edy. The letter read as follows:
Letter Is Read
my Dear Emma: George may have
put out in an automobile to get mar |
ried I tried to talk to him and he |
cursed me. I feel so sick. My head |
is bursting. l can't live any more. |
George is married to MAZE. Say, 1 am
going TO where George is and if he |
does not come l will kill myself; then
the world will know. Poor mamma!
Don't tell her where 1 am. Get George
Il. A 10 tee
ma for me. Good-by, STELLA"
Abe, mentioned in the letter. is said
to be a brother of Mrs. Corwell who |
died some years ago and is buried in |
Arizona.
Miss Quinones said she saw the de-
PENDANT at the city Jail the day fol-
lowing the shooting. She asked con-
corning the prisoners health and Mrs.
Corwell replied:
"Oh, l hear noise. Where am L?
Where is George"
Nothing more that she could remem-
Der was said to the witness. Later,
she said she saw the prisoners cloth
ing in her cell and on top of it was
her hat-a black hat
On July "a, the witness said, she,
with Detective Hosick and Mrs. Cor
well, went to the inquest. At that time
she arranged the defendants hat in the
carriage and noticed two holes in it
time.
Hat Identified
Attorney Appel called Mrs. G. w.
Shehr matron of the county JAIL who
came forward carrying a large pack
age. This the attorney unwrapped, dis
closing a black hat, and every person
in the courtroom knew the hat mys-
terry which has been so prominent in
the trial was about to be solved.
The witness identified the hat as the
one worn by Mrs. Corwell the morning
of the day on which the shooting took
place. The defendant wore the same
hat the day following her arrest and
the witness said she then noticed the
two holes in it.
Miss Quinones' testimony was here
interrupted, and Mrs. G. w. Shehr,
matron at the county jail, was called.
She identified the hat as one worn by |
the defendant when she reached the |
jail and said it had been in her keep
ing since that time. 1t was in her
sitting room for time and then placed |
in locker where 1t had remained |
since.
A number of persons visited the de-
PENDANT at the county Jail following her
Incarceration there said the matron |
and met her in the sitting room Miss
Quinones was among the visitors, but |
the matron did not believe she had |
possession of the hat at any time
Tells of Marriage
Miss Quinones was recalled and was
cross examined by Deputy District At
torney Blair. The witness said she did |
not remember when the photograph of
Benefits children was given to Mrs. |
Corwell. The defendant first began
wearing the small photograph pin of
Bennett, she thought, in 1902, while |
they were living together at the Ches- |
ter house. She said it was a good like
ness of Bennett as he appeared in 1901
02. She was positive she had seen the |
EEO GZAA