Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-21
PEOPLE REST
IN TRIAL OF
MRS. CORWELL
DEFENSE OPENS WITH STIR
RING ADDRESS TO JURY
CLAIMS PRISONER WAS INSANE
AT TIME OF TRAGEDY
Attorney Appel Promises Some Start
ling Disclosures in Trial of
Alleged Slayer Of For
mer Lover

The prosecution in the tflai OIL MIS-
Estelle Corwell, charged with the Kill
ing of George r. Bennett on the night
of July 90 1907, rested its case at 2:55
o clock yesterday afternoon, and hall
hour later the first witness for the de-
Tense was placed on the stand. In the
interval Horace Appel, attorney for
Mrs. Corwell, made his opening state
ment to the jury, declaring that ms
client was the victim of persecution ar
the hands of the man she is said to
have killed.
Mr.. Appel said that he would prove
that this persecution SO anected the
prisoners mind that she was not re-
sponsible for her acts, not only at the
time of the shooting but for months
prior to the tragedy. That she had re-
peatedly attempted to commit suicide
was another declaration made by the
attorney, and it was for this purpose,
he said she went to the Bennett nome
at 700 Figueroa street.
When the attorney closed his impas-
stoned address both the prisoner and
her mother were sobbing aloud and 1t
was noted that many of the spectators
showed evidence of deep emotion.
One witness who is wanted by both
sides did not answer to her name yes
terday. This is Miss Selma de Silva,
who was with Mrs. Corwell the night
of the shooting. Deputy District At
torney Blair said he had issued sub
poena for the woman, but no service
could be had, as her whereabout coul1
not be learned. He said he had, now
ever, received information within the
past few days that Miss De Silva Is in
San Francisco, and a further enort
may be made to bring her to Los An
geles.
Another absentee whose testimony
MIR. Appel declared was necessary be-
fore the trial could proceed was MISS
MAZE Bennett, the fiancee of George L.
Bennett. Miss Nell Bennett went to
the courtroom in response to a tele-
phone message and said her sister was
too sick to appear in court. 1t is prop
able she will be the first witness TO-DAY:
A few wordy tilts between Mr.. Appel
and DR.. George w. Campbell, who was
autopsy surgeon at the time OF the
shooting enlivened the proceedings.
and shortly before the adjournment of
court a general laugh while another
witness was testifying caused the court
TO order the room cleared of every per-
son who could not find a seat.
More seats will be provided today for
the spectators, and the passageWay
leading from the corridor to the railing
inside of which the prisoner and attor-
neys sit will be kept open. Since the
beginning of the trial this has been
bIockaded and it has been almost an
i.npossibiiity for persons having BUST
ness inside the railing to gain an en-
trance.
The first witness yesterday was Mrs.
Sadie Hanson. a neighbor of the BEN
netts. She told of hearing the sounds
of shots the night of Benefits death
and of going to the rear door OF her
home and seeing & body lying on the
walk in front of the Bennett house
She could give no description of the
Nv QpnnAft a that time.
Mrs. Hanson said she had talked to no.
bodv concerning the details of the
shooting until Saturday night, when
she went to the office of Mr.. Blair and
discussed the case with him.
Autopsy Physician Called
DR.. George w. Campbell was called
and said he had found no abrasions on
the fingers of Benefits left hand when
he made an examination of the body.
DR.. Campbell in his testimony last
week said he had found no powder
burns but had discovered powder marks
on the hand. He was at that time
shown the transcript said to have been
given by him at tie preliminary exam
ination.
Il wish to explain something that I
said -" began DR.. Campbell, but an
objection was Immediately made, Mr..
Appel declaring he did not wish to have
the witness lecture before the jury on
anything he wished to explain.
well, have a right to explain;
am an expert" said the witness.
''Weu. l don't think you are much of
an expert" said the attorney.
The court suggested that the ply
stefan consult Mr.. Blair regarding any
thing he wished to explain, and after a
short consultation the witness returned
to the stand, but was not allowed TO
go into details regarding what he
wanted to say.
The witness said he had found burned
powder in the skin of Benefits hand,
but not one grain of uneXploded powder
could be discovered, and in reply to
Mr.. Blair said he had examined closely
in order to study whether Bennett had
hold of the revolver at the time OF the
shooting.
Repeats Woman's Statement
The next witness was James Hosick,
a police detective, who repeated the
statement said to have been made by
Mrs. Ccrwell to himself, Detective Ser
geant William Kelly and Detective
Zeigler on the night of the shooting.
Hosick related the story as though
telling q well-learned tale, following
closely the transcript of the testimony
given at the preliminary examination.
Later in the day Detective Zeigler also
repeated the alleged statement. giving
dlluOSl tie GAdSl 4eillE ueAsO h9N0 ~ 4iA9
predecessor on the stand, and it was
brought out that he had been carrying
a copy of the transcript which, he said,
he had referred to frequently in order
to refresh his memory. This paper, he
said. he had burned on Sunday.
The statement of Mrs. Corwell as
given by Detective Hosick follows:
Mrs. Corwell said that she and Ben
nett had been living together as man
and wife for six years. was intro
duced as his wife to a number of peo-
pie and he was with me no later than
last Friday she said. I heard he was
at the home of MAZE Bennett and that
he was going to marry her. Mis- De
Silva was in my room, and told her
was going to find George. telephoned
for a hack and Miss De Silva told me
not TO do anything RASH
"'Before we left my friend extracted
the shells from the revolver and put
them in drawer. ] promised to do
nothing rash. but 1 lied to my friend.
When she was not looking 1 took the
shells and placed them in my handbag,
and when in the carriage reloaded the
weapon.
Tells of Shooting
"'When we got to the house on Fig
ueroa street we got out and saw George
on the porch with another man and
two women. 1 called to him but he
paid no attention. / called again, but
he refused to come and l told him if
he did not come he would be sorry. He