The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-03-31
Jury Soon Secured In Muir
der Trial
in RUTLAND COUNTY COURT
The Defense Would Implicate a Neigh
Dor Of the Dead wallingford wo-
man--Kent But Little
Affected.

Rutland, March sl.-The state mad,
good progress examining witnesses to
day in the trial Of Elroy Kent. Tn,
principal evidence given this morninl
was by DR.. b. Stone Of Burlington, whS
performed the autopsy, and former
States Attorney r. A. Lawrence, whC
made the Investigations following thu
murder DR.. Stone said the woman died
Of blows on the head and q hemorrhage
Mr.. Lawrence gave the details and cir
cumstances that led to Kent's arrest
laying great stress on the initials "E
X" cut on the Congdon barndoor. At
torney j. ID, Spellman OF Kents counsel
inferred to-day the defense would try
to show T.. M. Tagget, cheese maker
who lived negr the Congdons, had some
thing TO do with the crime. No details
of this yet have been made public
The attempt on the part Of counsel
fer the defence TO connect another per.
son with the murder Of Miss Della B
Congdon at East Wallingford on July
"a last was the feature of yesterdays
opening proceedings in the trial Of Elroy
Kent, charged with the offence. In his
examination Of three OF the four wit
nesses who testified counsel John d.
Spellman for the defence sought to bring
out facts showing that certain resi-
dent Of Fast Wallingford might have
committed the murder.
After Kent had pleaded not guilty the
greater part of the time was occupied
in securing jury. Forty men were ex-
aniined and both sides availed themselv-
es OF their privilege Of peremptory chal-
lenge several times. Many of the men
bad formed previous opinions, and most
Of them, being farmers, showed a dc.
sire to escape from the duty so that
they might avail themselves OF the run
ming maple sap. Contrary to the usual
custom neither counsel made any state
ment to the jury.
The examination Of witnesses was be-
gun Immediately after the Jurors were
sworn in. The testimony was heard Of
George Sprague and Darwin Sprague,
the boys who found Miss Cungdon's
body. They. like their musher Mrs
Mary A. Spragne, who followed them on
the stand, related the circumstances Of
the nnding Of the body. In cross-ex-
animation of them, counsel Spellman
brought out the facts that man who
lived near Miss Congdon viewed the body
after 1t was found without any visible
sign; that he was employed near the
Congdon home. and that he moved from
his former residence in October, several
months after the crime had been COM
nitted. Unimportant testimony was
heard from John Shumarch, who took
several pictures after the finding of Miss
Congdon's body.
That the state has prepared an ex-
tended case was evident today when 32
witnesses were sworn in for the govern
ment. Although it had been generally
believed that the defence would seek to
show that Kent was nsound in mind.
the trend of the examination by counsel
for the defence today appeared to indi-
cate that an effort viii be made to prove
Kent free of any connection with the
crime.
The effort by the government to con-
meet Kent with the murder of Miss Cong
don began few days after the muir
der, when the initials "E. X" were
found cut in tree near the home OF
Miss Congdon. The murdered woman
was deaf mute and lived alone In
their endeavors to locate Kent, who had
escaped from the insane hospital at
Waterbury short time before the MUIR
der, the authorities employed blood
hounds and instituted man hunt such
az had not previously been organized in
this state.
Kent appeared little nervous today,
but otherwise expressed no emotion.