The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-05-20


Mrs. Emma LeDoux, the trunk muir
deress" of stockton. may yet lose the
gruesome and unsought distinction of
ns the first woman hanged by an
= Ter Of court in this state This I'M
usual defendant. coquette as a girl and
enohantress as woman. was yester-
day granted new trial by the supreme
court Once again must she face the
charge of having murdered her one
time husband, Albert n. AIcvicar in
stockton, March p, 1905.
Associate Justice Henshaw wrote the
decision granting her a new trial, AS
sociate Justices Lorigan and Melvin
concurring. Chief Justice Beatty wrote
q eoncurring opinion.
The grounds on which the new trial
is ordered are that Judge ". b Nutter.
The trial judge. did not allow the chal-
lenge 10 the panel Of the jury because
OF the bias Of the sheriff. that the
court refused TO allow Instructions Of
the defense on the presumption Of in
nocenoe where conflicting presumptions
might be said TO arise and that physi-
clans had been allowed TO testify as
experts without properly conflning
their testimony to hypothetical ques-
tions. IN the appeal it was not con
tened that the evidence was INSULT
cient to sustain the verdict and judg-
ment the complaint being entirely di-
rected at the rulings of Judge Nutter.
Ii is said that fully 1900 objections
were noted in the trial.
BIAS OF THE SHERIFF
The decision sets forth that during
the empsneling Of the jury the court
ordered a special venire OF IS. The de-
Tense challenged the venire under sec
zion 1864 Of the penal code on account
NJ the bias and prejudice of Sheriff Sib-
~ ey The evidence showed that the
sheriff had been gathering evidence and
had thus come 10 entertain an IN
qualified opinion that the defendant
was guilty" So far as the challenge
Tor bias is concerned, the sheriff in
Wch case is put by the law precisely
IL the position Of trial juror and a
state OF mind which would disqualify
a juror equally disQualiies the sheriff.
After several cases are cited, the
opinion continues as follows:
Thus il is seen that all of the su-
thorities agree upon the principle and
announce the rule that where the prin-
cipal is disqualified his deputy is like
wise disqualified and process served
under these circumstances is voidable
Therefore the challenge to the panel
should have been allowed"
LETTERS ADMISSIBLE
In reference to. certain love letters
written by the defendant TO her hus-
band. Eugene LeDoux. who lived near
the home Of her mother, Mrs Mary
Head. near Jackson, Amador county.
il was held that while the possession
Of those letters was illegally secured,
the redress was not in the exclusion
of pertinent evidence obtained by the
seizure. The letters were. therefore,
held 10 have been properly admitted.
In the trial it developed that the de-
PENDANT. when she was Emma Cole,
ged s. married Charles Barrett, with
whom she lived four years. After d.
vorcing him, she married William VIII
liams with whom she went 10 Arizona.
After six years of married life he died
and three months later she married
McNfcar in Bisbee, Ariz-, in 1902. They
sfterwsrd separated and she went TO
her mothers home near Jackson. In
August. 1905, she went with Eugene
LeDouN. who resided near her mothers
place. to Woodland, Yolo county, where
they were married by a justice of the
peace.
The prosecution urged as a motive
FOR the murder that she had killed
AIcVicsr because OF her affection for
- Doux and her desire to avoid the
eEDosure OF her bigamous relations. il
appearing that she had never been di-
vorced from McNicar. The prosecu-
ton introduced the license and certif-
cate Of marriage from Bisbee over the
objection Of the defense The opinion
holds that in an effort TO prove bigsmy
The license and the certificate would
not have been admissible, but to prove
motive for the murder they were.
HISTORY OF THE CRIME
The crime for which Mrs LeDoux
was convicted was unusual in the an
mails Of crime. Her remarkable COM
posture from the time OF the murder
TO the present has stamped her as
psychological phenomenon. This woman
who. at the age Of 32 years. still re-
tanned her charm or face and figure
despite her varied life. which took her
fof a time 10 the lowest levels. smiled
graciously in the courtroom a minute
after the jury had pronounced the YER
diet that she must hang. During her
three years in the San Joaquin county
jail she has been ITS most cheerful
prisoner. she mas iounQ again many
of those sweet traits which made her
greatly admired as a girl.
yhe murder itself was attended with
circumstances which developed the rare
composure OF the trunk murderess'' Il
was March II. 1906, that McVicar who
was then employed as timberman at
jamestown. met her by appointment at
Stockton. They registered at the Cali
fornis hotel as a. \. McNicar and wife
and occupied the same room in which
lie was sfterward TO meet his death.
The next day they purchased household
furniture and ordered il shipped to
Jamestown They then came to San
F3Racisco. leaving for Jamestown
MaSh IS on Wednesday. March 81,
Mr y car quit work and drew 1888 due
him Two DAYS later they went to
stockton. the woman explaining that
he had been offered 4 better position
-.