The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-10-19

Napoleon Bissonnette, who shot and killed Rome P. Demery Thursday night, must face the charge of murder in the first degree in the criminal Su- perior court in December Probable cause was found in his case in the city
 court this morning by Deputy Judge Frank M. Wilder. and Bissonnette was
 held for the higher court without bali. The principal witness was Miss Alber- tina Bissonnette. daughter of the ac-
 cused. She sobbed and wept all { through her testimony and swooneo III the arms of her uncle. Albert V. Dem cry, brother of the dead man, as sne stepped from the witness stand. BIS sonnette was not put on the stand by : his lawyers, Attorneys George Kane and Joshua Meltzer. Blssonnette was apparently unmoved when he heard the decision of the court. He sat De- , tween his attorneys unperturped- At .torneys Kane and Meltzerl argued for a change of charge from murder to
 nanslaughter, but the court refuseo.
 Medical Examiner Freder1ck D. Towns was called. He said that the bullet fired by Bissonnette entered the left side of Demery'S neck ana WAS found in the muscles of the rlght sue M of the face. He said that from the
 snn.arance of the wound he should think that both men must have been standing at the time Of the shot ana Ithat the pistol was held at right afl- ieles when fired. He thought the per spon shooting the gun must have been 1.-two or three feet from Demery, pe- tcause the powder marks were scat ttered instead of being concentrated as .they would have been 1T the shooeeI swere very near Demery. He testltled ttnat Demery was about 5 feet inches ffaH and weighed about 1855 pounds. pr. Harry Bennett of the Emergency hospital who was called to the scene ;of the murder from the Bridgeport Hospital. said that he thought Demery fdied within five or ten minutes aIter being shot. When pressed by Attor- fney Kane he admitted that he d1d nor lcertainly know. kBissonnette who accompanied her un- Ecle. the dead man, to her father's home ion the night of the shooting, was call led. She was dressed neatly in suit tof plain black. A heavy black veil tpartially hid her features. She did II,ot raise the veil once while in the tcourt room. She wept constantly ana {held her Handkerchief under her veil. fEhe is pretty in the brunette type. 1 She spoke at first in a. low but fsteady voice, trying to bear up under Ethe strain. After one or two simple tpreliminary questions she burst into fviolent crying so that recess was or tdered, and she was led from the room. tShe was assisted by her uncle, Charles fiAIf,ert V. Demery. After a few min- .utes the trial went on. She did not testify freely and it was easily seen that she did not feel at all friendly toward her father. who watched her
 She told again how she and her un- cle went to her fathers home on Sea- !yiew avenue They did not knock or jannounce their coming, but walked fright into the kitchen. Bissonnette was sitting in a rocking chair. After tthe conversation between the two men tabout her remaining with her mother. fwho was i'll. during which her father tobjected to Demery's interference, she told how her uncle took off his glasses and grabbed her father, who was still tseated in the chair. Her father rose from the chair and Demery let go or thim.
 And what happened then?" asked Attorney Kane.
 s.He shot him." she cried. and burst tinto tears. She wept so hard that another recess was ordered.
 f After she had calmeds down again, she told how she ran into the street, tbut returned at once. She saw her tmother and her uncle. who had been shot, clinging to her father. who was trying to get to the door.
 1 During the struggle between the two linen she admitted that she begged her Euncle to let her father alone. She tsaid, however, that she did so not be- tcause of any harm that her uncle might do her father. but because she I thought her father would hurt the un- tcle.
 I Here she was excused. She was as-. sisted from the stand by her uncle Albert. and had taken but a few steps ] when she fainted in her uncles arms. EPatrolman J. Coughlin rushed across the room, picked up the girl and car Tried her out of the court room, where fshe revived
 As the older girl tainted a. shriek was heard from the witness bench. It was from little Ava, the 12-year-old daughter of the accused man, who 1 cried as if her heart would break. She Twas soothed by Matron Hill. Several Fwomen who were among the specta- Etors began to use their handkerchiefs seemed unmoyed. NO tears flowed from his eyes.
 ;, on the stand to repeat a conversation between himself and Blssonnette on the night of the murder. The patrol-
 man testified that Bissonnette told bim, "I had to shoot him or he would have killed me-"
 Attorney Kane said that while he would not assume that the court would take the responsibility of discharging the accused, he could not see that his fcfient could be held for the higher iicourt on the meagre evidence furnish led by the State. He said the charac
 
 tspot show that there was murder in the ti irst degree From the evidence here
 his morning there was nothing wilfui r deliberate about it. It is very evil ent that the principal witness of the isitate, the daughter, Is unfriendly to
 ne accused. Attorney Kane then
 sent over the testimony, emphasizing
 le Cnwarranted interference of Dem cry in Bissonnette's home affairs. He
 dwelt particularly upon the fact that
 Demery took off his glasses when he started for Bissonnette. showing, At
 torney Kane held. deliberation. At
 torney Kane said "he may have been solicitious for his sisters welfare, but there is no evidence to show it'' Denery was a big man, he said, and i if Bissonnette thought that his own 1 life was in danger he had a right to shoot. There has been absolutely rothing to show reconciliation on the 1 part of the accused.
 Prosecuting Attorney Delaney re- | piled warmly. He said: 'Tt is only I necessary, your honor, for the state to f produce prima facie evidence that the ! accused is guilty for your honor to { bind him over. Now it is not denied