The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-04-01
SHOCKING TALES
IN ELROY KENT
MURDER TRIAL
Witness Testifies That Ac-
cused Confessed the Deed
SPECTATORS NOT ALLOWED
During Testimony of Deputy Sheriff
Allen A. Leonard Court Room
Was Cleared

Rutland April mo ono who
heard the testimony in the second day
of the trial of Elroy Kent for the mur
der of Miss Della Congdon doub ID
the wisdom of Judge Il. l.. Waterman
in excluding the public especially
women, from the court room. The
exhibition of blood stained garments
of the murdered woman and the tes-
timony of DR.. b. II. Stone, director of
the state laboratory of hygiene, con
corning the results of his autopsy on
| her body were not pleasing things Ia
see or hear. DR.. Stones testimony
was of such nature that il cannot
be printed in full. 1t revealed he
fact that Miss Congdon was subjected
to the most outrageous treatment he
1 fore she was killed.
| A crowd of the morbidly curious
denied admission to the court room,
crowded about the doors of the court
house at noon to get glimpse OF the
prisoner when he was brought out by
Deputy Sheriff A. A. Leonard to be
taken over to the house OF correction
for dinner Kent and the sheriff had
to dodge through the crowd to reach
their carriage. Kent seemed to take
little more interest in the trial than
he did the first day but he still Kept
his eyes partly closed most of the
time
The prosecution made two telling
points against Kent Robert A. Law
renee, the former states attorney, took
the witness stand and produced a
piece OF wood containing the initials
IL K" which he said was cut from
inside the barn door on the Congdon
place at point where other witness
es have testified that there was an
impression in the hay. and from
where the window of Miss Congdon's
bedroom could be seen through acrack
in the door The defense objected
to the introduction of the piece OF
wood in evidence on the ground that
Kent had not yet been connected with
the crime. Judge Waterman sustain
ed the objection, but the wood may
go in later in the trial. Mr.. Law
renee said the initials were freshly
cut when he first saw them and that
he picked up a whiting from the
door and fitted it into one of them.
Herbert D. Slavery testified that
he heard Kent at the house of correc-
ton last fall tell Deputy Sheriff Leon
ard that he killed Miss CongdoD so
she couldn't tell
The lawyers for the state and the
defense had a clash over the attempt
of the defense to connect II. NJ. Tag
CART who worked in the cheese fac
tory near Miss Congdon's house win
the crime Attorney General Sar-
gent made Mr. Spellman state spec
ifcally that he expected to connect
Mr. Tagart with the crime before he
would consent to letting him proceed
with o line of cross examination cal
culated to cast suspicion on Taggart.
Mr. Taggart will be witness for the
state and he is greatly angered by
the insinuations ofNhe respondents
counsel
Judge Waterman relaxed the no
admittance rule in the afternoon and
I permitted the sheriff to let everybody
in but women and children During
the testimony of Deputy Sheriff Allen
A. Leonard, however, the court room
was cleared. Attorney General Sar-
gent told the deputy not 20 mince mat
tiers in the testimony, and the officer
obeyed him to the letter. His testi-
mony was the most sensational of the
trial He related conversations with
Kent which were practically con
fession of the murder. Kent told him
he said that he went into Miss Cong
don's house to assault her and what
he did after he got there. Kent told
me, he said, that Miss Congdon saw
him before he reached her and that
he grabbed her and threw her into the
milk room"