Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-14

4.
counsel for the prisoner. Considerable
delay was occasioned by the absence OF
the foreman Of the jury, but his place.
after a physicians certificate had been
presented. was taken by a substitute.
Maitre Aubin, speking with much feel
Ing and In sympathetic voice, while ad-
mittin gthe faults Of his client, devoted
some time to telling the story OF her life
as child. wife and mother.
Il do not seek to place her on a
pedestal he said. but she must not
be put In the pillory. / defend her with
all my soul because 1 believe her inno-
cent"
Mime. Steinheil in Tears.
Nine. Steinheil wept gently as her coun-
sci spoke Of how her husband idolized
her. NJ. Aubin maintaining that he en-
Joyed the aduIation Of which she was
the object II her husband knew Of her
intrigues. he never indicated it by word
or sign.
The counsel said he greatly regretted
that ex-President Felix Faure's name
had been mentioned.
Now who can say" he asked. "how
OF which Mime. Steinheil was the object
In connection with the former president
have done her? / prefer not to invoke
the shadow Of this profound patriot
here
After sketching the defendants in
trigues with NM. Chouanard, Balm
court and Borderel, he came to the
crime. insisting that the original story
told by the accused was true. He con-
tended that the entire circumstantial case
tlo t<v, Lob fDtr0
ly elaborated on presumptions without a
shred Of direct proof.
He argued that the prosecution lacked
logic when it asked for his clients con-
viction but admitted inability to bring
charges against her accomplies. whose
identity had been plainly indicated. Final
ly. he said, Borderels testimony had ex-
ploded the motive which the prosecution
had assumed.
NJ Aubin prolonged his pleading far in
to the night. largely spelling the earlier
effect by interminable analyses Of petty
details, whereby he sought to break down
the theory of the prosecution and to
establish every piece of direct evidence
consistent with Nine. Steinheifs story.
The courtroom. lighted with glaring
chandeliers, was stiflingly hot. The jury
became restless and several women sit
ting in the rear shrieked and tainted.
Prisoner In Collapse.
and gradually fell forward. cold sweat
doctor was called in and twice admin
istered restoratives.
Just before M. Aubin finished, the wom-
ans strength snapped. With a convulsive
gesture she threw her arms over the rail
and collapsed in a At of weeping.
When the judge asked her il she had
anything to say, she made no reply. Tears
streamed from many eyes.
A minute later. as the jury retired, re-
publican guards gently lifted the limp fig
ure and carried 1t fainting from the court
room.
The murder of the distinguished paint
er Adolphe Steinheil. and his mother-in-
law on the night of May 81. 1908. caused
a sensation in Paris. They were found
strangled in the artists residence in the
Rue de Vanguard. which adjoins the
studio of Seymour Thomas, the Ameri-
can portrait painter. Nine. Steinheil was
found gagged and bound to a bed.
Mime. Steinheil, when she recovered suf-
ficien!ly from the shock, gave de scrip
tion of the alleged assassins, who. ac-
cording to her story. numbered four, in
Guiding a red-haired woman. Later Nine.
steinheil told many conflicting stories;
and was herself arrested and charged
with the crime
The motive was found in her hatred
for her stepmother and a desire to rid
herself of her husband in order that
she might marry Maurice Borderel, d
wealthy merchant who had become in
fatuated with her.
Not since 1902, when Frederic and
Therese Humbert were convicted of a
SO OOO, 900 swindle, has a trial in Paris
excited the intense interest shown in
this case. The hearings began Novem-
ber 3, and dramatic scenes have char
acterized them throughout.
During the latter days OF the trial il
became evident that the prisoner had a
strong chance of acquittal. both the
presiding Judge and the advocate gen.
eral seeking to prove the woman'i
completely in the crime rather than her
guilt as the principal