The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-12-17

was struck with an axe it would make
a wound like the one. A woman of
average strength might have struck
the heavy blow. A man of average
strength, or greater, would naturally
have inflicted greater wounds than the
minor ones on the head. The witness
did not think that the blow likely to
have been received sitting down. 1t
was possible, but not probable. The
| fatal Blow could not have been infict-
ed by person behind him if he was
standing up. If the deceased had
been climbing a ladder, the blow would
have been greater if struck on the
top of the head, but about the same
if struck by a man where he was
struck, owing to the insecure position.
The wound probably caused immedi-
Rte death, and the flow of blood
would have been less than where
death did not result at once. The
deceased was strong, well made
man. 1t would take twenty-four hours
for body to become rigid. The court
ruled out line of questions as to
whether Smiths story at the coro-
ner's inquest was consistent with the
wounds found.
On redirect, the witness said that
rigidity is a gradual process. The
heavy blow might have been received
| in sitting posture, and would cause
insensibility. Any one of the blows
might have been the first received
If the deceased was sitting wnen
struck, he would have fallen, and the
other blows might have been Inflicted
afterwards. The heavy blow might
have been inflicted when the man was
down, or it might have been inflicted
while climbing ladder. The lesser
wounds might have caused the de-
ceased to fall over, if sitting, and
thereafter the larger wound might
have been inflicted. The same was
true if the man was climbing a lad
DER
On cross examination, the witness
thought that the injury would have
been greater if the deceased had been
struck full strength blow by a
man with an axe, if the deceased had
been sitting. Questions were answer
ed in the affirmative, as to whether
the wounds would not have been
made by man of average or more
than average strength, if using his full
strength, in different positions.
On the Redirect
On redirect, the witness said that
the lesser wounds could have been
made by other instruments than used
in making the main blow. The wound
ON the back of the head might have
been caused by falling to the floor.
The wounds might have been in
flicted by hammer. The wounds
on the right and left sides of the
head could not have been inflicted with
board or club, as they were too
deep. The small wounds were not
round, being longer than wide. They
were an inch long and different widths.
They could not have been caused by
an ordinary hammer.
The court brought out that it re-
quired hard blow to effect the crush
ing of the frontal bone. the inner
plate being driven in. If the head
was lying on pillow, it would re-
was lying on solid substance. The
shape of the instrument could be told
from the shape of the wound. The
blow was up ands down, from the up
per part of the forehead down to the
teeth and drove in the socket of the
eye.
Cross examined, the witness said
that Ledbeter's skull was of average
thickness.
On redirect, the witness asid that
the upward crack in the skull was not
caused by a counter-coup, but by the
blow that fractured the skull.
DR.. ]. S. Holbrook testified as to
the result of the autopsy, in which he
participated. The body was quite
badly decomposed and distended. There
were six to ten holes through the
scalp where the lesser wounds were.
The witness described the wounds. The
wound in front was an inch and a
quarter or an inch and a half wide
The witness produced the piece of
bone that was taken from Ledbeter's
skull, and which was crushed back
into the brain. The small wounds
were of an oval shape, from the size
of a dime to that of quarter, but
owing to the decomposition it was
hard to know how large they had
been. These were probably not made
by the same instrument that rrade the
major wound. The body had been
dead anywhere from four to eight
weeks.
Cross examined, the witness said
that the body was that of strong
man. The wounds could have been
caused by blows with an axe. There
was nothing in the wounds to indi
cate that different instruments had
been used. A man of average strength
could have struck the major blow.
There was evidence found of eight or
nine other blows, and they were quite
heavy, but none penetrated more than
the scalp. Death would follow the
main blow almost Immediately, and
there would not be great flow of
blood. Rigidity sets in from four to
ten hours after death. The large
wound was depressed a little more at
the top than below, indicating that
the force was greater at the top than
at the bottom.
Cross examined further, Dr. Hol-
brook said that no harder blow would
be required to break the skull in front
than in the back of the head. Four
or five of the minor wounds penetrated
the scalp. There were two or three
near the top of the head. The wounds
were irregularly scattered over the
head.
Coroner Kennedy on the Stand.