Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-01-29
WOMEN PLEAD
NOT GUILTY TO
0ATHTUb MURDER
Mother and Aunts of Ocey Snead
Are Arraigned Before
Chief Justice.
TRIAL OF ALL THREE is
SET DOWN FOR APRIL II
Prisoners Raise Wells in Court
as Curious Crowds Rush
to Proceedings.

mot guilty" was the plea entered by
Mrs. Caroline B. Martin. Mrs, Mary w.
Snea6 and Miss Virginia o. Wardlaw
when arraigned before Chief Justice
William S, Gumme1e on two indict-
ments charging thefn with numbering
ocey w. M. Snead by drowning her in
a bathtub in a house on Fourteenth
street, East Orange, on November 29
last. They will be placed on trial on
April IL. according to arrangements
made today by the chief Justice and at
torneys in the case.
No reference to poison was made at
any time during the hearing, the in
dictments charging solely that the
death OF Oeey Snead was due to drown
ing.
A Dramatic Scene.
1t was a dramatic scene in the dull.
eark, dreary court room as the three
eged women filed in for arraignment.
Heavily yelled the three were led in
by deputy sheriffs and stumbled into
seats behind the counsel table Frank
lin Fort, representing Virginia o..
WardlaW; Abner kalisch, Representing
w ".
Riker,. for Mrs. Caroline B. Martin,
were on hand and at once consulted
with their Sclients.
For five minutes the courtroom was
silent, as the lawyers talked to the
women in whispered torres. The three
sisters kept their heavy wells down.
and it looked as If the waiting crowd
that filled the court room would not
%, ,l,- 10 f,a k.1c a..
women.
Finally Chief Justice Gummere asked
If the attorneys were ready to pro-
ceed A chorus of yes greeted thu
question. and without being told the
reading of the indictments by Prose-
cutor Mott. AS they arose each one
lifted the heavy wells and looked
directly at Prosecutor Mott.
Mrs. Martin stood only for a few
to sit down. She appeared very weak
The other sisters stood throughout th9
reading of the long indictment which
took thirty minutes to read.
Gazes at Prosecutor.
All through the reading Miss Ward
law, who stood within two feet of the
prosecutor, kept her eyes on him. Not
once did she take them from him, not
even when her attorney, Franklin
Fort, would coach her as to what parts
of the indictments meant Mrs. Snead,
in the middle of the trio, with Abner
Kalisch at her side, seemed worried and
kept her eyes fastened on the attorneys
table in front of her Mrs. Martin sat
huddled up in chair, and only once
during the arraignment did she appear
to pay any attention to what was going
on about her.
That was when she was asked to
plead to the first count in the ndict-.
ment charging her with murder
In voice that rang with emotion and
so loud that ii astonished everyone in
the room she straightened up in her
chair, pushed back her wells and almost
shouted Absolutely not guilty My
only daughter"
Then she sank back in her chair and
replied to the other charges ir a mono
tone so low IT could be heard but few
feet away,
Miss Wardlaw was the self possessed
one OF the party at all times, and when
Chief Justice Gummere had set the
date for trial as April II she turned
hurrlcdly to Franklin Fort and re-
marked: That's over two months
time"
Then she dropped her wells and made
ready for the trip back to the Jail
As soon as Prosecutor Mott had fin
tContiuued on Second Page.)