The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-11-15
In the AveTill Murder Trial
in St. Adams
HOSTILITY OF WITNESSES
Mrs. AverilIs Attorneys Attempted to
Show To-day That the Witnesses
Had Hard Feelings Toward
the Accused Woman.

St. Albans, Nov l5.-In Franklin
county court at 10 o'clock this forenoon
the court declared the evidence in the
case Of State VS.. Mrs. Frank c. Averill,
charged with numbering her husband, to
be completed. Among the witnesses to
be heard this morning was Don Hastings
OF Sunapee, n H., who was introduced
by the state. He testified that he was
at the Averill farm in st. Albans some
time ago having an idea of leasing the
place. He told Of an occurrence at the
farm when Mr.. Averill came out with
a Remington double barreled gun and
asked him lHastingsD to keep the gun
for him. Mrs. Averil then appeared
and applying vile epithet told her
husband that he never could make out
anything as she wanted it.
The defense in the cross examination
tried to show that there is hostility be-
tween Hastings and Mrs. Hastings and
also that the character of Hastings made
his testimony Of doubtful value
Capt H. NJ Bell, chemist and ballaster
Of the Robin Hood company, was also
on the stand for the state, and he de-
clared that the Remington gun with
which Averill was shot on the night Of
October 20, could not have been dis
charged in the manner Mrs. Averill
claimed, by hitting it against the door
behind which her husband stood The
witness then went on to explain by
technical statements his reasons for so
stating,
Mrs. John Bird was a witness for the
/ defense heard this morning. She testi
fed that after the arrest of Mrs. Averill
she heard Mrs Frank Wells, one of the
state witnesses, declare she hoped Mrs.
/ Ayerill would get all that was coming
To her and that Mr. Wells admonished
/ his wife not to make a statement of
4 that sort.
+ At yesterday afternoons session, Mr..
/ Wells had produced somewhat of SEN
sation by testifying to statement made
4 by Ayerill when he lay dying on the
Wells piazza The witness said that
i the dying man spoke to his wife who
was bending over him, saying Josephine,
pray to God that you may be better
4 woman" Mr.. Wells also testified that
his family had been asked 70 the Ayerill's
home recently to a husking bee and
i surprise party and when he was asked
i II any hard feelings existed between the
\ two families replied .No, sir, not that
i / know Of
! On being questioned if he had heard
any unpleasant conversation between Mr..
and Mrs. Averill, he said he had heard
/ Mrs Averill swearing at her husband one
/ day when he the witness) was going
I to his barn across the road from the
+ Ayerills. He had also heard the re-
/ spondent use profane language at other
j times.
I DR.. Arthur Morton testified that he
WIS attending Mrs Frank p. Wells,
/ WHO tainted ons the stand last week,
and that she was in weak, nervous
condition and not physically fit to take
/ tine stand again The testimony that
/ Mrs Wells had given before her col
/ lapse was ordered taken from the records
/ and the court instructed the jury not
to take anything she had said into con-
sideraton.
The first witness yesterday afternoon
was Miss Edith Hyde, who lived near
i the Averils when they resided in this
I city. She testified that she had never
/ known of the husband and wife quarrel
+ ing.
Miss Agnes Cumming and Miss Helen
/ Neyins, nurses at the st. Albans hos
p;tal, where Mr.. Averill died, testified
/ 10 hearing him say to his wife when he
was dying, Il love you Josephine" aft
er his wife had asked him if he knew
+ her.
/ c. d. Watson and s. S Watson tes-
titled to transacting some business for
/ the Averills and had never noticed that
/ they were not perfectly eongenial. IL
! developed, however, that their attitude
toward one another was nothing unusual
i from other clients Of the Alessrs. Wat
son.
John J. Finn testified that he had
known Mrs. Averill ever since she had
+ lived here and that he had heard her
say several times that she was happy
! in her new home.
4 On the completion Of the evidence this
/ forenoon, states Attorney Elmer John
son opened the argument for the state,
and he was followed by Warren r. Aus
! tin for the defense During the progress
7 Of the arguments, the woman prisoner
seemed to realize that the last stage of
/ her struggle was reached and she sobbed
i bitterly.
Il