Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-22
BOY TESTIFIES At
F|GUEROA'S TRIAL
Fourteen Year-0Id Youth Gives
Startling Testimony Against
Alleged Slayer
EXPLAINS MEANING OF DEATH
Lads Simple and Clear State
mentS Make Him Star Wit
ness for Prosecution
EXPLAINS MEANING OF DEATH


in shooting Sarah"
That George S. Figueroa, accused of
the murder of Mrs Sarah Pugsley Fig
ueroa, his bride of twenty-four days,
at Ocean Park on the night of May %,
made that remark while apparently
talking about himself, formed part of
the startling testimony offered in Judge
Willis court yesterday by Paul Taylor,
IA years old, of Ocean Park, who proved
a star witness for the prosecution.
Simply and quite like a boy Paul
took the witness stand following the
oath, prepared to tell what he knew of
the occurrences of the night of the
tragedy.
Before he could begin his recital in
response to questions from Arthur
Keetch. deputy district attorney, who
is conducting the prosecution, Fred w.
Morrison, associated with Joseph Sey-
mour jr, attorney for the defense OBJ
jected to the boy being used as a wit
ness on the ground that he was not
qualified.
Judge Willis offered Mr.. Morrison
the privilege of examining the youth If
he chose. The attorney asked Paul if
he had understood the nature of the
oath which was administered to him
with accustomed slur of words that is
quite comprehensive to the one adj
ministering it, but sounds like brake
man calling stations to the uninitiated.
UNDERSTANDS OATH
Paul admitted that he had not caught
all of the words, but said he thought
he understood it's meaning.
what does it mean?" asked the at
torney.
THAT I must tell the truth" an
swered the boy.
"Where will you go if you don't tell
the truth?" was the next question.
ITO the penitentiary in this case,
presume" was Pauls response, which
seemed to satisfy Mr.. Morrison about
the boys qualifications as a witness.
Paul said he was IA years old and is
employed at a dance hall at Ocean
Park. He finished his work the night
of May % and went home. Shortly
after his arrival there was a knock
at the door and he opened it.
George Figueroa was outside" the
witness continued, land when he saw
me he said Come here!' I said No.
Again and again he asked me to go
outside and l continued to refuse. He
looked strange and wild, with a flushed
face and excited eyes.
when he found l would not go out
side he came inside. He asked Is
Sarah dead?' and I assured him she
was not At that time I did not know
what had happened. Then he said,
Sarah shot herself I said she had
not. He repeated his remark, and in
the next few minutes said it many
times-'Sarah shot herself, Sarah shot
herself'-over and over.
He asked to see my aunt. Mrs Mans
field, but when he could not do so, as
she had retired he asked me to walk
back to his house with him. I went
with him, and on the way he said to
me: Paul remember, I did not shoot
Sarah Sarah shot herself Sarah shot
herself
TALKS ABOUT SELF
He began talking aloud as If about
himself. I don't see what object George
had in shooting Sarah he said. Once
he said to me, If I had any money
would go to Los Angeles
when we approached the house
where Mrs. Sammann lives George
said, You go on and see what is doing,
and tell me. If anybody saw us and
asks us who was with you, say it was
a friend you met at the dance hall
"At the gate, however, We met DR..
Frank Taylor, my uncle. George said
to him, Is George here?' My uncle
looked closely at him and said, What
is the matter with your Then we
turned in through the gate"
The first witness placed on the stand
yesterday was oliver Bateman, a house
painter who resides at 1897 Pier ave
nue., ocean Park He said he had
known Figueroa about two months
before the tragedy. The night. before
the shooting he walked past the Sam
mann house and then remembered
when he saw the light in the summer
house where the Figueroas were living
that he had not seen the young man
after his marriage, and he decided to
go in and congratulate him.
THE door was Open,' said Mr.. Bate
man, land even before | entered l could
see George moving about with a quilt
in his hand, making the bed, while his
wife was sitting down.
Il went in and congratulated him,
and he thanked me. Mrs. Figueroa
came and shook hands with me and
also thanked me.
Il thought nothing of it at the time,
but / distinctly remember that George
was in. his shirt sleeves and wore Il
pair of light trousers. From his right
hip pocket protruded the nickel-plated
handle Of revolver"
IDENTIFIES REVOLVER
Mr. Bateman identified the handle of
the revolver with which Mrs. Figueroa
is alleged to have been shot, and which
was introduced as evidence by the pros
ecution as being seemingly the one
that he saw In the accused mans pock-
ct. on cross-eXamination he did not
change his statements
S. C. Taylor grandfather to Paul
also was placed on the stand. He is
about 65 years old. he told of Figue-
roa's going to their home the night OF
the shooting and asking to see Mrs
Mansfield. To him also, he declared,
Figueroa said Sarah shot herself"
and later just before starting back to
the summer house. he aVewed, Figue-
roa said, "Pu go back and take my
medicine"
Mrs. Piester, who conducts a store
near Echo park in Los Angeles, testi-
fed that she heard Figueroa quarrel
ing with his wife the night Of Nav 21.
officer Benton Of the Ocean Park DO
lice force said he was the first police
man to reach the summer house. At
the gate, he said, he found Mrs Sam
mann and DR.. Taylor He passed hack
to the scene Of the shooting and found
the injured woman lying upon her
back on the floor with her arms across
her breast. He reached down TO lift
her, and placing his hands under her
head, felt blood. Then he flashed his
pocket light upon her and saw her So
-ious condition. He also noted the
Of tho bedstead, alleged to
have been caused by Mrs. Figueroa
being knocked against it by her hus-
band.
He called an ambulance, he testified,
and sent the woman to a hospital.
Two days later in company with an
1ther officer he searched the premises,
le said, for the bullet. They found a