The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-11-03
L|F[ PICTURES
OF MRS MARTIN
DRAWN |N.COURT
By Them Her Attorney
Hopes to 2 rove Her
Insanity.
JUDGE PHLEGAR
CHIEF WITNESS
"A Motionless Figure in Black,
Aged Woman Faces Court in
Effort to Escape Trial on
Charge Of Numbering Her
Daughter, Ocey
Snead.
JUDGE PHLEGAR
CHIEF WITNESS

Especial to The Times Dispatch.l ]

Especial to The Times Dispatch.l
Newark, N. j., November 2.-Sittins
beneath gaudy fresco bower in the
white courthouse that crowns Newark,
and Terminer, to-day gave hearing
5on the application OF the Rev Albert
wardlaw, brother of Mrs. Caroline b.
Martin. to have a court proceeding
held to determine whether the bent,
spectacled old woman is sane.
Mrs Martin Is the mother OF Ocey
W. NJ. Snead, whose body was found
a bathtub in an East Orange villa
last November Mrs. Martin. Mrs.
Mary W. snead and Miss Virginia o.
Narilaw were all arrested on the
Wardlaw died of starvation In the
Newark jail August II last.
Hunchcd Bundle OF Black.
a great hush fell over the crowded
courtroom as the sonlbre figure OF the
dead girls mother was ushered into
the room. She sank her dumpy form
into chair close against the rail
separating the body of the court from
the tribunal. and sat. a hunched bundle
of black, as motionless as figure
carved out OF ebony.
atHe OlQs WOMAN s. al
torney. opened his address to the court
by stating that 1t was the Justices
duty to decide Mrs, Martins sanity
from his Witnesses life pictures OF the
woman here before you" He promised
to show that she had from her earliest
years shown a tendency toward the abb
normal. I'VE VIII Investigate her life
thoroughly" he declared. .'and see If
she Is ifit to be tried for this awful
he first witness called was Judge
Archer "A. Phlegar. of Christiansburg.
Va. The Judge was little dried UP
figure In shiny black clothes He wears
goatee OF iron gray. spectacles. and
spcaks5 With a rich Southern accent
Z He was sixty-fve years old. he said,
and had met the pathetic old woman in
the chair in 1885. before she was mar
gried. He had been the family lawyer
for years.
The Judge testified that Mrs. Martin
had erratically made several changes
IN deeds to a piece of property she
Insld. i,s Mr Riker tried hard to get the
virginia Judge to declare that he
thought this Indicated unsound mind.
: sbut5the withered legal light declined to
say so.
Nothing seemed to suit. however.
so our business finally terminated. I,
said the witness. II think that in that
respect she showed that she was at
least erratic"
II was impossible to see the old wo-
mans face behind the black blind that
screened her features. and she made no
motion to indicate that she was affect
ca BY the strange resurrection OF her
younger years
The judge declared Mrs. Martin
1''O1n yad =, ,yv,r~
property affairs SO incessantly that
eventually he was compelled to say.
Mrs. Martin, our business relations
must cease here and, now
Something Wrong.
She acted so strangely about that.
he went on. .8"that did then begin to
think that there was something
wrong,
Now" asked the lawyer you saw
Mrs. Martin about two years agog',
omewhere about that time,,' re-
piled the witness. She had q bad cold
and sent for me-; 4. ~
& low did she Impress you?' q
why, always as a person LOT great
spe rtinacity.' replied the jud dgs: She
MAS WAS mighty headstrong. II she started
out to get5a thing, she always expect.
ed to succeed In getting It. She had IA
mighty good opinion Of herself
Well, when she did not succeed in
Sc Ting what she wanted. what wa $
her manner then ~ gsE {;
yaa'l drawled the Judge with q
smll She riled up a good DEAL"
y w hat was her manner whens you
last8saw her r" s.: .sf: s & ss}.
Wei. !. I turned away. saying to my
SELF. she must be crazy sis IS
When was this SS't '5{,5 81
n N oyembar OF last year. replied
the judge. She came into my q tiice in
Chris tiansburg. Va. She ~ had failed
so that she startled me. She told me
everything had gone wrong With her,
and that she wanted to mortgage a..
piece Of property ii Georgia and anoth-
erg piece Of 8land at louisville, Ky. q i
Told her i could not ndertake it.s n
II hes witness said Mrs. Martin cried
ana and broke down as he had never seen
llerG be fore, hen he told her he could
s go . no more for her, She declared that
The world had turned against herr
= y lutd 81 sc Ph hlegar y said that The prisoner
!, toids him OF judgments at Christlans-
pur,s'yvhlc ~, lch he sad vi sed her t q pay. She
2 y but failed to pay them.
y was lie first time that 4 ever
gay saw Mrs. Martin cry..''s a declared Judge
Fnle egar,S never b ef ore saw a Woman
oIs d r her8 cul ture act inf the manner, thar
So sl1 e. 6. Gid on this occasi
e e IVY itnessS w ent On 4 to explain an
interview hat She h ad wit h Mrs. Mar
Z q n ny hichS shel talked with her re-
8 the defense. The Interviews
too st7l rs place In the Essex county jail In,
Newark III 81 Janua ny last. and during
ne sp rim gsand Ssu nm er of Isl year.
I Was In q RAGE.
~ rs Mart the witness stated,
Wa 3 Z n q rage sat most all ofstbe time
wa 81 Wit h herr ii lss5 VI!
Chew tl1sss Sex plai ned that lie had
!alked preYio.sl u, 18th the psisoner's
!s'sonttaue !sssE'1 q stxt Page.l