The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-11-28
CARTRIDGES IN iM'MAHON'S GUN
FIRE AFTER FATAl SHOT
When He Pulled the Trigger What Was Object
of the Double Attempt to Continue
Firing2..-Was 1t Suicide?


trial for bis life IN connection with che
murder Of Alexander n. Cedcrlof at
Lcilehua on September 2s, tried TO
shoot someone else in addition to his
alleged shooting Of Csderlof was
brought out at two o'clock yesterday
afternoon in the testimony of Lieuten-
ant Joseph H. Barnard who told OF
two cartridges in the gun Of the
prisoner which had missed Ere after
two had been exploded.
Questioned by District Attorney
Breckons, Lieutenant Barnard stated
that he had opened the gun soon after
1t had been turned over to him by
Giant. He did this at the hospital and
in the presence Of three medical men,
and found that FIVE Of the chambers
contained cartridges. OF these the
first two had been discharged, the sec
ond two had missed FIRE (the hammer
resting on the second of these), the
Afth was unexploded and unmarked,
and the sixth chamber was empty.
Lieutenant Barnard testified that the
hammer must have rested on the vacant
chamber when the shooting commenced
and questioned as to the misfring said
that it oould come from the trigger
not being released on the backward
pull on the double action when the
hammer fell, or from defective car,
tridges,
Who Was Target?
After Mcmahon shot Cederlof, whom
did he try to shoot nexti Did he try
to shoot himself, or was it to carry out
his threat of a short time before tC
do away with his wife, he twice un
successfully pulled the triggerl Th'
testimony has shown that the two
shots, one of which is alleged to have
killed Cederlof, were fred but Eve
seconds apart, and the question nov
is, how were the other shots fred, o.
rather attempted to be firedf
McMahon had threatened befor,
some of his comrades to shoot his wife
it is stated, and they had taken hi
gun away from him, returning it later
This testimony was brought out in tn
preliminary behring's, but not in tn
trial, SO far.
Scandal Hinted At.
The second sensation Of the iris
. yesterday was the attempt of the dS
Tense to discredit the testimony o
Charles Hoag, former sergeant, in cor
Meeting him with trouble in the Cedel
lof famil. Hoag, on the stand, wa
asked by Attorney Andrews if troubl
between CederlOf and his wife had no
been caused by him, SO much so tina
Cederlof had threatened to kill he
The admissibility of this testimon
was being argued when court adjourne
until ten O'Clock this morning.
Star Pilida.
: Then after the jury had been ez
, cused, but before court adjourned, Al
torney Andrews called attention of tn
4 Court to a deliberate misstatement O
fact in the story Of the morning pre-
| eeedings as appearing in the Sta
Andrews said that no such testimon
b as that paper reported had been give
, in the case and it was prejudicial t
) his client to have such inisstatement
appear in the press. The court too
) notice of, it and said the jury woul
be warned still further to read nothin
in the newspapers concerning the cas-,
Morning Session.
When court convened yesterda
: morning, Alois Feiereisel was still O
the stand for cross-examlnation, an
/, his testimony varied largely from tina
of Sergeant Giant on the same quei
| tions last week. This witness seeming
. ly wished to prove that he was her
and had had a strong hand in the tai
: ing of McMahOn and disarming hin
He told, upon adroit questioning b
Andrews, of how he first saw McMaho
and his wife struggling in the yarC
but could not say when and how the
!, came around the corner of the housl
> he did not see them until they were
, the front yard. He rushed in and hell
, ed Giant, who was struggling with Nj
= Mahon, and together they threw hii
. to the ground and Giant took the gu
away from HIM.
According to his story, the strugg
to disarm the sergeant was strou
one. Giant on the stand last wee
; told Of taking the gun away from M
! MAhon and getting it without any tro
= BILE whatever, so that his statemen
/ are at wide variance with those
I keiereisel.
I Asked If it was light enough 70 81
I well, the witness said that the ON
|, light he knew of was from the wi
= dows of the Cederlof house, in Will
there was a lamp. He did not kno
whether the moon was up OF not. M
Cederlof was near the body when
DO arrived.
DO Medical Testimony.
o. Captain r. NJ. Cullen, medical corr
Iia was next called and told Of beng Su
m. moned 70 Cederlof's house sometil
n after dinner. lie found Cederlof on I
ut bed, with bis face and head cover
70 with blood aud In an unconscious sta
ga Ile was In the house a foN minu