The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-05-06
DEFENSE IN DODGE
TRIAL USED MAN
AS MODEL
To Prove That Painter Heath
Committed Suicide
STATE CROSS EXAMINED
contended That Suicide Theory Could
Not Account for Two Stray
Bullets

Guildhall, May 6.-An attempt to
show that it was impossible for Mrs
Florence Dodge to have fired the shot
which killed William Heath for whose
murder she is being tried was made
by the defense yesterday. Two wit
nesses were called for this purpose,
DR.. John Nj. Allen of st. Johnsbury,
and r. II. Hunter of Hanover, n. H.
Both had made measurements of the
bedroom where Heath's body was
found, and their evidence was design
ed to show that there was not suffic-
lent space for a person to have aim
ed the revolver at the angle at which
the bullet entered the body, If as the
prosecution has contended, Heath was
on his knees at the time painting the
Dashboard OF the room.
in cross examination by Attorney
| General Sargent DR. Allen admitted
that Heath might have been standing,
and in that case he testified it would
have been possible for a bullet fired
from the hallway to have taken the
course of the shot which killed Heath.
DR.. Al3en said he had examined the re-
yolver with which Heath is supposed
to have been shot. and discovered that
1t did not stay cooked on all the cham
bers all the time. He had discovered
that it could be discharged by drop
ping it on the floor and even by drop
ping il on a pillow when the hammer
was either at full or half cock.
! He then gave a demonstration for
the benefit OF the jury. dropping the
revolver several times at half-cock
and several times at full cock, and
I on all but three occasions the ham
! mer went forward. In answer TO
series of hypothetical questions Dr.
Allen declared that one could not
shoot person standing erect and
have the bullet cause such wound as
( was found on Heath, unless the per
son doing the shooting was on the
floor or the victim standing on his
head
Using Samuel Richardson as liy-
/ ing model, DR. Allen demonstrated
that for such wound to be inflicted
on person on his knees engaged in
painting Dashboard. it would be nee
essary for the muzZle of the revolver
if held at a distance of Sls feet from
the person shot, to be on the floor He
also declared that the room where
Heath died was not large enough to
allow person on his knees painting
a Dashboard to be shot at the angle
named by the autopsy and the other
expert medical witnesses.
When shown the frock. worn by
Heath, Or. Allen said that in his opn-
ion the shot that entered Heaths body
was fired at almost precisely the same
angle described by DR.. Stone WAS
is possible" he was asked for a per
son five feet three inches tall Mrs
Dodge's height to have made this
shot and taken AIM" No" he ans
wered. Under cross examination by
Attorney General Sargent, DR. Allen
admitted that if a person was on his
knees, with his body parallel with the
floor and was shot the way Heath was
shot, the point of exit of the bullet
would be two and one-half inches
nearer the floor than the place where
the bullet entered the body
Then the witness admitted that I'M
der such condition the bullet must
have been fired from a point above
the body instead of from a point be-
low as he had testified on direct ex-
animation The noon recess gave DR..
Allen a temporary respite, but when
the afternoon session opened the at
torney general again numbered his
batteries. With States Attorney
Amey on the floor to portray the pos
tion in which Heath is said by the
prosecution to have been when he
met his death, Attorney Sargent ask,
cd 10 wi n nj n inf nv,
Mr.. Amey's body to show the course
the bullet would take to pass through
|. his body as 1t passed through the
body of Heath.
. DR. Allen was asked to take posi-
ton Is feet distant and while sitting
on the platform of the witness stand
which is seven and three-fourths in
ches high, he was asked to aim the
revolver along the line of the pointer
Z which he did He then said in ans
wer to a question that at a distanc,
of Is feet the revolver would have t
? be held still higher in order to pas
: through the body along the line o
? the pointer. Continuing his cross eX
= animation of DR.. Allen, Attorney Gen
> eral Sargent took up the matter o
. the revolver going off by being droT
J, ped on the floor would it have bee
+ possible" he asked the witness, go
the revolver to have been discharl
. ed cooked, and discharged again an
u then cooked and discharged thir
. timer" Witness did not think tina
/, 1t would.
- Under further questioning DR.. Allie
y admitted that 1t would have been pc
c sible for the shot that killed Heat
i to have been fred from the hall
'e Heath were standing at the time /
~ was shot. The last witness to /
20 called for the day was E, H. Hunter