Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1911-11-28
Francis J, EaSton, of Minneap-
oils, COrrobOrateS Woman'S
Plea That She Shot Husband
in SeIf-DefenSe,
PROSECUTION FAILS
TO SHAKE TESTIMONY
Both Sides Finish Introduction
of Direct EvldenCei Case viii
Go to Jury By Tomorrow
Night,
lBy Morning Journal Special Leased wire.l

BY Morning Journal Special Leased wire.l
Denver Nov. 27.--Ihe defense in
the Patterson murder ease today
placed on the stand the mysterious
eyewitness to the shooting of Charles
A. Patterson by his wife, Gertrude
gibson Patterson, announcement of
whose existence by Attorney o. n.
Hilton in his opening statement Gre
ated something of sensation.
He was Francis j. Easton. 80 years
old, who testified that he had come
from Minneapolis to appear In Mrs.
Patterson's behalf. He came to Dem
yer the day before the shooting, no
testified. from Laramie. Wyoming,
where he had ben employed by har-
ness and saddlery concern, and left
Denver two days after the affair, for
Tacoma, Washington. where he said
he visited his son.
Easton corrohorated the story told
by Mrs Patterson that she had shot
her husband after he had struck her
twice and Knocked her down and was
standing over her with his arm up
raised to strike again.
on the morning of the shooting. ne
said he had gone out to the sanitar-
ium at which Patterson was one of
the patients, and after an inspection
of the grounds had set out for a walk
in the neighbarhood. Some distance
from the sanitarium he. observed q
man and woman walking ahead of
him. They seemed to be duarreling,
he declared. They turned az a street
corner, he said, and he proceeded
straight along. When he was some
three hundred feet or so away from
the couple, he looked back, he told
the jury and saw the woman, appar-
emily reading a newspaper clipping.
She handed the clipping to the man
and as she did so he struck her in the
face, following it with second blow
that felled her. She struggled TO ono
knee, he said and fired twice In rapid
succession, following with two more
shots after a short pause The man
fell and the woman entered the
grounds of the house In front of which
the shooting had occurred, through
driveway nearby.
on cross examination, Easton said
he had seen A. b. shugart, the eye
witness placed on the stand by the
state, running to the spot but had not
gone over to the body, himself. hay-
ing turned down a street and taken a
street car back to the city, because. as
he told the jury. he did not want to
get mixed up in the affair.
Special Prosecutor Horace G.. Ben
son cross ss-examined the witness close
failed to shake the witness composure.
His father and his mother were both
dead, the witness declared.
Mr.. Benson drew from the witness
the statement that he had worked in
Denver In 1886, when he had been em-
ployed by manufacturing company
now out Of existence, and again about
year and a half ago, when he was
employed in the store room OF a local
hotel. He could not name any per-
sons or business firms with whom he
was acquainted during his first resi-
dence in Denver nor did he know the
name of the man by whim he was
employed at the hotel on his second
stay here nor the names of any one
connected with the hotel.
"Do you know Emil w Strouss?"
the prosecutor suddenly shot at him
II do not"
You did not come here from Chi
cago?"
II did not"
In her story OF the shooting Mrs
Patterson had declared that short
time before Patterson struck her the
blows that led her to shoot he had
sprung at her and bitten her on the
shoulder and she had screamed
The witness denied having seen this
occurrence although he admitted he
must have been seventy-fve feet be-
hind the couple at the time Mrs. Pat
terson alleged that this had occurred
and would have seen 1t IL il had taken
place.
on the fact that Easton made no
effort to go to Patterson's assistance
after the shooting and had made no re-
port Of what he had seen, the prosecu-
tor dwelt with emphasis.
Easton was the last witness for the
defense and after his cross examina-
tion the state commenced its testimony
I'm rebuttal, its most important witness
being Mrs. Mary K. Patterson, the
mother Of the dead man. who through
out the day sat opposite her daugh-
ter n-law at the counsel table.
When the elder woman took the
stand the prisoner covered her eyes
with her hand and did not look up
while the examination of the witness
was in progress.
The elder Mrs. Patterson, the pur-
pose of whose testimony was to inn
peach the defendants testimony on a
number of points, told Of n family
conference just prior to her daugh-
er-ln-law's trip abroad with Emil
J istrouss. regarding the advisability OF