The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1911-08-26

I
room where the body was" said The
witness. "He asked me for some
whiskey and sent out for some
and several times he inquired If his
wife was dead. He also request
ed several times that | telephone tC
his father
ITO what extent did Beattie use
the whiskey?" asked counsel for tho
Commonwealth.
II am pretty certain | saw him
take a drink said owen, land lat
or found half pint bottle empty.
He could not swear, however. that
the prisoner had drank it all
The witness described the beard
ed highwayman, pictured to him
by Beattie as his wife's murderer, re
peated Beattie's story OF the al
legged ecounter and told Of a scratch
on Beattle's face which the prison
er had said the man in the road in
inflicted.
Did the accused render you any
aid in an attempt to identify the as
sassin?" owen was asked.
His description OF the man was
the only aid" replied the witness.
who first suggested blood
hounds to trace the assassin ?'
Asked Mr.. Smith.
II think did," said owen.
do you not recall Henry having
said Get the hounds and spare no
expense?"
Il remember nothing OF the
kind"
When the Commonwealth counsel
announced that IL was through with
the witness. Attorney II. VI. smith,
jr, for the defense, began the cross
examination. Beattie toyed with a
pencil. but closely followed the tes-
timony.
With a view to showing that II
Bcattie had contemplated murder he
would not have selected the Mid
lothian turnpike. the witness was
asked to describe the highway
which. he admitted was one popular
with automobillsts.
Commonwealth attempted to show
that Beattie refrained from inviting
any members OF the owen family to
ride In the automobile the night Of
the murder in order that he might
BIO alone with his wife. But the
court ruled out questions along this
line. Recess OF an hour was taken
for luncheon.
The Stuart woman testified that
Beattie and the Binford girl had
been at a questionable resort, OF
which she was proprietor In Rich
mond, four times within the two
months preceding the murder, tho
last time being July II, the night
before the crime. Beulah Binford,
she testified. she had known for
several years
The Commonwealth introduced
in evidence a letter written by the
defendant to the Binford girl and
identified as such at the inquest.
Penned on his 'atber's business sta
tioncry, Beattie wrote in part:
Dear Kid Pay this on the fur
niture and make him give you
an itemized account of what you
must pay each week. Well. be good
With oceans of love. trimming
with kisses, yours, Hon
The boy showed no emotion when
the letter was read, but the elder
Beattie held a palm-leaf fan in
front Of his face
Drs. Mann and Mercer described
wound i'm Mrs. Beattie's head and
both said that in their opinion death
was instantaneous. DR.. Mann also
described the wound which the de-
hn iat 4 ma n of
ed on him as superficial scratch.
He related how he had eXamined1
Louise Beattie's body as II lay on
the floor, pictured >the ugly gun
shot wound near the left side Of
the nose and said that the direction
Of the shot was back slightly TO the
right and tending upward.
If she had been standing In the
road and d man the height OF her.
husbapd fired the shot, would
it have inflicted a wound such as
described"
This question. put by Attor-
ney Gregory, for the prosecution,
brought counsel for the defense to
their feet with objections, and the
court sustained them.
When DR.. Mann dressed the
scratch on Beattie's nose he asked
Beattie If white man or a neg
70 had fired the shot and Beattie re
piled. "A white man
Did you see him shed any tears
while you were there" the physician
was asked.
Il did not" he replied "He was
very composed under the cir
Trying to show that Mrs Beat
tie had been shot, not as she sat in
the car but while lying PROSTATE in
the roadway. DR.. Mann was asked
il there was any grit in the hair
when he examined the body.
There was a gritty feeling" he
said. but the hair was caked with
blood and | did not look for grit
at the time"
The court sustained the defense
in objections to questions concern
ing Dr. Mann treating the prisoner
some time before the murder
Attorney Smith asked DR.. Mann
IL it were not possible that all the
in Louise Beattie's skull
was due solely to the gunshot wound
The witness said: Yes, that is pos
sible. "
did you see Henry Beattio shed
any tears when you were at the
Owen homer" DR.. Mercer was
asked.
mo. sir. His first request was
for whiskey, but brandy was pro-
cured first and later some whiskey
About 1 o'clock | could notice that
he was staggering and | recall that
he asked me to have a drink"
Detectives Wren and Wiltshire
went over in detail their visit TO
the scene Of the crime in the
early moring hours after the muir
der.
Both insisted the blood stains In
the road could not have been made
by blood dripping through the auto
mobile, and they were at a loss to
explain how they came there unless
the victim was out of the car.
The Commonwealth pursued this
line with view to showing that
Beattie shot his wife after he had
knocked her down and had then
lifted her body into the car.
no.