The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1911-08-29
STORIES CONFLICT
Witness COntradiCtS State
meUt Made by BeattiG.
HEARD A KOMAN'S SCREAM
Climax In Trial May Be Reached
When Paul Beattie, Who Pur-
chased the Gun, and Beulah
Binford Go On Stand.


Chesterfield Courthouse, Va, Aug
26.-Thc climax OF the common
weallh's case against Henry c. Beat
tie. Jr., standing trial here for wife
murder. will come when Paul Beattie,
his cousin, will take the stand. The
testimony Of two days has been lead
Ing up to and preparing FOR this step
That given Friday was, inHmany par
tlculars, sharply damaging against
the young prisoner. and remained I'M
shaken under fire OF cross-eXamina'
ton. Beulah Binford may also be put
on the stand some time during the
day.
The attorneys for the prosecution
will attempt to show through Paul
Beattie's testimony that the gun
which was found on the turnpike the
day after Mrs. Beattie was murdered
and which has hitherto remained uni
Identified before the court as to own
ershlp was the same gun that Paul
Beattle bought at a pawnshoD at the
instance Of Henry c. Beattie and turn
ed over TO him.
Most serious of the testimony
against Beattie was that Of one wit
ness. who swore that at five minutes
before IL o'clock on the the night
OF July IS he heard a womans shrill
scream al the spot on the Midlothian
turnpike. about 500 yards from his
house. and that the stream was fol-
lowed almost instantly by the re-
port Of a gun. Another witness testi'
fed to having seen man much re-
sembling Beattie standing by an au-
tomobile about twenty or thirty feet
from the spot afterwards marked By
a pool Of blood.
The trend Of the prosecution :
case has been cumulative. The first
thing that Judge Watson did al the
opening OF court In the morning was
to rule against the motion made By
the defense attacking the Indictment
on technical grounds.
George FARRELL, a Richmond detec
tive, began the building up Of Sc
rious menace against the prisoner
when he repeated the story Beattie
had told him on the night OF Mrs
Beattle's death as to the incidents OF
the holl-up on the road by bearded
hiehwayman. FARRELL said that Beat
tie had declared that the assailani
had stood at the right Of the machine
when he leyeled his gun and fired, and
that the explosion came just as he
Beattle. had bent over to throw the
clutch on his engine. The charge
which he had lodged by his quick
movement TO throw on the clutch, had
struck his wife, according 10 the yer
sion repeated by Jarrel.
The story young Beattie told at the
coroner's inquest and repeated by wit
ness9y at this trial who heard II was
that the assailant with the gun had
appeared at the left side Of the ma
chine. and that Mrs Beattie, who was
sitting in the left hand seat, received
the charge as the machine jumped for
ward. Mrs. Beattle was shot In the
left cheek.
When W. W. Sydnor a deputy
sheriff who owns two bloodhounds
took the stand he told how he had hur
ried to the scene Of the crime with his
dogs early on the morning following
the shooting, and how his dogs started
at the dark stain of blood In the road
and went straight to a stump a fe"
yards of the road, circled 1t and re
turned again to the blood marks
Mandy Alexander, Mandy Alexan
der" Sheriff Gill next called.
Mandy, colored, was sitting out un
der the shade of the locust trees with
her shoes of to ease the misery OF
her feet. She hurried into court Win
shoes only half on to tell how she
the first to discover II, had found the
shotgun lying between the rails OF the
railroad near o'clock on the morning
after the murder.
When Roland Sydnor was called
and told of seeing an automobile al
the spot where the murder was com
mitted a few hours later, Attorney
Wendenburg, the prosecutor, showed
him the bloodstained coat that Beattit
had worn on the night Of the murder
and asked him II he could remember
whether or not the man he had seer
alone by the machine that afternoon
had worn that coat The witness said
that he thought that was the same
though he could not be positive. Bu
he fixed the Identification upon Beat
tie more clearly when he swore tha
the bloodstained automobile which h'
saw al the inquest was the same tha
he had seen on the pike on the even
ing Of July Is.
There was a stir In the courtroom
when Squire w. A. Jacob, in answe
IN n question in cross-examination
said that ne had seen a bloody gaunt
let lying in the bottom Of the car OF
the night of the murder. No men
ton had been made In the case o
this piece OF evidence. Prosecution
and defense each accused the other o
having hidden the gauntlet, and wheI
the court questioned attorneys on boil
sides It appeared that neither knew