Smyrna times., 1911-08-23
BEATTIE MURDER
TRIAL BEGINS
His Fight For Life Now on at
Chesterfield Court House.
ACCUSED OF NUMBERING WEE

Reasonable Doubt" on Which to
Base an Appeal In Case of ConVic.
ton.
When Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., went
on trial for his life, there began in the
old courthouse of Chesterfield trial
which will be a fight all along the
line, with the shrewdest legal wits in
the Old Dominion engaging in con-
test which for keenness, for alert
thrust and parry, feint and repartee
will rival any murder trial ever held
in the country.
There started a thrilling drama, with |
its denouement the life or death Of
Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., a drama be- |
cause interest will steadily mount I'M
til the climax comes, the verdict u the |
jury; a drama because there will be
present that collision of character and
will which is the essence of true
drama.
Yet it will be no make-believe af-
fair of the stage, but a real-life, awe
somely earnest and intense battle,
with young mans life as the stake.
In probably a day or two Louis o.
Wendeburg, special prosecutor, will
make his opening statement TO the
jury, and will narrate to that body the
story of a crime which has made the
civilized world shudder--a crime, Mr..
Wendenburg called the other day "of
monstrous wickedness, of utter cru
city"
The commonwealth will tell the jury
of a murder so brutal that it has made
many ask if this tale of barbaric cru
city can be true; if it is so that a
young wife and mother was thus wan
tonly done to death by one sworn to
love and cherish and protect her, by
him, of all others, from whom the
utter opposite of what the state says
happened ought to have been ex-
pected.
The commonwealth will hurl at
Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., in a day or
two, evidence which, it says, will con-
vince the most skeptical. The COM
mOnwealth will show:
That Beattie quarreled violently
with his wife during the latter part
of June and early July
That Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., got
his cousin, Paul Beattie, to purchase
an ancient ramshackle single-barreled
shotgun and three shells for him only
three days before the murder.
That Beattie was two hours late in
keeping his appointment with his
wife at the Thomas Owen home, and
that he was seen at the scene of the
crime during this time, preparing for
the murder
That tracks led from the blood spot
in the road to a stump, tracks CORE
spending to Beattie's footprints
tracks leading from the side of the au
tomobile where Beattie says he die
not stand.
That the bloodhounds given the
scent led to this stump and back AGAR
to the car, and would take no othe
trail
That Beattie was seen bending owe
his car by young Richmond merry
makers returning from a dance a
Banair, and on being offered assist
ance by them refused it.
That Beattie lied about his wife
not getting out of the car, lied abou
his whereabouts during the early PAL
of the evening; lied about a numbe
of other vital points.
That his story of the ''tall-bearde
man" is discredited by the fact tina
although the whole countryside wa
secured and raked fine within a ver
few hours, not trace of the man wa
discovered.
That Beattie had only a sligl
scratch on his nose from the cras
ing blow which he says the "ta
bearded man" gave him with the bu
end of the shotgun.
That Beattie, not a powerful ma
wrested, he says, the gun from th
six feet four stranger, but then pa
no further attention to him, and
not try to strike him with the gun.
That Reattie was not really upset
an re.u he came in with his wifi
dead body in his arms, and that
has been cool, calm and collected ey
since, including the time of the
quest, when Paul Beattie was givi
his most damaging testimony.
That at the funeral he was I
coolest person present.
That the bones of Mrs Beatti
head aI,cve the eye were crushed
by what must have been a teTr
blow, while Beattie has said his "
was simply shot and not struck.
That Mrs Beattie's body must h;
lain in the road (Beattie denies t
she left the carr because her hair '
found full Of dirt.
These facts and others the G.
monwealth will tell the jury it
prove The defense is still an el
ma. The best guesses is that b
ties shrewd lawyers hope to discr,
Paul Beatties testimony, and
rails a reasonable doubt that Henr,
guilty in the monds of one OF n
Jurors, thus getting a disagreem
Falling this, the defense hopes fo