Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-08-31
Prosecution Must Call More
Witnesses to Explain.
He SAW SECOND BLOOD SPOT
Ths Upsets to Certain Degree
Fabric of Evidence Carefully Built
Up by Commemorative Pros
ecutor Wendenburg.

Chesterfield Court House. Va, Aug
30.-The carefully welded case built
up against Henry C. Beattie, Jr.,
charged with wife murder, was more
nearly upset by boy in his teens
called as witness for the common
wealth to testify against that young
man than by any cross-examination Of
lawyers for the defense during the en-
tire progress of the trial.
The witness, Alexander Robertson,
was the last that the prosecution in
tended to call in the direct presenta-
ton of it's case. He had not been on
the stand fifteen minutes when Louis
Wendenburg, commonwealth prose
he would have to call several more
witnesses because Of the boys unex-
pected evidence.
be What the boy had to say was that
on the day after the murder of Mrs.
Beattie he had discovered another
spot of blood on the Midlothian turn
pike than that which has constantly
entered in evidence as marking the
spot where the woman met her death.
This blood stain, about as big as
a saucer, so the boy testified, was
about a mile and half nearer Rich
mond than that to which many wit
nesses have testified.
1t was just about where the rail-
road tracks cross the turnpike On
the face of it this statement has lit
tie significance, but IN the weight Of
testimony introduced by the common.
wealth it may have great Importance
This is because the theory of the
prosecution has consistently been that
Henry Clay Beattie shot his wife while
she was standing on the road away
from the automobile in which she and
her husband had ridden up the dark
road. After large pool of blood had
collected where the murdered woman
fell Beattie had placed the body in
the front seat of the car and driven
back to town with it.
The prosecution has had many wit
nesses state that it would have been
impossible for the large pool Of blood
to have collected had Mrs. Beattie
been shot while she was sitting in the
car, IS Beattje alleges she was when
she met her death On the day that
the jury viewed the car wherein the
homicide is said by the defense to
have occurred, at the suggestion Of
NeDdorhuro every man made Q close
inspection to see if it was possible,
what the commonwealth lawyers
have advanced that no blood could
have dTinreG through the base Of the
car to the road Yet Alexander Rob
ertson when asked how far from the
blood spot he had been when on the
day following the ho"0icide he had
picked up a yellow ceIluloid bGirpin,
already in evidence answered by ask
ing which blood sTOt?"
The lawyers for the defense knew
what he meant by this query: they
had summoned him as a witness and
had intended to throw a surprise into
the prosecution by bringing out hrough
Il is boy that there had been another
telltale mark a mile and more away
from the first This was to have been
the support of their theory that every
thing might have been as Beattie
said; that when his wife was shot her
blood had dripped through the floor
Of the car to the road and that. again,
when he stopped outside of Richmond
to relight the lamp that had gone out
the same thing occurred.
Attorney Wendenburg for the prose
cntiCn will now have to summon sew
eral witnesses to testify that it is
physically impossible that fluid spilled
on the front seat of the automobile
in which Beattle took his wife out to
ride on the night of July Is should
drop through to the ground.