The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-08-30

panied the detective IN an automobile
in his search.
Ben P. owen. another uncle of the
murdered woman, who assisted 10 the
search for blood spots, testified:
4 made careful examination of the
road from the scene of the crime tc
my brother Toms house and saw no
blood spots except the first blood"
Thomas Wrenn, another detective,
gave more corroborative testimony cf
the absence of additional blood spots.
a Jolt for the Prosecution.
Chesterfield, Aug. 30.=Hasty prepa-
rations were made over night by the
commonwealth to combat today the
testimony given by fifteen-year-o -old
Alexander Robertson yesterday that he
had seen on the Midlothian turnpike
blood spots other than the pooI of
blood where Mrs. Henry G. Beattie,
jr., is alleged to have been killed by
her husband.
The significance of the lads declara-
tions is that if it should be proven that
there were many blood spots on the
road it would support the contention
of the defense that the first pool of
blood dripped from the machine from
the bleeding woman, who was alleged
by Beattie to have been shot while in
the front seat. on the other hand the |
prosecution wished to show that there |
was but one blood spot, that no blood !
could have oozed from the machine |
and that the large pool resulted from |
the shooting of Mrs. Beattie While she |
board or in the road. Thus the COM |
monWealth had intended to puncture |
the original explanation of the crime |
made by the prisoner. Detective Scher- |
er, who has been most active in work |
ing up the case for the prosecution, /
was selected by the cOmmOnWe ealth to /
ref e the testimony of young Robert I
son. Scherer was expected to tell how |
he in company with many others look /
ed for blood spots at daybreak after /
the murder and how after Il con- |
tinuous long search only the one blood |
spot was found.
Got Idea from Newspaper.
Explaining the alleged finding by the
boy on the second morning after the |
murder of spots which apparently had /
escaped the scrutiny of a large de-
tective, the prosecution had planned |
to show that what the boy really did |
was to read the day after the murder
a story in an afternoon paper on which |
his older brother is employed telling
Of the discovery of many blood spots |
and that the next day Robertson went |
out and located the alleged blood |
spots referred to in the newspaper.
In spite of this the prosecution had
summoned the detective who in good |
faith gave to the newspaper the story
in question to tell how he later found
that he had been mistaken and that
the additional blood spots which he
he saw were spots caused by
After these witnesses the proSecu-
ton intended to rest its case today.
The line Of argument to be taken up
by the defense in the trial was expect
ed to be revealed today from the testi-
mOny of it's first few witnesses. 1t was
that an effort would be made
to attack the veracity of Paul D. Beat
tie to reduce the effect of his testi-
mony concerning an alleged confession
by Henry G. Beattie. jr., to him about
the murder. That Paul had been dis
charged from certain positions, the
his life We're to be testified to by wit
nesses for the defense, but the most
attack on him is expected
when the prisoner himself takes the
stand, the day or hour for which has
not been fixed.
Since there We're no witnesses pres
ent when Henry is alleged to have told
Paul Il wish L had not done it." the
defense will make every effort to have
the word of the prisoner set aside that
of his cousin Paul
Paul Remains in Jail
On direct examination by Prosecutor
Wendenburg. when the latter was
seeking to show where the boy found a
certain yellow hairpin similar to that
worn by Mrs. Beattie, Robertson re-
ferred to its distance from ''the first
blood spot
Were there two blood spots? - asked
Harry NJ. Smith, jr., counsel for The de-
Tense, in apparent surprise. The boy
not only told of a second blood spot but
Robertson was summoned as a wit
ness by the prosecution only fo~ the
purpose of stating that he had found a
hair pin, but his testimony as a re-
suit of the questions of the counsel for
the defense soon established that he
would be an important witness for the
defense and he subsequently VIII be
called by the defense if necessary.
The Robertson boy. a brother of a re-
porter on one of the Richmond neWspa-
pers, has been employed about the
court room in carrying his brother $
from the court house to 4
telegraph office nearby, and as he fin
shed in the witness chair he grabbed
several sheets of matter written by his /
brother about his own testimony and
dashed to the improvised telegraph Of
lice in a barn about 75 yards away
Henry c. Beattie, jr., the ac cused,
and Paul D. Beattie. his cousin, who
yesterday on the witness stand told Of
IN alleged confession by Henry con-
,erning the murder, were confined in !
cells in Chesterfield county
ail last night
Paul hitherto had been kept in con-
iinement in Richmond in default CT ,
pond, but after he finished on the Wit
less stand, Judge Watson suddenly or
lered his retention in Jail here