The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-11-25

made Il dramatic witness for the prose
cution in the trial of the Shooting
Girls" Lillian Graham and Ethel
Conrad, to-day, when he declared that
| one Of them told him they were pre-
pared to dispose of his body after
| killing him.
Acting out every role. in pantoinine,
Stokes described how he was shot
when he visited the actresses apart
ments. June 7. last, 10 obtain bunch
of letters which they had agreed to
return to him. Crouching low In the
witness chair he described how LII
liam Graham crept toward him, revolt
yer In hand. and said there were three
men in the apartment ready to aid
them hide his body after he had been
killed.
Mrs. Stokes, the young wife of the
complainant, listened attentively willis
| the thrilling story was revealed. Miss
Graham sobbed frequently during
stokes recital of the events while Miss
Conrad soothed her and looked de-
fiantly at the aecuser.
The court room was crowded and
| outside the doors a hundred or more
persons struggled to gain entrance.
stokes was calm throughout his tes-
tlmony. The nonchalance of the ac-
tresses which has marked their con-
quot since the shooting had vanished.
Tells Of Circumstances.
during the morning session Stokes
told of the circumstances OF his meet
ing Lillian Graham. at the Hotel An
sonia, in 1905. Against his advice she
mad gone on the stage. He said he
was a divorce then.
Immediately after the luncheon re-
cess Stokes began his recital of the
shooting
lie said he went to the Naruna at
ABOUT . O'Clock on the evening of June
= went UP TO the apartment. and was
admitted by Ethel Conrad.
4 came to get my letters" testified
Mr. stokes We walked to the par
Tor. Miss Conrad laughing and chat
tlng After ! was In the parlor / saw
MISS Graham coming down the hall,
| and she held revolver, pointed to-
"ard me. She was crouched down,
her revolver pointed this way" Here
stokes crouched in the witness chair.
ms right arm crooked and his index
Hh9er bent over an imaginary revolt
Yer.
What did she say7" asked Mr..
Buckner, assistant district attorney.
she said. Now, I've got you-you,
III teach you that you can't Islander
the name of my dead mother and nv
1
10 Ethel Conrad and said. You told
me this afternoon that Miss Graham
mad gone abroad. l had perfect con-
Huence and trust In. YOU. What kind
OF Same n this She said, oh, ,ts ali
part Of trick
All the time Miss Graham was
pointing the revolver at me. Than
MISE Conrad said. II you do what
we tel you 1t will be all right. No
one knows that you came here. You
came on the sly l made no reply.
MISS Graham made the same state
ment In loud voice
Death Scene Arranged.
Then one Of them said We are
TWO witnesses. Also, we hava got
1hree men in there-pointing to a
rear room--'who can see everything
mat goes on and hear what is aatd
we nave made arrangements to get
rid of your body
Then Miss Conrad said You sit
there at that desk and write what
We tell YOU. They talked II OYER
and Miss Conrad dictated. I, w. T.
u. stokes, falsely and slanderously
made'-then Miss Graham interrupt
ed and said. i know what to write
and TO have him write AS she was
talking Miss Conrad said, Lily. you
put Your revolver to his head and
III dictate the statement
Il said, Girls. I know nothing
about those stories. / never said
them. I'll make no retraction, for
| have nothing to retract. and when
! make up my mind to do nothing,
nothing in Gods world can make
me do it. This is blackmail. pure
and simple. II you kill me, YOU
ha trJ, 81,
Miss Graham said. oh, I'll say
I'm crazy Miss Conrad said. oh, no.
nothing like that. We will say we
did 1t in self-defense
Following his refusal to sign the
statement he was given the aiterna-
tive Of giving them $4,000 or losing
his life.
so you say it's $4,000 or death ?"
he said.
He was assured as to this under.
standing OF the case, and then, he
says. he exclaimed:
Shot Him In Leg.
Well. ! say IL It's one cent or
death. l take DEATH
With that Miss Graham exclaim-
ed: ~Oh. you win, viii you 80 and
opened fire.
One bullet struck him insthe thigh,
bnother fiattened against some keys
and two half dollars in his trousers
pocket,
He then made dive for Miss Ora
ham and grabbed the gun, wrenching
it from her grasp. though not before
another shot had been fred. the pow
der from which burned his hand
Miss Conrad then went 10 the
kitchen, he said, got her revolver
and shot him in the calf of the left
leg.&
Following that she began to scream
Murder. police" which reused the
house. and eventually led to his be-
ing rescued. though not till he had
been beaten up by three Japanese
servants
MIR. Stokes showed no evidence of
the wounds inflicted by the shots
fred In the girls rooms. He gave
his testimony in calm, clear tone,
and never once glanced toward the
two girls. although they watched
him closely.
Following short examination of tho
witness, adjournment was taken untn
Monday morning,