The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-05-03
THEY'LL BLAME ME-
FORT, FORT WAS
MY REVOLVER"
Testimony Of Minister in Dodge
Murder Case
HIS WIFE ALSO A WITNESS
Rev and Mrs. n. C. Howard Were
First to Arrive at Dodge Home
After Heath Was Killed

Guildhall, May 3.--That Mrs. Flor
ence Nj. Dodge OF Lunenburg, VT,
who is on trial here charged with the
murder of William Heath, declared re-
peatedly on the day of the murder
that Heath shot himself and that she
didn't know it was loaded" was the
testimony given in the county court
yesterday by Rev. II. G. Howard and
his wife, who were the first to arrive
on the scene after the shooting. Mrs.
Dodge made the statement, according
to the minister's testimony, that she
and Heath, who was employed in
painting room in her house, had
been talking about burglars and that
Heath had remarked that since his
wife had had diamond ring he had
kept a revolver in the house In re-
ply, Mrs Dodge told Heath, 1t was
testified that she also had revolver
and kept 1t in a drawer, which she
pointed out.
Mr.. Howard, who is pastor OF the
Congregational church and who lived
next door to Mrs. Dodge testified that
he was lying down when he heard
sounds which might have been shots
and that soon afterward he heard
Mrs. Dodge calling for help and ask
ing some one to go for a DOCTOR He
went and on his return entered the
room in the Dodge house where
Heath lay on his back on the floor
In a talk with Mrs. Dodge she told
him, the minister said that she had
heard shots and that she ran into the
room where Heath had been working
and found him lying on his face. She
turned him over, and gave him some
brandy and then tried TO telephone
but could not get response to her
call.
They'll blame me for it, for it was
my revolver" Mrs. Dodge said, ac-
cording to the minister's testimony
Mrs Howard testified to a converse.
ton with Mrs. Dodge, who, she said,
was excited and very nervous. Some
Of the ordinations attributed to
Mrs Dodge by Mrs Howard were:
Heath has shot himself" I've tried
to telephone, but couldn't get cen
trail" Something terrible has hap
pened, oh if there had only been
some one there" II gave him some
brandy" They will blame me be-
cause it was my pistol, | didn't know
it was loaded, " Get some one to help
me-" These remarks, Mrs. Howard
said, were made while her husband
was calling a physician. In response
to questions, Mrs. Howard, said that
Mrs Dodge had repeated many times
that she wished some one had been
there" and that she didn't know it
was loaded" She was still on the
stand when court adjourned for the
day.
Other witnesses called during the
afternoon were Abraham e. Quacken-
Dos and his wife of Wellesley. They
were visiting in Lunenburg, and were
sitting, they testified, on the steps Of
the Congregational church when they
heard the shots. They placed the
time at about 11:40 a. M Among the
exhibits introduced by the govern
ment yesterday were plaster casts
showing the marks of bullets in the
floor of the room where Heath was
found.
The jury was completed yesterday
morning. 1t had been expected gen
orally that considerable time would
be required for the selection of a
jury, inasmuch as Essex county, in
which the alleged crime was commit
ed, and in which the case is being
tried, is sparsely settled, and great
interest in the murder case has been
manifested by all the inhabitants,
Judge A. Hall of ST Adams is presid-
ing. OF the IL men who will hear the
evidence in the case of Mrs. Dodge,
eight are farmers, one is merchant,
one a blacksmith. another a locomo-
tive engineer, and another a me-
chanic. The jury is composed as
follows.
A. w. Bosworth, merchant, Brigh.
ton (foreman) l.. J. Pozcur, black
smith, Brighton; George II. Davis,
farmer, Concord; A. II Williams, far
mer, Concord; William p Deering,
farmer, Guildhall; Eugene Rivers,
farmer, Brighton Fred Frizzell far
mer, Canaan; Carl f. Ball, farmer,
East Haven; c. d. Thurston, locomo-
tive engineer, Brighton; Edward H.
Brain, mechanic, Concord . Alexan-
der j. Smith, farmer, CRANKY; Ola
Buzzell, farmer, Bloomfield.
The courthouse was thronged.
Even the prospect of seeing a ire
mendous log drive down the Con
necticut river was not enough to keep
the people of the countryside from
crowding into the little one story
courthouse.