The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-08-31
BEATTlE BEGINS DEFENCE
OFFERS EVIDENCE To BOLSTER
Up MS OWN STORY.
One Witness Tells of seeing a BEARDED
Man with a Gun Three Miles From
scene of Murder, and Another saw
Man Near VINO seemed to he tray.

wan Near VINO seemed to BE crazy.
CHESTERFIELD COURTHOUSE. Va. Aug.
30 The grave business Of Henry Clay
Beatties defence against the charge of
wife murder began to-day after the Com
monwealth's lawyers had rested their
case
Before his lawyer. Harry Smith. Jr.
had been at work an hour he had intro
duced witness who awore that on the
evening Of the day when Mrs Beattie
was murdered on Midlothian turnpike
he had seen a rough looking man answer.
ing in vague way the description Of
Mrs. Beatties assailant. as the prisoner
himself has given it. who was walking
along the tracks Of the Southern Railway.
three miles away from the scene of the
homicide. with a single barrel shot gun
over his shoulder.
Up to the close OF to-days session no
further testimony tending to trace the
movements Of this armed man from $40
o'clock to near II O'Clock when Mrs
Beattie was fired upon, had been entered
Another witness. who seemed to he very
vague as to his facts. had taken the stand
to testify that he had seen an unusua |
lCOhnlV TldH OH lne Ml1lOInldH turnpike
on three separate occasions before July
Is, the day Of the murder. hut that was
as far a. he went
So far as Beattie's defence revealed
itself in the three and more hours Of its
opening this afternoon it was shown that
no attempt will he made to dodge the
story which the prisoner has told Of his
wife having been slain nv the charge Of
single barrelled shot gun. fred at a range
OF about SIX feet by man unknown to
Beattie. There was no hint Of possible
defence of insanit-. which had been
r,lmored in the early days Of the case.
no attempt TO establish the ground for
a verdict Of involuntary manelaughter
through the mish 7ndling OF the gun in
Beattie's own hands
The young mans lawyers have evil
IDENTIFY decided to stand or fall bv the
unusual story that their client has inter
posed in the face Of the strongly circum-
etantial evidence against him
Attorney Smith said to-day that Henry
Beattie would not 60 on the stand in his
own behalf until the rest Of the case Of
the defence was all in.
". r. Holland was the witness who laid
the chief foundation in defence Of Beattie's
story Of the murder Of his wife Holland
is a quarryman employed in the quarries
along the James River near the tracks Of
the Southern Railway. He gave his
| direct testimony in a simple. straight
, forward manner with no indication of
| eagerness to he Of assistance to Beattie
Hollands story was that between $40
| and o'clock on July Is he had seen
| man who was a stranger to him walking
along the Southern tracks in the direction
| Of the crossing Of the Midlothian turn
pike He carried single barrel shot gun
over his shoulder q circumstance that
etruci the witness as unusual because
all game laws are in force at that season
He was about IS years old Holland said
nearly six feet tall as he remem bered,
| and had a week g growth of sandy heard
on his face.
Beattie's description Of his wifes
| assailant is that he was six feet tall. very
powerful in appearance. seemed to he
about IS years old and had a growth Of
gray ash whisher covering most OF his
face
On cross-examination Holland said
that he thought he had seen this man with
the gun once before and that was over
a year ago when the latter was in the
Manchester or South Richmond police
sta ton, but not there for the commission
of crime So far a. Holland knew. He
was very sure that july ~ was the date
when he had seen this uncouth stranger
with the shotgun. No amount Of cross
examination could shake him on this
point
The other witness who backed IN the
mysterious stranger line Of testimony
was Eugene Henshaw. a milkman who
lives on the Midlothian turnpike several
miles from the spot where the homicide
was committed Henshaw. who is a
Mormon, and because Of that fact more
or less of a self-apponted hermit among
the folk of Chesterfield, did not add great
weight to the defence. All that he could
say definitely was that on three different
occasions IN the week preceding that in
which Mrs Beattie lost her life he had
seen wild looking man who acted like
lunatic either walking along Midlothian
turnpike or sitting by tho road The
man carried no gun. The Mormon milk
man did not specify how this stranger
had demonstrated the possession of
lunacy.
Because one Of the witnesses for the
prosecution. J. {. Talley. had given
damaging testimony when he said that
on the night of the murder he had heard
from MS mouse. 800 yards away from
the Midlothian turnpike, the shrill scream
Of a woman, followed Ivy the sound of a
gun. and that silence had followed great
effort was expended by the defence
this afternoon in discrediting Talley's
reputation for veracity. The attack
by the defence brought out incidentally
that Talley is regarded as the bully Of
Midlothian turnpike and that all Of his
neighbors would go a long way around
lots to avoid arouslng his wrath Be-
cause of the delicate respect several
witnesses showed in declining to state
unequivocally that Talley is a born liar
many brilliant flashes of unconscious
humor relieved the sombre proceedings
and once the court room was swept with
laughter,
This was when old Rll Pemherton. slop