Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-08-29
PRISONER IS
CONF FRON1EDBY
W|FE'S MOTHER
Mrs. R. W.. Owen Testifies
That Her Daughter Was
Made Unhappy by Beat
ties Dissipation.

Chesterfield Court House, Va, Aug
28.-Suddenly and without the faint
est intimation hitherto during the tria
the prosecution today confronted
Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., with Mrs
R. v. Owen, mother of the woman he
Is alleged to have murdered.
In taxfcab whose arrival was
timed to coincide exactly with the
moment Sheriff Gill exhibited in the
court room the clothing worn by
Beattie on the night of the murder
Mrs. Owen came to Chesterfield court
house, her presence in this vicinity
having been well-kept secret by
the prosecution.
Quickly and without the usual per
functory questions, Incident to the in
PRODUCTION Of new witness, Prose
cutor Wendenberg questioned the
woman as to her knowledge of the
domestic life of the Beatties and
brought to surface a point intended
as relevant to the alleged motive for
the murder, namely that Beattie's
physical condition, due to dissipation
had caused much unhappiness to his
wife. The witness said that on the
night of the murder she had caution
ed Mrs. Beattie not to go out alone
with her husband.
The prosecutions idea for today ap.
parently was to prove that Beattie
killed his wife because of his fear that
his father might learn of his condition
and cut him off from the family.
The testimony Of Mrs. Owen took
T,xI vo%a nc hn MD in
the court by surprise and immediate
ly the court suggested a recess and a
conference with counsel on both sides,
jury and prisoner to discuss further
testimony along this line.
Prosecution Seeks to Show Motive. .
The most vital broadside of the tes-
timony thus far aimed against Henry
Clay Beattie, Jr., on trial for wife
was planned by the prosecu-
tion for today's session of court here.
The story Of the motive, the under
lying propagating force that might in
cite a man to murder his wife, was
carefully assembled by the common
wealth for emission Through string
Of witnesses.
Besides arranging for testimony con-
corning Beattie's relations with Beulah
Binford as indicative of his alleged
desire to eliminate his wife so that
companionship with the Binford girl
might continue unobstructed, the COM
was prepared to pour into
the record the evidence of physicians
and others who would tell of Beattie's 8
alleged physical ills, In an effort to
show that the prisoner feared his wife
might inform his father Of them and
that the latter then might disown him.
From Rchmond's underworld, the
has secured witnesses to
testify as to Beattie's visits to certain
resorts and as to his being seen at
such places with the Binford girl The
intends to make signal
effort to impress the jury with the
testimony regarding the motive and 1t
was considered not at all impossible
that if by the end of the day the ap-
parent effect on the jury had been suf-
ficiently strong, the state would not
revert again in the trial to this line
of arguments.
May Not Call Binford Girl
Such a contingency would mean, it
is admitted, the possible. elimination
from the stand of Beulah Binford, 'the
girl in the case," from the public, but
neither the prosecution nor defense,
has looked foreward for dramatic
testimony. 1t is pointed out that the
Binford girl has made many state
ments and given many interviews,
their tenor so diversified as to make
her an uncertain witness.
1t is feared that by possible incon-
sistent statements on the stand the ef-