The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-11-20
DROWNED
OR STRANGLED
Gibson Who Is Charged With
Having Murdered Mrs.
Rosa szsbo.
ACCIDENT IN BOA
Witness Who Saw IL All, AdmIts on
Cross Examination That He Did
Not See az Much az he
Thought.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service.l
GOSHEN, N. Y, Nov. 20.--With he
work Of its case completed the pros.
ecution in the trial OF Burton W.
Gibson, for the murder of Mrs. Rosa
Szabo, today presented its expert wit
nesses who testified that the woman
died as the result OF strangulation and
not by drowning as Gibson claims
Gibson and his wife chatted and
laughed together In court for. half an
hour before the trial opened. They
seemed light-hearted and very conf
dent.
The first witness called, John Min
turn. Greenwood Lake merchant,
swnre positively today that he saw
the pair fall out Of the boat. Both
were standing up, he said, and he
saw the mans hands go up towards
the woman's neck. Then both seem
ed to bend over and a moment later
he saw the splash as they went into
the water
The witnesses used court attend
ant to illustrate what he said hap
pened. Gibson and his wife followed
every word and movement OF the wit
ness carefully, the accused man smil-
ing sarcastically.
The boat did not capsize, said Min
turn Shortly after the splash he
saw the man come up and swim to
ward the boat He threw his arms
over it and overturned 1t. Then he
clung to 1t.
Minturn did not stand mp wel Under
cross-examination. He became much
confused, occasionally contradictins
himself and finally admitting that he
Twas hazy in his recollection of things
he had told Of on direct examination
! Minturn admitted that he was SO faI
from the scene of the accident that
he was unable to say whether 1t was
a man and woman In the boat, OF
two men, and he also admitted that he
was mistaken when, in his origina
! story. he said that he had recognized
/ Gibson as the man he saw struggling
/ in the water.
Minturn denied ever having beer
an inmate of an insane asylum, bu
i said once he was $50 i'll he had to &c
away for treatment.
il Fred C. Tilden, superintendent o
& the Bay View cemetery in New Jer
1 sey, told of selling the grave to Gln
son and Edward l.. Weston, Jerse.
Il City undertaken told of exhumint
the body for the autopsy.
Mrs. Margaret Stern testified tha
she knew the dead woman as MRS
Ritter told her about July tina
5 she was going to Europe on July ~
About the latter part of July. Gibsol
sold her some of Mrs. Ritters cloth
y ing, saying that the woman had gon'
}, away.
i On cross-examination the witness
} admitted that she had had severa
ouarrels with both Mrs. Ritter" AM
5 Gibson and that she was not friend
: ly toward either.
Franz Menschik said he had recei1
ed frequent letters and post card
from his sister. He received a lette
= from her in June saying that she wa
coming home and telling her famil
that she had saved some fiftee
thousand dollars during her stay 1
the United States.
Menschik identified picture of hi
sister. He told of the death of the
mother and said that Mrs. Szab
: knew of it.
Mrs. George Teichman Of Ne
!, York, said Gibson came to her hous
on July 27 and asked for letters fe
! Mrs Szabo. She asked him wn
Mrs. Szabo had not sailed for HON
as she intended but he told her ths
she would go later and said nothin
: about her having been drowned.