East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1912-02-05
After Three Hours DeIibera-
ton, Jury Clears Her Of
Forgery Charge. |.
VERDICT IS A SURPRISE
Woman Receives Her Freedom in
Matter of Fact Manner-District
Attorney Intimates Sex OF Defend
ant Prevented Conviction.

Mrs. Mabel Young Warner is not
guilty Of uttering forged will as
charged in the Indictment against
| her such was the verdict of the
twelve men who heard the testimony
of the trial last week and it was
reached after little more than three
Ehours of deliberation. The case was
consigned to their hands shortly be-
fore o'clock Saturday evening and
ten minutes before the midnight
hour, they returned with a verdict
iacquitting the defendant.
Although considerable surprise was
! felt that Mrs Warner should be ac-
quilted the general opinion being
that the jury would disagree, the
greatest surprise was expressed that
a verdict could be reached in so short
a time. When shortly before IL
o'clock, Judge Bradshaw was notified
that the jury was ready to report, the
little crowd which had stayed up in
anticipation of verdict was divided
/ in its forecast of the announcement
and even Mrs. Warner confident as
she expressed herself of an acquittal
seemed just a little fearful lest the
verdict would not justify her conf
dence.
She received the reading of the YER
dict declaring her not guilty calmly
bus there was a look of triumph in
her eyes as she shook hands with
every one present except DIR. Watts,
not even overlooking Judge James A.
Fee, who has been her foe in the
g.,
the verdict fulfilled all of her pre-
dictions.
| First Ballot s to 4.
| According to reports, the first bal
! lot cast by the jury after it had re-
| tired showed eight for acquittal and
! four for conviction. The next divis-
ion, it is said, indicated eleven for
acquittal and one for conviction at
which status it stood until the one
dissenter was won over to the con-
clusion of his fellow jurymen.
The opposing attorneys, in COM
menting on the case. all speak highly
OF the manner in which Judge Brad
shaw of The Dalles conducted the
trial. Both sides declared the in
structions to the jury very fair.
Messrs Johnson and Skrable, who
represented the defendant. are mod
est in their victory but declare they
were satisfied as to the outcome af-
ter the second day District Attorney
Van Vactor declares he labored hard
to secure a conviction and intimates
that the fact of the defendant being
woman might have had considerable
| tO do with hic foi1,ra to win,
The Closing Pleas.
In the defense's closing plea to the
jury, Johnson declared emphatically
that there We're only two issues in
the case, namely, "Was the fourth
Will forgery and did the defendant
know it to be a forgery when she
executed it?" All other evidence, he
said, bearing on other wills" and ac-
tions in connection with them had no
| bearing upon the issues except to
show the intent and state of mind of
Mrs Warner, and the judge in his
| instructions, bore out the attorneys
contention.
District Attorney Van Vactor in
closing his case, admitted that the
defendant had lived with ]. w. Young
and that her uncle might at one time
| have intended that the property
should go to her at his death, but
he maintained, there had been a
break in the relations between the
two when twelve years before the old
mans DEATH the defendant left
home and went on the vaudeville
stage
| Trial Expensive One. "a.
The long trial was one of the most
expensive in the history of the local
court. it being estimated to have
cost the county $4,000.