The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-12-01
SAID CRAIG WAS A
BETRAYER OF GIRLS
Pros e cutor Inman Makes
Startling Charges in Ad-
dress to the Jury.
NO SPIRIT EVIDENCE
Testimony Will Be From In
habitants of This World,
Jury Is Informed.
NO SPIRIT EVIDENCE

SHELBYVILLE, Ind, Dec. IA
Jury for the trial of DR.. w. B. Craig,
on a murder charge in connection with
the death of DR.. Helene Knabe, of In
annapolis, was secured at noon to-
day. The jury consists of eleven
farmers and one railroad man.
At 1870 p. m, East Inman began his
opening statement for the prosecution.
That DIR. Craig seduced high
school girl and when she asked him to
marry her he said to her, 81 pay
cash, was the startling and dramatic
statement of State Counsel Inman in
his opening address to the jury when
the court convened for the afternoon
session.
Find Girl in Florida.
I'VE will endeavor to prove that Dr.
Craig did this same thing with anoth-
er girl and afterwards compromised
with her. continued Mr.. Inman
This girl has just been found in Flor
ida
Attorney Inman frankly told the
jury that the State Of Indiana will rely
upon no fact nor word which has come
from the spirit world and that the
state would produce evidence of strict
ly legitimate nature coming from the
lips Of men and women of this world
and not from the world beyond.
The defense is expected to endeav
or to show, however, that much of the
states evidence was gained through
spiritualistic mediums.
LAS one of the misfortunes of this
case the state will be able to bring
no eye witnesses to this crime before
your" said Attorney Inman. We eX-
pect, however. to bring before you
train of circumstances, all pointing I'M
mistakably not only in the direction
of murder. but in the direction OF
DIR. Craig as the guilty man"
Attorney Inman then briefly ors.
lined the lives of DR.. Knabe and d
Craig, of their first acquaintanc"
through their connection at the Ind!
annapolis Veterinary college. Inman
said there will be no direct proof of
an engagement between them to marry,
but circumstances will be overwhelm
ingly in that direction, he said.
Unique Angles to Case.
AS the time for hearing opening
statements and the introduction of
witnesses approached in the trial of
DR.. Craig, the case promised to be-
come fully as unique as the death of
the woman physician was mysterious.
The selection of a jury without any
effort on the part of the prosecution
to ascertain the attitude of it's mem
bers regarding the death penalty con-
stituted the first unusual feature, and
was looked upon by the defense at
tOrneys as a distinct sign of weakness
OF the states case.
Questions put to prospective jurors
as to what probable weight esprit
ualist" evidence would have with them
in murder trial was another unusual
procedure, which may be accounted
for by the current reports that some
of the private detectives who gather
ed the evidence against the accused
veterinarian, obtained their leads"
through mediums and clairvoyants.
Members of the legal profession who
followed the examination of talesmen
closely. expressed the belief that the
particular stress laid upon a jurors
attitude toward circumstantial evil
dence strongly indicated that the state
would fail to produce any direct evil
dence.
Defense Plays Waiting Game.
Prior to the opening statement of
the prosecution the only information
obtainable pointed to the alleged mo-
tive as being another woman in the
for the defense admitted that he was
playing a waiting game to ascertain
what the prosecution will claim to
have against@he defendant before de-
termining on his opening statement
AS the time grew near for the intro
duction of the more than one hundred
witnesses. interest in the trial in
creased.
The defendants bearing in the
court room impresses one as being
more that of a delegate to a conven-
ton than that of man accused of
killing a woman by nearly severing
her head from her body with sharp
surgical instrument. Dr. Craig is
constantly accompanied by his fifteen
year-old daughter, Marian, whose
mother has been dead many years, and
their apparent devotion is remarked
at all times.