The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-12-18
KOCH DEFENSE INTRODUCED.
In Trial of West Haven Man Who Is
Charged with Murder.

Rutland Dec lS.-The written state
ment of Coroner John Connors of White
hall, n. Y., that he had found that the
shooting Of Charles Gordon Of Whitehall
by William Koch Of West Haven was
accidental, and evidence given by the
coroner and his clerk, W. +. Cody oil
| Whitehall, contradictory to the testi.
mony of Miss Ida A. Ripley of Dresden
IN. Y, an important witness for the
state Tuesday, were the principal
| features in the trial of Koch in Rutland
county court yesterday for the killing OF
| Gordon who died from bullet wound
inflicted by the respondent during a dis
pute relative to setting muskrat traps
on the Koch game preserve on Lake
Champlain November 0, 1913.
Connors, who like Cody, wps called by
the state by special agreement after the
prosecution had rested, became much ex-
cited during the discrimination by
Attorney T. W. Moloney and endeavored
to volunteer much information which
was not wanted and to argue with the
examiner His demonstration was so
amusing to the spectators that Sheriff
Enos G. Fish's gavel did not produce or
der until Judge Frank L. Fish informed
those in the court room that the trial
must be attended with decorum fitting
to so serious a case.
The defense opened its case by put
ting Attorney Ernest III. 0Brien of the
respondents counsel on the witness
stand. He told of five visits to the scene
of the shooting and in contradiction TO
evidence given by Oliver Neddo, the
lighthouse tender who was the states
star witness yesterday, said that Sc saw
signs of trap having been in the musk
rat burrow over which Gordon is alleged
to have been bending when shot.
Mr.. 0'Brien identified four pieces of
maple saplings as sticks which he picked
up near the burrow 1t win be claimed
that these sticks were used to stake
down a trap and that one of them was
brandished by Gordon when he threat
ened Koch.
Deputy Sheriff Davis A. Barker OF this
city testified that he made visit to the
Koch shore two days after the shooting
He saw the mark where a boats bow
had grounded in the mud about 40 feet
from where Gordon stood. The prosecu-
tion claims that the mark was made by
Koch's boat IN which he stood when he
fired. Attorney O'Brien testified that he
had landed on the shore by boat the day
before Mr.. Barker was there. Attorney
General Rufus f. Brown endeavored
to show by cross examination that the
water of the lake was at a different lev
el on the two days in question and there
fore one boat mark would have been
farther west than the other,
Coroner Connors and Clerk Cody tes-
titled that at hearing in Whitehall
December and 10. Ida Ripley testified
that when she saw Oliver Neddo, the
lighthouse tender, at the time of the
shooting, he was about 800 feet from
Koch and Gordon, in court in Rutland
yesterday she placed the distance at 900
feet She was 1900 feet from the men.
A statement read to the jury by counsel
for the respondent giving the coroner's
opinion that the she-. isig was acciden-
tai, was only partial finding, the cor
oner said lie explained that evidence
produced at the Vermont trial might
change his opinion.