Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1913-01-17

( Attorney General RutuS T.. Brown |
was here Tuesday morning to assist |
States Attorney futile in the prosecu-
ton but was summoned away to Mont |
pelier on a hurry call early in the after !
noon; and for that reason a recess was
taken at 2:l0 o. clock until 9 O'Clock on
/ Wednesday morning. In the mean
while Mr. futile had arranged for the
assistance of B. L. Stafford of Rutland,
present States attorney of Rutland
county, and Mr. Stafford was on hand
at the opening of court Wednesday
morning. Jasper G Page of Bristol and
James B. Donoway of Middebury are
conducting the defense.
Dr. Waylie B. Thomson, general SUI
perintendent of the Mary Fletcher
hospital and DR.. B. H. Stone, house
surgeon in the same institution, were
the only witnesses called 70 the stand
before the break up on Tuesday. The
substance of their testimony was that
Milo Wright arrived at the hospital at
about II o'clock at night on June q,
Vic IBub VI bilC bdy VII WlllNu llt was
shot, having been brought there from
Starksboro by team, and that he died
in the hospital on the 23d day of July
from the effects of a gunshot wound in
the left side, little under the heart.
After Wright's death an autopsy was
held and the bullet was extracted and it
was found to be of No. 80 calibre. The
doctors did not at that time know and
so could not testify as to who fired the
shot or how the bullet happened to get
into the body of Milo Wright.
The respondent in this case is man
of 46 years of age, is married and has
six children. the eldest of whom is a
boy of 16 years. Mr.. Purintop is well
known in this part of the county, hav
ing formerly for some time been in the
, employ of Hon. Joseph Battell on one
of his farms in this town. Milo Wright,
the victim of the alleged crime, was 80
years old and was unmarried. His
sister, Mrs. Minnie Thompson, wife of
Nixon Thompson of Starksboro, was
one of the principal witnesses for the
prosecution on Wednesday, and her
direct testimony and cross-eXamination
took up most of the time of the after
noon session, and it was not completed
] until Thursday morning.
The line of defense was developed
, Thursday morning, and it consists of
the claim of self-defense and also the
, claim that the revolver was inadvert-
, antly discharged in the hands of the
\ respondent and that the shooting was
f consequently accidental.
John Wright, the father of Milo
t Wright, the victim of the shooting, was
d the last witness put on the stand for
q the prosecution, and the state closed its
f case with his testimony at 10 O'Clock.
f The first witness for the defense was
5 John Purinton, father of the alleged
. slayer. Both of the fathers were at
n the Russell house when the fracas oc-
Cured, and Louis Purinton and his
o brothers, Lnley and Edward, were
s there helping the Russells about moving
,
t more Familiarity known as "Nixey,
e and his wife, Minnie Thompson, were
e also at the house and it is claimed that
J. when Louis Purinton drew his revolver
Thompson and Milo Wright tackled him
e and tried to get the revolver away
e from him and that Mrs. Thompson got
q her right arm round his neck, while
n holding her baby in her left arm, anc
t brought him down on his knees on the
II floor, the whole bunch falling together
e and the weapon being unintentionally
t. discharged in the struggle, with the
e result of inficting upon Milo Wright
q the wound from which he died -four
e weeks later.
d 1t is probable that all of the testi
n mony will be got in this week and that
Y the case will go to the jury not later
e than Tuesday.
1t In the case of the State VS. Arthur
is Fortune of Bristol who at the last June
v term pleaded guilty to an information
" charging the unlawful killing of deel
and whose case was continued for sen
lie tence to the present term the respond
le ent was fined an even $780, withou
;e cost. He paid the amount of the fine
If and was discharged
=