The Washington herald., 1913-09-03

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of newspaper men Immediately following
his release. II acted In self-defense, and
have felt all along that would be set
free. 1 am certainly glad to get my tenn
| porary freedom. and am confident that
after the November trial II will be per-
manent."
The big courtroom was crowded when
promptly at 2 o'clock Fisher was led in
by Sheriff Howard. The space inside the
railing was packed with chairs, and the
steps leading to the judges stand were
crowded. There were only four women
present. Several of them were friends Of
Mrs. Altdorfer. Scores Of Fishers friends
were on hand.
Mrs. Lewis Turner. neighbor of the
Altdorfers, sat at the back of the court
room. Mrs. Altdorfer and Miss Reese
were escorted to an anteroom, where
they remained until called as witnesses.
Fisher was arraigned bofer the court
on a charge of numbering Altdorfer FRI
day night at the residence OF the writer
in Chevy Chase. He pleaded not guilty.
Directly in front of the witness box
was a long table for counsel. Attorney
Spates sat nearest the stand. Directly
behind him sat the States assistant, At
torney John A. Garrett, and at the rear
of him sat Attorney Dawson Attorney
Arthur Peter, of counsel for the defense,
sat beside Dawson.
Fisher Listens to Testimony.
Fisher occupied a chair just behind his
counsel. The back of his chair was tilt
ed against the table and the prisoner
sat with his legs dangling back and
forth. He was dressed in a light gray
suit, with tan shoes. AS he came in he
tossed straw hat on the table. During
the hearing he sat with sober mien, first
nd
ing out his arms at full length and clasp
ing them behind his head. He watched
the witnesses from time to time, but
fixed his gaze most OF the time on the
spectators.
Toward the latter part of the hearing
he left his seat to chat with friends near
the court railing. Only once or twice
did he consult with his attorneys
The first witness was Deputy Sheriff
Fling. of Chevy Chase, Nd, who visited
the Altdorfer house following the trag-
edy and who took Fisher to Jail
early Saturday morning. 1t was during
his testimony that the nlne-inch shears
with which Fisher stabbed AltdOrfer
were exhibited. There was a craning of
necks in all parts OF the courtroom 10
get a glimpse OF the instrument. Fling
testified that on his way to the Jail
Fisher declared he acted in self-defense.
Sheriff Howard was called next. He
said that early Saturday morning he in
terviewed Fisher at the jail and that the
prisoner stated he killed Altdorfer to de-
fend his own life. The witness deposed
that Fisher told him the entire story
of the stabbing.
DIR. Conrad Testihes.
DR.. Thomas X. Conrad, Of Chevy
Chase, deputy coroner, who was at the
Altdorfer house following the tragedy.
and who performed an autopsy on the
body OF Altdorfer the following morn
ing, testified he received a telephone call
at o'clock last Friday night. request
ing him to hurry 20 the Altdorfer house.
as fight had occurred with serious con-
sequences. He said that when he ar
rived Altdorfer was dead and that those
Present were Fisher. Miss Reeves. and
Dr.. Thomas A. Poole. He said the body
of the slain writer was lying midway
between the living room and the sitting
room.
DR.. Conrad described from notes the
wounds that he found on Altdorfer's
body at the autopsy. The technical
terms that he used were formidable
and unintelligible to most of those
present, and he was requested to point
out the various parts of the body
referred to in his testimony He then
explained that there were three seri-
Gus stab wounds, two minor stabs. and
three scratches. Two of the stabs
were into the heart, and the other |
pierced a vein near the neck.
Il presume that both bodies were
upright when the blows were struck"
he said.
Attorney Peter asked him II. from
the nature of the wounds. It did not |
appear that Fisher commenced to prod |
his opponent easily, but gradually in |
creased the intensity of the blows. The |
doctor refused to admit this. He said |
that Altdorfer appeared to him 10 be
"a well-nurtured man, Of good |
physique"
Turner n Good Witness.
Lewis Turner, the neighbor of the !
Altdorfers, proved a good witness. His |
statements were made in a firm and |
positive voice, and he answered all |
questions quickly and Concisely.
Mr.. Altdorfer returned to his Chevy |
Chase residence Friday evening, be- |
tween and 1880 o'clock" he testified. |
Miss Reeves came TO my house, which |
is about thirty feet from the Altdorfer |
home, and asked me to help Altdorfer |
into the house, as he was drunk. I !
found him at the foot of the steps |
He was very drunk. and was unable |
to walk. He had practically collapsed. |
ried him bodily into the house. I took |
him to his room, with the intention of |
putting him to bed. He was absolutely |
unable to walk 1 tried to make him |
stand up. but failed.
Miss Reeves and / started to un-
dress him. We took off part of his |
cutter clothing, but were unable to get |
his shirt of. as il was hooked with |
the pin for holding his eyeglasses. |
Eventually we got it off. Then 1 told |
Miss Reeves to leave the room, and |
1 took his trousers off. 1 had him on |
the bed, as 1 thought I could handle |
him better there. He tried to get off, |
and continued to mutter a few things. |
and to know who was. He did not |
Whisky Bottle in Pocket.
"I found a full one-half pint of whis-
ky in his hip-pocket. handed it to |
Miss Reeves, and she placed the bot |
tie on the dresser"
Here the testimony was interrupted to |
exhibit the bottle. 1t contained about a
finger of liquor.
1T took about fifteen minutes to un-
dress Altdorfer" the witness continued. |
"Altdorfer rolled OF the bed and went |
across the floor on his hands and knees.
At first I did not know what his inten-
tions were, but soon I discovered that /
he was after the bottle of whisky. 1 |
seized the bottle and tried to keep him
from getting it, but Miss Reeves, who
had reappeared, urged me to let him
have 1t, as II was the only thing that |
would pacify him.
He srasped the bottle, but collapsed
before he was able to drink