Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-20
KIDD HElD. Responsible
FOR FATAL ACCIDENT
Hustings Court Jury Brings Verdict
OF Three Months In Jail and
Fine OF $500.
INVOLUNTARY MANsLAuGHTER
Girl Died as Result Of Injuries Re-
ceived in Midnight Joy Ride on
West Grace Street I'm Kidd's Au-
tomobiIe.

Leo NJ. Kidd. charged with being re-
V. Thorpe, 1l07h South Randolph
Street. who was fatally injured i'm an
automobile accident at .Belvidere and
Grace Streets on the night of Septem-
Der 10. was convicted last night in the
Hastings Court of involuntary man
slaughter. the jury bringing i'm YER
dict of three months In Jail and a fine
or 5000. The verdict was brought in
shortly before o'clock, after the Jury
had been considering the case for more
than an hour. Some time before that
the jury made n written inquiry of the
judge, asking, whether, IT would be le-
gal to impose n fine of $1,000 without
Imposing jail sentence. Judge Rich
ardson called in .counsel-Common-
wealth's Attorney Minetree Folkes and
Attorney l.. o. Wendenburg, who rep
resented the accused-and read the
question to them, and then answered
In the affirmative. MIR. Wendenburg
Immediately took exception to the
answer and II was noted in the record
OF the case.
MOTHER AND SISTER OF
DEAD GIRL ARE IN COURT
day, and most OF the morbidly curious
crowd remained to the end The accus-
ed was calm when the decision was
announced. Mr.. WendenburG immc-
diately offered n motion that the ver-
diet be set aside as being contrary to
the law and evidence, and asked that
hearing on the motion be continued to
January I. so that both sides could in
vestigate the law bearing on the sub
ject The continuance was granted.
and the prisoner was admitted to bail
in the sum of 800, Mrs. Kidd again
being her sons security.
KIDD TAKES STAND IN
Ills OWN DEFENSE
Much of the testimony offered yes
terday favored the prisoner Kidd went
on the stand himself and explained
that he carried the body OF the uncon-
sctous girl into n nearby yard so as not
to attract attention and that he told
j. NJ. Whitehurst, his other companion.
to telephone for another automobile In
which to take Miss Thorpe home Hc
had no idea of dcserting her but did
not want the matter to be aired in the
newspapers. He referred to Miss
Thorpe affectionately, and said that
they had been engaged for some time
Guy Barnes, OF 100 West Canal Street,
testified that he heard G. w. Meredith
chauffeur OF the taXicab with which
X idd's machine ccllided. say after the
accident that he, Meredith. had ~ few on
that night" and was running at n rate
of twenty-five miles an hour without
caring whether he ran into another au-
tomobile or into locomotive. Lang
bourne M. Williams testified that he saw
Kidd on the night Of the accident and
did not think he was drunk Police
man l.. n. Clarke said that he thought
Kidd had been drinking. but that he
was not drunk. But II. Butler, OF 620
North Sixth Street, and ]. II. Manning,
of 623 East Broad Street, testified that
while they wero standing at the cor
ncr Of Eighth and Marshall streets on
tho night OF the accident they saw
Whitohurst pass n flask OF LIQUOR to
the girl, and TINT they called out,
Give us drink"