The chronicle=news., 1914-08-29

MS WlIe, came DefOre Judge Il. IL.
l.eib on Thursday for his preliminary
hearing and was bound over with
out bail, under certain reservations
OF the court. for his appearance be-
fore the. grand jury on the first Mon
day In December.
The court room was almost filled
during both the morning and after
noon sessions by residents from the
Mesa and the city who have been
following with intense interest the
Developments in the case. The evil
Idence. tas, showed by the state and
admitted by the attorneys for tho
defense. showed that shocking
crime had been committed on the
lafternoon of August IA. when the
body Of Mrs. Lillian Towndrow. with
clothing badly burned. was discov-
cred lying on the parlor floor of the
lTownrow home on johnson Mesa. The
evjdence introduced through the tes-
timony of number of witnesses was
tial. hut sufficient to warrant the
holding of the accused for appear
ance before the grand jury.
Several hours We're consumed by
the testimony OF the following wit
nesses: Ernest Payne, the Town
drow hired man: Pearl Garengeter,
the young girl visiting at the Town
crow home on August 4: r. II. Car
ter and Fred Popejoy. who were on
the scene shortly after the discovery
of the body: Sheriff Hixenbaugh and
DR.. 7. b. Lyon. who conducted the
rostmortem examination. The sal
lent facts deduced were as follows
Before breakfast on Friday morn
ing, August IA, according to the tes-
timony of Ernest Payne and Pearl
Gafengeter, n quarrel arose between
MIR. and Mrs. Towndrow while TAX
ing care OF the milk in the cellar
Al the breakfast table 1t was shown
that Mr.. Towndrow became further
incensed, apparently because oranges
were served on the table. and ex-
pressing his objection by throwing
the oranges on the floor and stamp
ing on them. The young girl further
testified that she had previously wit
messed quarrels between the two. and
that on one such occasion Mr.. Town
drow jumped up from the couch
where he was lying and grabbed a
chair, saying he would just as soon
kill her this wife) as not.
1t was testified that at the noon
hour Mr.. Towndrow and Payne re-
turned to the house FOR dinner. Mrs
Towndrow was absent from the meal.
Immediately after dinner. Payne left
for the picnic celebration at the
Johnson Mesa church. and Mr..
1owndrow went to the field to
plough About 4:3O Payne returned
to the Towndrow home to assist with
the chores. On approaching the house
he saw Mr.. Towndrow returning from
the field with his team. While at
tending to his horse, Payne was sum-
moned by a call from Mr.. Towndrow
to the house. where he saw the body
of Mrs. Towndrow lying on the par
lor floor. Immediately, passersby
from the picnic grounds were called
in. Among the latter were R. Fl.
Carter Of Ration and Fred Popeioy
OF Johnson Park, who testified to
conditions about the premises. Ex-
Elimination by these witnesses showed
that the clothing was burned from
tile body from the knees up, and that
the head and shoulders seemed to
| be the worst burned. The heavy
rug and a part of the floor under
meath and around the body was also
! burned. The disordered condition
of the room, the presence of blood
on the floor and on the wall of an
adjoining. closet, and the evident
fact that kerosene had played an
important part in starting the fire,
indicated the commission of crime.
DR.. Lyon, probably the most import
ant witness in the case, showed that
in addition to the fatal burns on the
external parts of the body, several
cuts on the head, reaching the skull
and evidently inflicted by heavy
instrument, were found. The lower
jaw was badly shattered, evidently
| by hard blow. On the left breast
were found bruises which, from the
Examination of the heart, were prob
ally the immediate cause of death.
Examination of the throat and lungs
showed no traces of smoke or fire.
From the clotted condition of the
blood around the wounds and other
evidences on the body it was the
opinion that the injuries on the body
could not have been self-inflicted or
received through accident. The doc
Itor further testified that microscopic
examination of several articles of
lclothing belonging to Mr. Towndrow,
land OF stove poker alleged to have
been taken from the Towndrow home
lshortly after the affair, showed the
llpresence OF blood stains.
In summarizing the facts tending
to substantiate the states presump-
tion that the husband was the author
of the crime, Assistant District Attor-
rey Phillips emphasized the following