Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-07-03
STATE RESTS IN
MURDER HEARING
Judge Church 0verruIes Notion of De.
PENDANTS Counsel to Take Case
From the Jury.
ATTORNEYS MAP OFT DEFENSE
Witnesses on Behalf of Elmer LIE Refte,
Accused Youth. Next TO Take Stand
In Court.

Judge VI. T. Church this afternoon
denied motion made by attorneys of
Elmer lie Ratte to take the case from
the jury. The state completed it's case
this morning and the motion was ar
gued during the remainder of the
morning session.
lie Rette's attorneys based their
claims that the court was justified in
instructing the jury to bring in a yer
dict OF not guilty. on their contentious
that no discriminating circumstance
had been proven; that the prosecution
had not, through evidence. taken LIE
Rette from his home in East Moline
that the gun has not been placed in
LIE Rette's hands on the night of the
murder; that lie Rette had not been
placed in the jitbus owned by Zerbe
that the shell which was marked with
same indentation that others exploded
in the gun LIE Rette borrowed, had not
been proven the one that killed zerbe:
that the shells used in the demonstra-
ton had not been connected up pro-
perry.
States Attorney Thompson replied
TO their claims that any one of the
circumstances. or any two, would be
plausible if lie Rette was innocent. but
that the entire group changed the as
pect of the case and pointed to Lee
Rette as the man who murdered Zerbe.
Since yesterday afternoon the Jury
was in court practically little of the
time. the attorneys in the main hav-i
ing argued various questions which
arose and the jury were taken from
the court room. A large part of this
time was used in the arguments on
whether or not the box of shells from
which shells were made in the expert
ment which showed indention on the
shell found near Zerbe's body similar
to the others. The court did not allow
the box to be presented as evidence.
The shells exploded in the gun as
test were allowed in the evidence.
Opening arguments were made this
afternoon by LIE Rette's attorneys. in
which they mapped out the course of
the defense. There will be no court
Monday
Don't Remember Sale.
Sheriff Richmond and deputies Jack
Murray and Jake Wigers were among
the principal witnesses for the state
yesterday afternoon. They testified as
to the conversations with LIE Rette aft
er he had been arrested in MarseilIes
Although it vas expected from the
states opening arguments that G. l..
Rowe, proprietor of the hardware
store in East Moline. would say lie
Rette secured shotgun shells the Sat
urday night before the murder of
Zerbe. Mr. Rowe when he took the
stand said he did not remember hav-
ing sold any shells TO the defendant,
although he declared that he remem-
bered having sold shells from a box
which was introduced as one of the ex-
hibits in the case.
Chief Of Police Walter Bateman OF
Marseilles told Of having looked for
lie Rette from Wednesday until Sun
day without seeing him and Robert
Harrington, owner Of a transfer line.
in the same town also told having look
ed for the defendant during that time
without avail.
Tell of Experiment.
Deputies Wigers and hurry when
called to the stand later, told of the
experiment made with the shotgun
found at the home of LIE Rettes father
in-iaw They had exploded shells in
the weapon and the hammer of the
gun left the same markings on the
brass caps of the shells thus exploded.
as were found on the shells in the road