The Washington times., 1915-02-07
Strangulation Must
Have Killed Her.

Q. Now. I will ask you first, doctor.
what you saw on that body indicating
that the girl came to her death through
strangulation. A. Well, the fact was
entirely obvious that that was the real
cause OF death. 1t was simply out OF
the question that the blow on the head
could have produced death. l exam
ined the brain and ! examined the
SKULL There was no crack at all in
the skull and only about a small drop
OF blood, should say. was adhered to
the inner side of the skull, not enough
to produce the slightest pressure on tn
brain. The only thing that could ha>"
caused death there was the deep in
dentat!on around the neck. evidently
produced during the patients life. ami
which unquestonably was tight enougp
to have cut off her breath There wa
nothing else about her that could have
killed her The fact that the child wa
strangled to death was indicated by th-
livid'ty. by the blueness of the fe,b
the congestion Of the tongue anr
mouth. and the blueness OF the hands
and fingers. particularly the finger
nails.
Q. Now. I want you to look at thi
big stick and see II IN your opnior
that wound you found OF the child
head could have been caused by tina,
thng--look at it teXhibitng> A. an
OF the opinion that it could not have
been.
The stick was somewhat in the
shape OF a baseball bat, and was
discovered on the first floor OF
the factory. near the place at
which Conley had been sitting the
day of the crime. by an operative
for the Pinkerton agency. 1t was
the contention Of Solicitor Dorsey
that this club was plant by
the defense to intensity the sus-
p!cion against Conley.
9. Why, doctor, do you YOU believr
this club could not have made the
wound? \. 1t is not IL stick that woulI
have produced the rather sharp cut thar
We found there. | cau't say positively
that il didn't, but my opn.ou is that
it could not.
@. SuppOsa that the blow on the head
caused the death prior to the time Il"
rope was put around the neck. would
You or not have found these indicia g.
! strangulation which you have detailed"
a. You would not have found thos
Conditions at all If death had precede&
| the strangula tion. the tying Of the corr
Q. Now. come again to the content
| OF the somach: You have some sam
Piles there? A. Yes. sir, ] have the."
! samples.
| 9, Well, so ahead and tell abcu'
them. A. will state in general terms
that there We're only four persons &
! perimented in this case. although q
inumbe! OF years ago ! made 4 series ~
l"Xno-iments on twenty or thirty pc
sons. Two of these fouy in this cas-,
lwCre eXperimented on twice. and
every single instance the eftCCI on tn
lcabbage they had eaten Was practiCaiH
the same, that is. it was almost entirel
digested, Notwithstanding the fact that
l had given those men some pieces jus
as large as those found in Mary Pha
gan's stomach. ! wish to call attentiuI.
to the fact that | made experiments
(which varied in the time the content.
were in the persons stomachs from
Thirty eight minutes, which was th'
time the cabbage was in the stomach a.
~ hoy OF II, to 80 minutes in anothe. O.
my cases. and the results indicated H.
ieve7y instance that the cabbage was
practically disested, while ! found It.
Mary Phagan's case that the cabbaer
IN the stomach gave every indication OF
having been introduced into ii within
three-quarters of an hour. The micro
+, scop!c examination showed that it had
.lot begun to dissolve. OIL at least only
! to very slight degree, and ii Indicate,
/ that the process of digestion had no,
! gone on to any extent at the time III -
girl was rendered unconscious. at any
rate. | wish to state further that tn
starch in the food Mary Phagan Nua
eaten had undergone practically 10 b
teration. There We're Il few Of the
starch cells which showed the begin
ming of the process of digestion. haviH"
| changed into the substance callei
Ierthro- dextrne, but these were vcI..
much rarcr than In the normal stom.
ach, where the contents have been g.
posed to the action of the digestill
fluids for. say, fifty OF sixty lninGtec.