Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-06-19
DENSE CROWD ATTENDS
MURDER CASE HEARING.
Stories Of Witnesses in Simms'
Murder Are Conflicting.
TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES.
Over 5000 Negroes Present. Scene
OF Passion Crazed People Many
Who Resent Fight Of Dying Man
On Stairs Left to Bleed to
Death.

was displayed in the preliminary hear.
ing given the principals in the Simms
murder case, fully three thousand per-
sons crowding around the office OF
/ Magistrate Combs Saturday afternoon
when the hearing was held.
So dense was the crowd around the
office and windows of the Magistrates
court that those on the inside were
| scarcely able to breathe until after the
arrival of States Attorney Nicholas H
Green, who at once ordered the room
as well as the outside of the building
cleared. The room was cleared of
all except those directly interested in
the CAGE by Sheriff Sullivan and his
assistants, who remained on guard to
hold the curious back,
The four persons who were arrested
on Thursday and held in jail were
brought to the hearing by Deputy
Sheriff Lee and his assistants, and ex-
hibited extreme nervousness as they
passed through the waiting crowd
scarcely knowing what the attitude
might be, but the crowd appeared to
be more for curiosity than antipathy
and made no demonstration. The sto-
ries of the principals and witnesses
differed so greatly that 1t was difficult
to piece together complete story of
what happened in the Wallace house
on last Thursday night before Simms
was found by the officers lying dead
on the kitchen floor. Uncle Tom
Wallace was the first called to tell his
story and although he first testified
that he was asleep and heard nothing
OF what transpired downstairs, it was
brought out through questioning that
he had been downstairs three different
times and had been awake throughout
the night and that on starting down
the last time had discovered Simms
lying on his face on the stairs, and that
his daughter passed him at the top of
the stairs going around the body of
Simms as she came up the stairs.which
was direct contradiction by Henri
etta's story that she came up stairs,
leaving Simms in the kitchen. and that
she had been upstairs some time when
she heard noise as of someone fall
ing on the stairs.
There were contradictions in plenty
in the different stories. For instance,
Wallace said that Wenn brought his
pipe up to him. Nancy. his wife, said
that no one brought his pipe, and that
she did not allow him to smoke up
stairs, while Henrietta was very posi-
tive that she herself took the pipe to
6ad IN ~ NJ
downstairs for water twice fer his
wife. bnt Nancy said she received no
water and that he did not leave the
room at any time, and that he never
went to the pump at night for water.
Wallace's story was that he came
home about s o'clock and found Simms
there waiting for his brother to go out
on the night wagon; that he ate his
supper and laid on the lounge for a
short time and then went to. bed.
Later he went downstairs for his pipe,
which he did not find, and twice after
ward went down after water for his
wife. and that the last time he saw
Simms lying on the stairs and imme-
diately called for help. He did not
heard no disturbance previously.
Nancy Wallace was called next and
said that she had been asleep and had
heard nothing of any trouble. Her
story was of little value, except in the
parts that it contradicted that of others
John Burley, who lives in the other
part of the house was next and told his
story of how Tom Wallace had awak-
ened him ON hammering on the door,
and saying that there had been some
trouble and he wanted help. Burley
| dressed and hurried to the Wallace
house. where he found the body oi
Simms lying in pool of blood on the
stairs, after he had lighted the lamp
the kitchen being in darkness as he
| entered. With the help of others he
| raised the body and laid it on the
kitchen floor. He did not sec any
knife, and did not examine the body
to see what had happened.
| Mrs. Wallace was called and corrob
GRATED his story, differing only in the
fact that she had seen the knife lyine
on the steps, directly under Simm'i
outstretched hand. as il it had beer
dropped by him. Margaret Foote, wht
lives next door, said that she heard
disturbance around the house ant
heard some one say Come out here,
and He drew knife on me-; that |
short time later a door slammed ant
there was a crash as OF glass breaking
and then all was quiet. She did no
get up to investigate, saying that thes
disturbances were so ordinary that sh
thought no more of it and went T.
sleep again.
Henrietta Wallace was called. an
told her story, after being warned tina
anything she said might be use
against her. She had very little t
tell. She came home from the East
ern Shore arriving about s O'CLOCK
| She met Wenn at Martins Cafe abou