Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-05-22

ly before 1880 o'clock today.
NEW YORK. May 2o-Four alien
lists headed the throng of witnesses
gathered in the criminal branch Of the
supreme court today for the trial OF
Dr. Arthur Warren Waite. The young
New York dentist. sportsman and man.
about-town is charged with murder IN
the first degree-poisoning his father
in-law. John f. Peck. a wealthy man
ufacturer of Grand Rapids, Mich. Since
he has confessed the deed. the prosecu-
ton believes the defense will rely on
a plea of insanity to combat this tes-
timony the state has engaged three
medical experts and summoned 115
witnesses who knew the. defendant at
different periods of his career, many
of them to testify that his behavior In
their presence had shown no signs OF
mental abnormality. The defense mas
summoned one alienist.
Waite, clean shaven and neatly
dressed in a blue suit, was brought into
the courtroom a few minutes after the
arrival of Percy Peck. his brother-fn-
law. and the latter's wife. The prisoner
occupied a seat between his attorneys,
Walter r Deuel. and Joseph F. Crater:
Mrs. Clara Louise Peck Waite. wife OF
the accused man. who. 1t was an.
nounced would be a witness against
him, was not in court.
Crowd in the Courtroom.
A crowd was gathered about the
criminal court building. but owing to
an extra panel of the talesmen and the
large number of witnesses few persons
not connected with the case were ad-
mitted TO the courtroom.
That the defense places its greatest
reliance upon- plea of insanity was
early disclosed by Mr.. Deuel.. In inter-
rogating talesmen he laid stress on
whether consideration would be given
to evidence calculated to show the pris-
oner was not well mentally" at the
time he administered germ cultures OF
deadly diseases to his seventy-two-
year-old father-in-law, as he has al
ready confessed.
and out of the first twelve talesmen In
terrogated only three were accepted.
They were: Robert Neill. mechanical
engineer. foreman; Peter Hebel.
| low. who gave his occupation as a SUI
perintendent.
were: Paul D. Case. who said he was
| Heme, a capitalist: James H. Belts. a
salesmanager; Edwin NJ. Friedlander,
a broker; Thomas Widdecombe, ac-
countant: James n. Jeffares. manager:
Stephen A. Douglass, electrical engi-
neer Hugh F. Donnelly, real estate:
Joseph H. Trant, a writer, completed
the jury
The twelfth juror was in the box
three hours after the first talesman
was examined. Seldom has trial of
the kind moved rapidly, it was said.
! Probabl the most interesting figures
| at the trial next to the prisoner him
| self, will be his wife, Mrs. Crara Peck
Waite. and Miss Margaret Horton. a
young New York singer with whom
Waite occupied at times a studio" at
an uptown hotel. Altogether the state
has subpoenaed 115 witnesses. Extra
panels of $50 talesmen have been sum-
! moned. and it may be day or tive
| before a jury is selected.
Son Warned by Telegraph.
Mr. Peck. the alleged murder victim
and his wife came to New York shortly
after Christmas Of last year to visit
their daughter and son-in-law. The
second week in January Mrs. Peck be-
came i'll and January 80 she died in the
Waites apartment. At Waite's sug-
gestion her body was taken to Detroit
and cremsted. Because Of this fact the
prosecution sought an Indictment
against the son-in-law only in connec-
ton with the death of Mr.. Peck, which
took place March 12.
The very day he was to be buried at
Grand Rapids his son, Percy s. Peck,
received from New York the following
telegram:
Suspicion aroused. Demand au-
topsy. Examine body.
(Signed) *. ADAMS"
The identity of tx. Adams" has not
been revealed but it is expected that it
will come out during the trial The
telegram had the effect of starting an
investigation, which showed that Mr.
Peck had been poisoned. Waite's arrest
followed shortly. He confessed that he
had administered poison to both Mr.
and Mrs. Peck. The death of the for