The Washington herald., 1916-01-28
CAUGHT IN NET
BY PROSECUTION,
MRS. MOHR SOBS
Accused Woman Becomes En-
tangled in Web of Contra
dictory Statements.
F0RGETS HER BIRTHDAY
Unable to Tell Date When
Own Mother Died-A
Pitiful Scene.
LEAVES THE STAND WEEPING
Mouth Twitches, Arm Trembles and
Witness Loses Self-controI, Under
Cross-examination.
LEAVES THE STAND WEEPING
BY SOPHIE TREADwELL.

Providence. r. l., Jan. Z.-When Mrs.
Elizabeth F. Mohr stepped weeping from
the witness stand this afternoon, there
was long. oppressive moment of per-
feet stiffness. Embarrassment that was
almost fear was In the air. No one in
all that packed and silent courtroom
looked at his neighbor. For each knew
that he had just seen perhaps the most
pitiful, the most tragic thing he was in
all his life to see.
A woman on trial accused of a horrible
murder; woman on whose own story
alone practically rested her fate; and a
woman so confused after FIVE minutes of
lcross-examination SO entangled in con-
Trajectory statements that she could not
say the date of her birth. and after ten
minutes was unable to tell when her
own mother had died
1t had been in recounting to the jury
yesterday the cruelty which she said
her husband had inflicted on her on the
very morning of her mothers death that
Mrs. Mohr had made her biggest impress
sion. The revolving story of man
beating his wife because she would not
leave her dying mother to keep An en-
eagement with him had cut deep into
the consciousness sf every one. And now.
| today. on cross-examinatio ton came this:
Mrs. Mohr:
When told my mother In 1909 that
the doctos said our marriage was not
legal, she was so heart-broken II has
tened her death. That is what really
killed her.
Sensational Climax.
Attorney General Rice:
But. madame, you swore 10 minutes
ago. that your mother died in 1907, two
years before"
This was the sensational climax reach
ed by the attorney general just few
minutes after he had commenced his
| cross-examination.
From that moment Mrs. Mohr's self
control began to vanish. Her eyes that
had held wide. fixed stare during the
entire time she told her first story. be-
gan to wander uneasily. Her mouth
which dropped pitiably. began to tvitch.
The arm that she had held rigidIy along
the railing beside her began to tremble
And one by one, as the questions came
from the quiet but insistent prosecutor
before her, her answers became more and
more entangled and confused.
With her weak voice and that strange
mixture of bad grammar and broad "a's.'
hot wa RI hnr
woman whose marriage to the wealthy
physician made her chatelaine Of Mont
pelier," the doctors beautiful Newport
estate. had to tell of a girlhood spent
working In department stores from town
to town. She had to go into the vague
details of her first marriage to Dr. Mohr.
a ceremony performed in a brick house
somewhere in Brooklyn" by an unknown
man, now dead" she had to admit that
DIR. Mohr had gone to great trouble
and expense" to have unfrocked a
minister with whom she was keeping
Denies Statements.
Mrs. Mohr told of her arrest on Sep
tember at half-past five o'clock a. m.
and said she pleaded with the police
not to take her until she gave her chill
dren their breakfast
Did you say that If some people had
to put up with the doctor they would
have killed him long ago." asked Mr..
Cushing
No. Constable Wallace said that to
me-" replied Mrs. Mohr.
"Did you say that no one would be-
lieve a damn nigger?'
II never used such an expression In
my life. Constable Wallace talked to me
constantly and he said that he after
wards put the words in my mouth"
Did Wallace tell you that he knew
two men who threatened to kill the doc
tor because he blackmailed them after
treating their daughters7''
Yes, he did"
What did you tell Florence ormsby
about your husband?'
"I said that he was a good man ex-
cept when he was under the influence
of drugs or alcohol
What did Miss ormsby say about the
doctors patients?'
"She said that would probably think
she was a bad girl because she was
working for the doctor. told her that
didn't consider her bad and said that
the doctor didn't pick his pa atients up on
the street. l said they all come to him
| and seem glad to do it"