Omaha daily bee., 1916-07-16
JURORS ACo'r- s;
WILL 0RP, Uf
MURDER CHARGE.
Twelve Men, After Being Out
for Five Hours, Declare
University Student Is
Not Guilty.
CASE PERPLEXING oNf
Charge Of Judge Donnelly is
Regarded as Favorable to
the Defendant.
HIS ATTORNEY PLEASED

1AA0 "a 4ONNc1 x1GA0GD
| Waukegan, ILL.,, July l5.-William
Orpet, the university student charged
with numbering Marion Lambert, the
high school girl and his former
sweetheart, was found not guilty to-
night by jury in Judge Donnellys
court after five hours deliberatien.
Counsel for the defendant said that
Judge Donnelly's instructions TO the
jury were tantamount to a command
to the jury to acquit
Speaking of Orpet's testimony that
he merely looked at the body and
fed, Mr.. Joslyn, who closed for the
state, said:
"If he suddenly was surprised to
find her unconscious there wouldn't
he have bathed her head in snow,
wouldn't he have opened her dress,
wouldn't he have searched exhaus-
lively for signs of life? Even the
callous defendant would have done
that, but he didn't because he knew
she was dead, and he alone knew"
| At the close of Mr.. Joslyn's argu-
ment Judge Donnelly delivered his
instructions to the jury.
Charge of Judge Donnelly.
Counsel for the defense considered
Judge Donnelly's instructions favor
able to the defendant. Excerpts fol-
low: A
"The jury should not go beyond
the evidence to hunt up doubts, nor
must they entertain such doubts as
chimerical or conjectural.
THE court instructs the jury that
although the jury should be satisfied
from the evidence beyond a reason
able doubt that the deceased Marion
Lambert died from cyanide Of potas-
SUM poisoning, still if tine jury fur
ther finds from the evidence that she
had the same opportunity for taking
kthe poison herself without the aid of
the defendant, that the defendant had
t give it to her, and if it is possible.
from any reasonable manner to .ex-
plain all the facts and circumstances
proved on the trial consistently with
the hypothesis that she did take the
poison herself for the purpose of kill
ing herself, then this is sufficient to-
raise reasonable doubt and the jury
should render verdict of not guilty.
Nothing short of prooe so clear
and convincing as to exclude every
reasonable hypothesis of his in
nocence will justify conviction, and
without such proof the jury must find
the defendant not guilty. n.I
ITO warrant conviction the de-
fendant must be proved guilty so
clearly that there is no reasonable
theory that he can be innocent.
UNLESS you find beyond all reason
able doubt in considering the evidence
that the defendant had cyanide of po-
tassium in his possession just prior
to the death of Marion Lambert, then
you should find the defendant not
guilty.
Flight, though a circumstance to
be weighed against the defendant, is
not of conclusive character and it
may not be evidence of guilt if it ap-
pears that there was any other motive
for flight than sense OF guilt.
"1f there are two theories, one for
guilt and one for innocence, then
adopt the innocent theory and acquit.
presumption of innocence is not
mere form to be disregarded by the
jury at pleasure, but it is an essential
substantial part of the law of the land.
"The jury has no right to assume
the guilt OF the defendant and then to
try to reconcile the testimony with
such theory"
Case Perplexing.
The case became one of the most
perlexing in the annals of criminal
history. Motive paralleled motive,
action parallelcd action, opportunity
paralleled opportunity until the marks
of murder and ON suicide became
substantially as one.
In the end the guilt or innocence Of
the defendant, so far as the abduction
of actual fact was concerned, went to
the jury on the mystifying niceties OF
chemical analysis and Orpet's own
compromising conduct. The mystery
attracted unusual interest in all parts
of the United States and Canada
Trial of the case including selection
Of jury occupied the better part of
two months. There appeared in evil
dence forty-four letters written by
Orpet to Marion over a period of
year; bottles and boxes containing
samples Of cyanide from the McCor-
mick estate, from the Deerfield High
school laboratory, from Kraft's drug
store at Lake Forest and white pow
der scraped from Marion's hand and
from spots on her cloak; the girls
garments; a magazine article dealing
with the use of cyanide as fumigator
in greenhouses; the chemistry text
books used respectively by the high
school girl and the college student;
copy of the Wisconsin statute dealing
with the sale of poisons, and bottle
Of molasses and water.
Chemists Testify.
| Five chemists all of whno, xuere