Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-03-16
VAN DELL CASE TO
REACH JURY TODAY
OISON'S MURDERER TAKES THE
STAND IN OWN DEFENSE
CROWDS ATTEND TRIAL.

John Van Dell, confessed mur-
derer Of Industrial Insurance Com
missioner E. w. Olson on the after
noon Of February /, took the stand
in his own defense Thursday
morning and sought his own
testimony to bolster up the plea
of insanity interposed by the defense
to the charge of first degree murder
upon which he is being tried.
Frequently throughout his testi-
mony, which was given with prac-
tically no questioning by his attor-
ney, w. J. Milroy, Van Dell repeat
edly said, in recounting incidents at
st. Peters hospital after his injury.
my mind was weak" or, II was 80
simple" or. II didn't know what I
was doing"
And when he came to tell of the
actual killing, he described himself
as having been dragged into it" by
some force he could not combat, and
that as result Of thinking about 1t
he could not sleep for the first six
or seven nights he was confined to
the county jail. Now. however. when
he starts thinking about it, some
thing drives it out of his memory en-
tirely, he said.
In Progress All Week.
Van Dell was the last witness for
the defense. The trial started with
the selection Of the jury Monday af-
ternoon, the first testimony for tho
prosecution being given Tuesday
It 10 expected that the in
structions to the jury and the argu-
ments Of the attorneys will bs given
Friday afternoon. and that the caso
win 50 to the jury Friday night.
While on the stand Thursday Van
Dell was decidedly loQnacions, going
into the li.tlest detail Of the happen
ings since he wAss injured at Bor-
deaux Camp I September 30 last. Hs
described how he was injured by
being struck on the forehead and
nose when . ''haul-back'' line broke
and thrown Is or 80 fest. He told
how he was brought to Olympia, how
his injuries had been dressed By DR..
N. J. Redpath. Of various examiaa-
tions by DR.. J. w. NOVEL; Of the in
insurance department. Of
several "rows" with the Sisters IN
charge of the hospital. and Of many
other incidents Of the days between
20 and the date of the
Olson murder. January 80. He tcsti-
ned. too. that sister is In an insane
asylum in another state.
A crowded courtroom listened
closely to Van Dell's story. He ap-
peared to revel in the opportunity he
had to be the central figure in the
courtroom episode. and frequently
cracked Jokes while telling his story.
Van Dell's story was not changed
in any important particular in cross
examination Thursday afternoon ex-
cept that he developed q remarkable
loss of memory a. to what he told
the sheriff when he gave himself up
after the murder. or what he told
the prosecuting attorney that same
afternoon or q newspaper reporter
the next day, in strange contrast TO
the details he told at the morning
session of his life 1t the hospital and
other events prior to- the murder.
Courtroom observers got tho impress
sion that his memory was faulty only
on matters he thought hostile to his
plea of insanity.
State Combats Insanity Plea.
Rebutting the insanity plea Of
the defense. Prosecuting Attorney
O'Leary put on the stand Thursday
following Van Dell's tes-
DR.. N. J. Redpath. who treat
ed avn Dell from the time Of his in
jury last September. DR.. J. w. Now
ell, who a. chief physician for the
industrial insurance commission, ex-
amined Van Dell several times dur
ing the fall and early winter. DR.. H.
w. Partlow and other witnesses, all
of whom testified that they believed
Van Dell sane. Testimony of this
character was continued Friday
morning.
The first evidence presented by
Prosecuting Attorney O'Leary for the
state concerned the events in the
Office of the industrial insurance COM
mission on the afternoon of the
and of detailed information
as to the allowances made Van Dell
by the commission, this testimony