New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-25
Mrs. King Was Murdered,
Swear Experts at Hearing

that which killed Mrs. King. MS eN
periments, he declared, showed that
any bullet fred from a distance OF less
than sixteen inches from the object
fred at would leave grains of powder
imbedded in the object.
Ankle Broken Before Death
The fact that a hemorrhage had fol-
lowed the breaking Of Mrs. Ming :
ankle, the witness maintained. proved
conclusively that the joint had been
fractured before death occurred. Az
torney Canister. in cross-eXamining the
expert, resorted to tactics which caused
the courtroom to howl its disapprovai'
as il not a fact that your mind was
made up that Mrs. King had been muir
dered before you performed your au-
topsy on her body" Numbered the law
yer. "Who pays you to come thou-
sand miles and inject yourself IN TINS
case?"
"Stop that!" shouted an indignant
farmer in the audience, and the cry
was taken up by hundred voices. Or.
Burmeister quietly replied that his
opinion was the result of his eXamina,
ton and that Cook County, Ill, paid
his expenses to Concord. Dr. Schultze,
who followed the Chicago expert on the
stand, inspired the courtroom TO laugh
ter time after time as he turned Attor-
new Cansler's sallies to his own advan-
tsge and the lawyers discontinue.
"You have testified that Mrs. King
could not have inflicted the wound
which killed her" said Gansler at one
point, "now suppose she had been IN an
dramatically sealed room alone with
the revolver and that she had been
found dead from an identical wound.
Would you say she shot herself?
mo, I'd say she was rival OF Hou-
DIM" answered Schultz.
Or. Schultz declared that the char
acter Of the wound was such as to re-
ouire the pistol to be held at level
with the bullets track.
"Get I'D and try to hold a pistol IN
that position" he suggested to the at
torney, "You will find that the only
way to do so will be to hold the wea-
pom between the thumb and index I'M
ger in a manner in which you have no
control of the trigger or safety device.
I defy any one TO do 1t.
"Mump" Richie, who sold the death
dealing pistol to Means, testified that
Means visited his store TO have the
weapon Olleu InIee HouIs peAoic MIS-
King was shot
Captain W. 6. Bingham. a member of
the target shooting" party told how
CASTOR Means. his brother Alton, Mrs:
King, Fury. the negro chauffeur, and
himself had driven to Blackwelders
Spring "for a little ride" Arriving
there he had left the party and walked
lao yards down the spring trail TO
shoot rabbits. Alton Means Joined
him few minutes later and then they
heard shot. After a pause Means
called him and he went TO the forked
sycamore tree beside the spring and saw
Mrs. King stretched out, apparently
dead, in the moonlight.
Farmer Aids Prosecution
at was az dark as it's ever agoin' 10
be-" declared Charles S. Dry, farmer
who lives 200 yards from the murder
glen, who was called after Bingham.
Dry, who never has seen the inside OF
a school, told a story which was most
damaging to the defence and to which
he stuck with the persistence of his
kind. He bestod Meanss lawyers in
every tilt, and the little courtroom
rocked with laughter as he parried their
legal thrusts with homely wit.
Sitting on his porch with his wife
on the night of Mrs. Kings death, ne
had heard q shot and then a mans
voice, calling in q subdued tone, Cap
tain, come here quick; captain, come
here quick" This, he declared, had
| been repeated about dozen times and
had been followed by muffled CONVEX
sation in the woods, which continued
! for fifteen minutes. Dry placed the
| shooting at about $40 p. m. In at
! tempting to shake his testimony, At
! torney Cansler questioned Dry con-
| corning his actions on the evening in
question.
What time did you leave the field ~
he asked
"Ah warn't in the field" replied the
witness. "Ah wuz haulin' all after
noon. In the thick of the dusk all
drove into the barn or the last trip.
Ahcn ah fed nah stock"
How long did that take? About FIVE
minutes?" asked the cross-examiner.
could you feed five horses, three
mules, six hogs and q show O. chickuns
in five minutes. I'll hire you eff you
kim" replied Dry, while the courtroom
resounded with the laughed approva
of Dry's fellow farmers,
Refutes Captain Bingham
Dry's testimony refuted that of Cap
tain Bingham on the question of the
amount of light prevailing at the time
of the tragedy.
The moon was up a right smar
piece" he declared, "but there wa;
hay clouds, and ! know that spring
was as dark as dungeon. The moon
rises right afore nah door, the spring
is to the right, and it's midnight on &
clear moonlight night afore there's any
light in that grove"
Dry declared he saw three men come
from the spring and engage in con
versation after the shot was fired
The hearing will be resumed to.
morrow.