The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-06-23
Mrs. Felch Temporarily
Control of Herself Over
GreWSome Recital
AS PHYSICIAN TOLD
OF BODY'S CONDITION
DR.. w. R. Rowland and DR..
B. H. Stone On Stand
at Chelsea

since the trial began, Mrs. Anna Felch,
charged with the murder of her husband,
Joseph Felch, at Topsham April D. 1915,
. broke down yesterday afternoon when
2 DIR. w. r. Rowland took the stand for
I, the state and told of the condition in
| which he found the body of Felch as it
} lay on the sugar house floor. Mrs.
} Felch's grief was controlled during the
physicians recital of his observations
but again, when DIR. B. H. Stone, tho
, Estate pathologist, was describing Felchs
appearance and the course taken by the
fatal bullet the accused wept contin-
ually. On the day previous Mrs. Felch
listened apparently without a qlliver to
the discriminating story of Otis Williams,
the "lifer' from Windsor. Through it
all she sat unmoyed, but it remained
for the two doctors, the one a physician
employed at various times in the Felch
family, and the other an expert witness
whose description OF his investigation
and its deductions compelled attention,
to break down the woman's reserve.
DR.. Stone was on the stand when court
iconvened this morning, Atty. General
Barber continuing the direct examina-
tion before turning the witness over to
counsel for the defense for the cross-ex-
animation. The state, it is said, has re-
quested that the trial be continued this
afternoon and that court come in Mon
day forenoon instead of in the afternoon,
but there is a probability that the adj
journment to-day win be taken until
Monday afternoon at o'clock.
The state made progress in the pres
entation of its evidence against the wom-
an and it was a trying day for her, al
! belt, late in the afternoon the defense
scored an important point when Judge
Butler refused to permit Atty. General
Barber to show pictures taken at the
sugar house after the murder to the jury.
Former States Attorney Frank c. Will
liams was on the stand for more than
an hour and much of his testimony in
direct examination and in the cross ex-
animation centered around the sugar
house photographs, which the state al
legged reproduced blood stains and brain
matter ON the floor of the building. At
torneys H. X. Darling and A. 6. Fay
for the defense contentiously v opposed the
plan OF the state to have the jury exam
inc the photographs and were success
full. for the time being at least, in with
holding the pictures, although they were
admitted as state exhibits.
Some of the absorbing testimony of
the week was given by Drs. Stone and
Rowland, and in the case of the former,
who was continuing his recital when
court took recess, it may be said that
none of the witnesses, with the exception
of Otis Williams, has been followed more
closely. Qualifying evidence brought out
by the state showed that DR.. Stone had
performed postmortem examinations OF
more than 500 cases He said he was
accompanied on the trip TO Waits River
on the Monday following the murder by
DR.. C. F. Whitney, his assistant. He
first saw the body in an upper room in
the Waits River school house. 1t was
clothed in Jumper, red sweater, brown
overalls. wooden stockings, a cotton shirt
and knitted underwear. The front part
Of the body, he said, was partly covered
With blood. Here the witness exhibited
| photograph of the body fully clothed
md il was receivable as an exhibit. The
witness and his assistant then removed
he clothing and washed the blood from
he head and face, after which the upper
PORTION of the body was photographed
photograph submitted by witness re-
eived as an exhibit and shown to the
ury.)
Asked to describe the injuries, DR..
stone said that gun shot wound had
ierced the head, causing a perforation
n the left side Just back of the eye and
ear the hair line. On the opposite side
{ the head, he said, there was a much
,reer tear through the skin. Between
he two points. he went on, the skull
-as badly crushed. The eye balls had
cen forced from the sockets and lay
yer the cheeks and parts of the brain
ere exuding Nearly every bone in the |
cad. including the jaw bone, were brok-
n. said the doctor, and even the de-
,ased's artificial teeth were shattered.
sing the photograph, DIR. Stone pointed
NJ the wound to the jury. When asked
, to what angle the bullet followed, wit
as said that the track of the missile
as slightly upward, although there was
, pereeptible deviation frontward or
lckward. Asked as TO how he deter
ined that the bullet was inclined to as
nd, witness said that he used a probe.
ter the witness, using the head OF the
torney general as a model and with
e aid of yard stick, showed the jury
the angle taken by the
Illet
When asked to give his opinion as 70
nat caused Felch's death, witness an
rered that it was due to an injury TO
e brain. Replying to q question by
e attorney general as to what he
irned with reference 10 the distance
tween the gun and Felch's head when
e shot was fired, witness said that he
amined the skin and hair around the
trance wound for evidence OF burns,
loke OF powder marks. first with the
ked eve and then with magnifying
IS and found no marks. Asked az 20
lat conclusion he reached after the ex-
,iuation Of the entrance wound, wit
s. replied that the muzzle Of the gun
1t have been more than four feet
m the region of the entrance wound IN
lrh's head when the weapon was dis
srred. At this point, the examiner