Norwich bulletin., 1918-10-05

ndndS. Ihey shouted ! 4Ou G-d d-n, bald headed, peg-legged son of a II, open that door Then one of shem said, I don't know which: I'll give you ten seconds to open that door or we'll break your head open My chil dren were crying, my wife was saying Good God, what shall we do? What shall we do?' Then my heart seemed to go out of my body I don't think ! breathed. 1 saw the bolt on the door was just hanging. I stepped back into the room and got my gun. As I took it up l slipped a cartridge into the barrel, for l knew it was empty. Then with my gun at my shoulder I fired through the window I didn't take aim. I didn't see what. I hit. 1 kept on shooting as fast as I could work the lever I held the gun in front of me. When I came to myself, I was stand ing in front of the window, holding the lever, and my wife was saying: There is Will Kinney lying out in the road The only time l fired with the gun at my shoulder was on the first shot"
 This is the way Simon A. G. Sals- bury, on trial in the superior, court for | first degree murder for killing William Kinney of PrestSn on May 9th last described the shooting of Kinney who was instantly killed, and Herman | Chapman, who was wounded and died | later
 Salisbury was put on the stand late on Friday afternoon here as the first | witness for the defense after the state | had produced it's witnesses and rested. l Throughout his testimony Salisbury spoke in a quite even tone, distinctly and with little trace of excitement. | When court adjourned at A30 till l next Tuesday morning he had told his l complete story under the questioning of his counsel, Attorney J. J. Des- mond.
 Counsel for the accused man said on Friday that they would have few witnesses. After Salisbury had told | his story, Attorney Desmond had started to go oyer some of the details
 with him and he will probably con tinue this line of questioning when the case is resumed
 Immediately after the shooting, | Salisbury said he put on his shoes,
 took his revolver and left the house. going to the trolley line. He thought
 he would go to Norwich and give him.
 self up. It was just 3 o'clock as he
 went across the swamp. The first car
 that came along was going to West I erly, and he went there. He sat in | the trolley station and directed an en-
 velope to the Norwich nolice, but
 when he went out to mail it there was
 no letter box. Then train came
 along and he got on, intending first to get off at New Haven.
 1 Salsbury's counsel did not ask him to describe his subsequent journey til he was captured in East Liverpool
 This had all been put before the court in statement which Coroner Frank lin H. Brown, the last witness for the
 state, had read. zk was a statement
 that Salisbury made to the coroner ir
 the jail after he had been brought
 back here.
 In the statement read by the coroner
 Salisbury had described a disag greemen1
 with Chapman his landlord, over sell.
 ing manure off the place, in whicl
 Mrs. Chapman had threatened hin
 that he would be put off if he sold (
 spoonful of manure from the place. H.
 had told her that he thought he would
 be a rank coward if he listened tt
 such a threat and also that he hadn'
 talked with a single person who had
 good word to say for her
 In his statement to the corone Salsbury's description of the shootin; followed quite closely his own stor. of it on the stand. It also said tha Kinney and Chapman threatened t cut his heart out if he didn't open tn door.
 The attorneys for the prisoner di not cross examine the coroner. In opening his testimony Sals bury said that he is 39 and ha a wife and five children, the younges one year old. He learned the trade 0 q shoemaker at East Liverpool, Ohio and in the spring of 1915 went into tn l Winchester gun shop at New Have1 . He has worked in gun shops i T Bridgeport, New Haven and Spring s field and at the Hopkins & Allen an
 Marlin Rockwell shop here.
 He told of hiring the Chapman plac
 in Preston at $S month in Apri / 1917, taking possession in the middl
 of the month. and moving his famil from Bridgeport after the boys schoC ] closed. Part of the time while tn family lived there he was working g Winchester's in New Haven and wa working there at the time of tn l shooting. He returned occasionally
 his home here.
 He had a hoe-sewing machine . $ his house which was the sewing ma
 chine by the kitchen window whic : has previously been referred to in thi | trial He never knew Chapman before tn ! day he hired the place and never ha ' seen Kinney but once before the da 5 Of the shooting.
 Salisbury testified to family incl dents covering the Saturday and Sun
 day before the shooting. Coming u | to the day of the shooting. he test
 fed to helping a Jewish peddler wh
 came along the road about 1.50 in t:
 afternoon. The peddler's wagon ha
 run off culvert on the road and int
 the wire fence. " Chapman and his son came alon | and the senior Chapman cursed tt ', peddler for running into the fenc - The Chapmans said nothing to SalS e bury and shortly went away. MT $ Chapman also come on the way 1 : Norwich and stopped and read tl IT sign which Salisbury had posted upo y a tree. Mrs. Chapman started to g h into the house. unlocking the gat h but then saw him. turned around ar n went past him. speaking to the peC ' dler on the way. but saying nothir T. to him.
 e, About 115 he saw Mrs. Kinney gC
 ing up the road towards Mrs Char W mans house.
 k After helping the peddler, Salsbul is went back to the house where he s le cown and took the baby on his la r. About 3.45 he started to pack his su case to go to New Haven. His wi Il. came running in and said, Good Go I'd here comes Chapman and Kinnt i'd running up the road" Somethir h came up in my throat and I couldr 1e speak to my wife to save my life. S. went to the front door and bolted it. From the way they were yelling le thought they were half drunk.
 wife kept saying. Good God. wh
 shall we do; what shall we do?" \ children were crying