New-York tribune., 1918-12-04
Convict SWears
He and Not Baksa
Girl Did Murder
Burns Fails to Identify the
Defendant as Person He
Asserts He Saw Flee After
He Killed Mrs. Ha1nel

| WV hWitNNN ~tikh' S'diS c'', N"V 'NN
been in and out of prison for burglary
aud lesser crimes since he WAS eighteen
yoars old, and who didn't cvcn know
his mothers FIRST namc, sat IN the wit
ness chair in Judge Eosalsky's part Of
three hours did his best TO acquit
nineteen year old Elizabeth Baksa, on
trial there for the murder of her land
lady,s Mrs Helen Hamel, by swearing
he knew the girl was innocent
To save the girl, Burns admitted
that his pal" whose identity he clev-
erly withheld, was trying to bind and
placed towel about the woman's neck
and tied it., When Assistant District
Attorney Alfred J. Talley, on cross
examination, tried TO elicit material
facts in corrohoration Of Burns's rc-
markable attcmrt TO shoulder the re-
sponsihility for the crime RUINS, with
clevcrness seldom displayed by q wit
ness in General Sessions, repeatedly
declared that if he We're 80 answer the
question he would furnish link Of
evidence that would tend to connect
him with the burglary which he and
his pal" committed in the Hamel
home, as we'll as other jobs which he
said he had been engaged in about
that time
Burns did not identify the Bsksa
girl as the woman he said ne saw nm
ming away from Mrs, Hamel's house,
Nor was the defendant called on TO
identify Burns as the man she said she
saw bending over Mrs. Halnel. She
told her lawyers that she wanted time
to consider. Burns's remarkable mar
rative on the stand seemed to have
no emotional effect on the defendant
Burns is serving a ten-year term in
Auburn prison for third degree bur
glary as second offender. He wrotn
to Judge Rosalsky recently. declaring
he could prove the Baksa girl WAS in
nocent Judge Rosalsky ordered him
brought down TO New York. The girls
lawyers called him as their Witness
How is it?" asked Mr.. Talley, that
you came down here and willingly CON
fess TO murder and yet decline to in
criminate yourself in such amiable lit
sic crimes as burglary ?"
AFT might put me IN bad" Burns re-
.<Didn't you tell Samuel S, oKenig,
counsel for the defendant here, that
you'd plead guilty to nanslaughter IN
this case ?"
yes"
"Havent you expressed your belief
, that if you were called here as wit
ness by either side you couldn't bs
prosecuted ?'
81 knew that if testified for the
prosecution couldn't be prosecuted,
replied Burns, smiling.
5 Mr.. Talley brought out the fact that
while Burns was i'll the Raymond
Street Jail last April he wrote to Dis
trict Attorney Swami offering to fur
e nish information about the murder of
Harry Cohen, alias Harry the Yot,"
burglar who was murdered in the
vestibule of his apartments in West
A !
0 admitted to detectives VINO questioned
c him that it was he who had "pegged a
: bullet" into Cohen because the latter
= failed to "divvy" satisfactorily on a
a $500 set of surgical instruments which
. they had stolen from Dr. V. T. CARR
a son, of West End Avenue and Eighty
= third Street. He said he wanted to
/ save Morris Rothenberg, then under
!, Indictment. Curiously enough, DR.. Gar
s rison was one of the physicians who
: examined Burns to determine his
: sanity
~ as it true that you shot Cohen p
asked Mr.. TaMlley.
at was not" replied Burns.
Then why did you say you did?"
81 wasn't under oath then. am
:, now" replied Burns with smile.
Mr. Talley tried to wiring from Burns
the admission that his name was Sit
Z, leHocIR ana lndL MS ldlneI, Leo iolt-
tenberg, died in the Manhattan State
Hospital for the Insane. He also tried
tc show that Burns, between the age of
six and twelve years, with his brother
>. Harry Slttenberg, were inmates of the
Hebrew Sheltering Arms.
; what is your religion ?" asked Mr.
IS Talley.
j. 81 haven't any. l was christened 6
! Catholic, though" said Burns, smother
y, ing a yawn.
i" "By whom?'
y "Archbishop Cusak."
70 "What was your mothers christian
) name?"
=, u Emma, I think. really don't know.
4 when did she remarry?"
u you'll have to ask her ! wasn'
there" retorted Burns, with a knowing
n smile.
Il Il "Do you know that your mother Of
20 fers to testify that your father died O.
% insanity?"
II She's doing that to shield me-"
" Shield you from what?"
re- From charge of numbering Mrs
"a Hamel."
At this point Judge Rosalsky wa
obliged to bang his gavel repeatedly t.
quell the laughter that swept through
the courtroom. The spectators includ
ed many women, among whom wa
Under direct examination Burns tes
= tilted that he and his unnamed pal ha
. followed Mrs. Hamel for several day
,e before they entered her place to ro
N her. Once, Burns said, they followe
~ her in an automobile, which Burns sal
~ cost him $1,690.
- He testified that, after finding
=, e. small sum of money and a little Jew
= elry, he saw a young women dash ou
~ of the front hall of Mrs Hamel'
p house and run in the direction of tn
/, West Twentieth Street police station
a. He said he thouht he could identif
is her. but he did not see her face.
le "Hoy was Mrs Hamel dressed ?
r asked Mr.. Tulley, on cross-examins
tion.
r II don't remember" Burns replied.
Up How much money did you get? ?"
III Il don't remember. Not much. W
re overlooked the mattress where she ha
lie $1,000 hidden,'' the witness replied.
IS The crosse examination will continu
s. to-day