The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-02-01


period of years
The jury in the case of Ben Price
charged with the murder of Rundell
Merrill near Oakley last September,
rendered verdict of guilty Saturday
evening at 7:30 after being out just one
hour, and on the second ballot The
first ballot was IL for conviction and
for acquittal. The trial lasted six days
and hard fight was made by Attorney
George E. Pardee of this city, to acquit
the young man, but the testimony of
Roscoe Sloat, who fired the fatal shot,
and many confirming circumstances
convinced the Jury that Price was
Sloats companion. Price was dazed by
the verdict. and his mother, Mrs. Alex
ander Mclaughlin. was FRUSTRATED.
The arguments were two hours long
each by Prosecuting Attorney Riley E.
Crane and MIR. Pardee, and Judge Neil
A. Snow took nearly two hours in
charging the jury.
The case was one of the quickest con.
Quoted in this part of the state in years
considering that no one witnessed the
shooting, and both men got away from
the scene of the murder with little
evidences to base conviction on until
Sloatt ncon fessed. Z Price was ARRESTED
Sept II and Sloat Sept l3 The con-
fession was made Nov. 8, and three
days la.er he plead guilty and was
given a life sentence at Marquette
prison.
Attorney Pardee in taking up the
defense stated that he would prove Price
was in Owosso the evening of the
murder.
Ben Price was placed on the stand
in his own defense in an attempt to
strengthen the alibi that he was in
Owosso on the night of September 6,
last, and consequently could not have
been the accomplice of Roscoe j. Sloat,
He stated Sloat had at one time asked
to be taken to his home in Ovid on
his (Price's) motorcycle, but that he
did not take him, and this added. to
the unfriendliness.
In describing his whereabouts dur
ing the week of the murder, his testi-
mony was that he spent large share
of the time at the home of a friend,
Clarence Porter, who testified previ-
ously in his behalf, and in company
with Guy and Roy Butts. Sloat was
also at this house several times.
\ After his direct testimony Price
was submitted to a searching cross exs
animation by Assistant Prosecutor R.
L. Crane. The cross examination
brought out that he had served 60
days in Jail for completely with Sloat
in the theft of an auto or gasoline in
1915. He declared that he had given
Sloat money to buy gasoline, but it
developed later Sloat had not bought
it and they were arrested, serving
60 days each. At this point he was
asked by Judge Snow if he was tried
and convicted of this charge or If he
pleaded guilty, and his answer was 81
don't know" 1t was also brought out
that he served Today sentence in the
Detroit house of correction for the
theft of bicycle. Attorney Crane
asked Price, "How many times have
you been arrested?" His answer was
81 don't know" After considerable
questioning he finally fixed the num-
ber of arrests at six.
When confronted with copies of
statements made to former Prosecutor
James p. Devereaux and Sheriff Suth-
erland on September IL following his
arrest, and on November 8, following
the confession made by Sloat and i'm
plicating him, and asked to account for
discrepancies in his testimony and
these statements, his answers were
denial of the statements made on the
earlier dates.
Mrs. Alexander Mclaughlin, mother
of Price, Ivan Thompson and Hugh
Pond, high school boys, were placed
on the stand giving testimony streng-
thening the alibi that he was in Owos-
so on the night of the murder. His
mother testified that she heard him in
the house about IL o'clock on that
night.
He proceeded to call witnesses,
who testified to, the points brought
out by him in his opening statement,
CONTINUED on page eight)