The sun., 1919-06-18
DIDN'T TRY TO HUNT
WILKINS BURGLARS
Chief Tracy Says He Decided
in Is Minutes Doctor Was
Guilty.
STATE SCORES LITTLE
Girls Story Supports Defend
dant's Tale Thieves Struck
to Silence Woman.

| N.
/ trial at Mineola for the murder OF his
wife, called It the end OF a perfect day
| again yesterday when at the adjourn
| ment of court a dozen of the States wit
| nesses had been heard without the testi-
mony of any of them seemingly carry
| Ing the irresistible inference OF the de-
| fendants guilt
The witnesses were a half dozen OF
the defendants neighbors who saw and
talked with him In and about his home
| at Long Beach on the night of the MUIR
\ der. hotelkeeper who was with him
| part OF the night; three physicians and
| two chiefs of police, Phillips OF Rock
wills Centre and Tracy of Long Beach.
All of them told stories almost as much
| OPEN TO the inference of.innocence as OF
guilt, and Chief Tracy. one OF the prose-
cuton's principal witnesses. admitted
upon cross-examnation that ne formed
the opinion that DIR. Wilkins was guilty
fifteen minutes after he had visited the
| place OF the crime and before he had
taken the pains to examine fully the
premises.
Tracy Got There Next Morning.
| AS is the way with circumstantial
cases, much testimony OF little value
| crept In with that which District Aston
ney Weeks regards as valuable yester-
day. and as he shaped his case scrap by
scrap for the consideration of the jury.
| 1t happened frequently that counsel for
| the defence, rising to cross-examine, de-
stroyed much of the probative effect Of
| what had been told. or drew from this or
that witness matter clearly favorable to
| the accused.
Chief Tracy, veteran New York cop
now autocrat of a force Of seven by the
sounding waves OF Long Beach, was the
~ H.
| stand from an anteroom obviously eager
to tell his story. From the moment Of
taking his oath he was a headlong wit
| ness; the court had to stay his ardor
| more than once and Mr.. Weeks had to
| caution him over and over to keep his
| answers within the boundaries indicated
by the questions.
His testimony was that his duties as
chief of police have not required that he
sleep at Long Beach, so he was at his
Brooklyn home on the night OF the muir
der. Coming to Long Beach in the
morning he went at once to DR.. Wilkins
cottage, heard from him the story that
burglars had killed Mrs. wilkins while
she was crying for help in her dooryard,
and at once set about collecting evidence.
Since other Long Beach police already
had testified to what the defendant said
and did within the hour after his wife
| was attacked Snlet tracy Was hoic W
tell little Of q character calculated to
galvanize jurymen in their seats. He
wound up his narrative with a descrip-
ton OF how he tried all the locks and
latches on the house--in the lelsurely
sunlight of the morning after-found
none OF them bearing the marks OF bur-
glarious handling and then wen. with
the defendant for walk about the
garden and yard.
a ty,f = o.
for the defence. led him over part
of his testimony again then put the
question suddenly:
Are not you the first Wilkins
man. the first official to hit upon the
theory that Dr. wilkins was guilty.
"I am"
And how soon did you reach your
conclusion as to the doctors guilty.
within fifteen minutes after reach
ing the scene OF the crime"
Now, Dr. wilkins told you that
burglars killed his wife. What. IL any
thing, did you do to discover II burglars
had been at the house?'
Nothing. In my opinion IL was un.
necessary"
Phillips There in Two Hours.
Mr.. Weeks raised the question Of
relevancy when Mr. Wysong tried TO
other burglaries in Long Beach, but
the court let the line Of questioning
proceed as competent on credibillty.
Chief Tracy finally admitted that fam
lily named Cohen had been robbed there.
but said that the other burglaries. II
any. had occurred before he assumed
Office.
Chief VIII Phillips OF Rockville Centre
was another police witness. Though
called for the prosecution all he could
swear to was that he had driven to
Long Beach within an hour after re-
ceiving word OF the murder, reaching
there two hours after It took place lie
had met only four cars on the Long
Beach causeway and knew all their &C.
cupants. But the inference that he
would have met the burglars IL there
had been any was nullifed when he
admitted that they could have made
their escape within the hour before he
received the alarm.
The defence, which contends that no
wife murderer who was a physician
would summon help to a woman still
living and likely to regain conscious
ness and accuse him. scored again when
DR.. James l.. Mangano, formerly in tho
army service who assisted at an opera
ton performed on Mrs. wilkins after
she was attacked, testified that although
not fully conscious she was articulate
and said Don't hurt me" when he was
helping get her ready for the operating
table. He said also that when he aske,
her to turn on her left side she did 30
without assistance
The ferocity OF the attack which re-
suited in her death was made plain by
the testimony of DR.. Arthur Jacques and
DR.. Frank T. Delano, who performed
the autopsy. They testified that she
had been struck on the head thirteen
times and that her skull was punctured
in two places and two splinters of bone.
each an inch long, driven into the brain.
Cassius Coleman. Justice OF the
Peace. and Mrs. Coleman and three
neighbors of DIR. wilkins. Mr.. and MrE.
Oscar f. Earle and Clara Duisberg. told
of conversations with him the night OF
the murder They all said he was
greatly unnerved and insisted that
burglars were the murderers. Clara
Duisberg, who is IA, stated that she
heard n woman screaming and dogs
barking before DR.. Wilkins came to her
home and begged for help Her testi-
mony about the screams bears out his
story that burglars killed his wife to
silence her.