Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-06-11
COOK CLAIMS
MEMORY OF
WHAT OCCURRED
Defendant I'm Murder Trial In Cir
cult Court Takes Stand In
Own Defense.

tions on the day of the shooting of
Cecil Nesbit and Mrs. Ida Woods,
for which he is on tril, up to a
couple OF hours before the crime
was committed. declaring that his
mind was a blank as to what had
occurred after he had drank from
a bottle of whisky secured from
Mrs. Woods about o'clock in the
evening on the day of the killing
In telling his story to the jury,
Cook told of quitting his Job at the
restaurant of Bert Carhan at 2106
Third avenue on the Saturday night
preceding the Monday on which
Mrs Woods and Nesbit were muir
dered. II was his intentions to take
a vacation, and to do it properly
with the aid of liquor, he said
According to his testimony, he
was able to purchase the whisky at
Mrs. Woods restaurant at 2202
Third avenue. On Monday, April 81 =,
the day of the crime. he made three
visits to the place, each time buy
ing and drinking whisky. The first
two times he bought drinks for a
stipulated sum, he said, naming
Fred Wells. a witness for the state,
rant. as being the person who did
the selling.
The last time that he recalled
having been in the restaurant was
about o'clock of the same day. and
at that time Mrs. Woods sold him
a pint bottle of whisky. he stated.
seal of which had been broken.
Il didn't like the idea very well
of the broken seal" Cook said,
and l told Mrs. Woods So"
"'You will have to take it if you
: want any as that is all l have,
Cook attributed as Mrs Woods re-
ply.
Accepting the whisky. Cook sal
he went to a place where he could
drink 1t, taking three drinks out of
the bottle at that time. At the res
taurant of Bert Carhan, above
which he rented a room, he ordered
a supper served to him and sat
down at the counter with a view t.
eating 1t was at this point that he
commenced to feel the effects of his
drinking, he stated. his eyes start
ing TO burn. causing a sort of blind
ness, and a feeling of sickness TAX
ing hold of him.
Memory n Blank. He Claims.
The feeling possessed him so
thoroughly that he did not feel any
desire to eat what he had ordered,
instead going up to his room to
go to bed He could remember only
in a vague way of laying down on
the bed What occurred thereafter
until he awoke the next morning
in cell at the police station is
blank in his memory. he testified.
Of the shooting, or persons he is
said. hut what 1t could have been
was testified he had been in pre-
vious to the committing of the
crime, he claimed to have absolute
II no recollection.
In a hazy way Cook recalled for
the benefit of the jury his awaken
ing on the morning following the
killing in his cell at the police sta
ton He remembered something
having to do with a hearing and of
a continuance. saying that he had
been in police court once before for
drunkenness, and of being removed
to the county jail.
1t was while being placed In a
cell at the county Jail that his mind
first commenced to realize that he
had done something serious, he
said, but whit it could have been
was a perplexing problem too great
for his brain to figure out. He call
ed to the policeman who had
brought him to the Jail as the lat
ter was leaving and asked him what
he was being locked up for.
+" Why, Bob, don't you know what
van 10 % eoiJ
o1icer asked.
No I don't" was the reply Cook
said he made.
Well, you killed Nesbit and
Mrs. Woods last night" was the
\ officers answer as stated by the
defendant.
AT first I thought I was being
kidded. but at the evident serious
ness of the policeman I commenced
to realize for the first time what
was up against" the witnessSsaid.
Never Saw Neshit.
Cook claimed that he had never
seen Nesbit before the shooting and
carried no idea as to how he ap-
peared.
AS to the character of the res
taurant conducted by Mrs. Woods.
he said that ostensibly it was a
restaurant and rooming house, but
was used for bootleging and other
Illegal purposes. He frequently saw
dope about the premises, he stated.
Despite efforts of the state to
trip him up on the cross-examina-
ton. Cook did not waver from his
story that he could remember moth
ing that might have happened after
he laid down on his bed in his
room. AS to the gun marked peoL
pies exhibit No. l Cook said he
couldn't say that he had ever seen
It,
The defense subpoenaed three of
its witnesses from the cells in the
county Jail to testify yesterday aft
ernoon. William L. Miller. who was
confined to the Jail On the same
date that the killing took place.
described Cooks actions during his
first days behind the bars, saying
that in his belief. the man had been
drugged He cited his experience
among dope fiends as the basis for
his conclusion.
~ Raymond Mayer. another inmate
of the jail. gave similar evidence.
Mrs. Hannah Culpepper (coloredl.
who was employed as a maid by
Mrs Woods at the time of the /
crime, but whose residence at pres !
ent is in the county Jail, was called |
TO the stand and an effort made nv