New-York tribune., 1919-06-25
Prisoner Voluble While
Guided by His Attorney,
but Grows Nervous When
Attacked by Prosecutor
Sobs Over Death of Wife
Accused Physician Denies
i'm Detail All Testimony
Brought to Convict Him
Staff Correspondence


MINEOLA, Long Island. June a.
With his cross-examination barely be-
gun, DIR. Walter Keene Wilkins,
charged with numbering his wife,
stepped off the witness stand at 4:30
this afternoon, leaving many contra
dictions behind him. He walked over
to his counsel with cheerful air and
shook hands with each in turn, greatly
relieved, apparently, that the fierce
grilling to which District Attorney
Weeks subjected him was over for the
time being. He takes the stand again
tomorrow morning.
The District Attorney confined his
cross-examination to emphasizing GER
tain incidents in the past of the de-
fendant and in getting him to contra
dict previous testimony delivered be-
fore Judge Neu and signed by himself.
Under direct examination DR.. Will
kins swore with quiet emphasis that
he did not kill his wife; that he never
took a blood-stained suit of clothes
to Jacobson, the tailor, to be cleaned;
that the Swiss hunting case watch
found in the sofa was not the watch he
said was stolen from MIN by burglars;
that the love knot stick pin nroduced
in court was different from the pin
that disappeared on the night of the
murder; that he had never seen the
1915 will before March of this year,
and that he did not insert the date
alongside of the signature of his wife.
Devoted to Each Other
The defendant testified that Mrs.
wilkins and he had been devoted to
each other. He described her .as a
woman Of great magnetism; woman
OF attractive personality and bright in
teilect. She had never interfered
with him in money matters, and thew
were en- the best of terms, he said.
The defendant broke down completely
and hastened~the adjournment of the
court in the middle of the day. He was
telling what happened at the hospital
when he heard that his wife was dead.
ut certainly was Shock" he began.
ut was stunning blow to me. l fell
back on my seat and had fit of Sob
bing. l thought would have died, and
that my heart would stop beating.
was = And here his voice trailed off
and he began to shake with sobs.
District Attorney Weeks smiled. The
faces of the jurymen were a study.
There was a rustic in the courtroom,
Sympathetic, dismayed and incredulous
glances passed from one to the other
Justice Manning adjourned court abrupt
ly, and the defendant left the stand.
By the time he reached the door he
had recovered his composure and his
face bore no signs of the brief storm
which had shaken him.
Cahn II the Start
When the defendant took the stand
early in the morning he was absolutely
calm. A faint smile played intermit-
emily on his face. His readiness to give
testimony amounted almost to garrulity.
Time and again the judge or counsel
had 70 stem the flowing tide of his mar
ratve, and to curb his passion for de-
tail. His voice fuctuated unevenly, and
words were frequently lost in his beard.
His enunciation was cultural, rapid and
hard 20 follow.
AS the day advanced the assurance
which MIR. Wysong's direct examination
had bred in him wilted before the heavy
onslaught Of the District Attorney. For
the last hour his answers we're inco-
herent and nervous. All his sang froid
left him. He was decidedly nervous
when Mr.. Weeks began to cross-examine
him on the divorce obtained in Cali
fornia by his first wife.
stated in the divorce application
brought in by your first wife, Grace
Mansfield" asked Mr.. Weeks.
ut interested me. very little when
heard them,'' was the doctors reply.
n:d-,< Cn~~ Vo~~, Mmch
Q.-Wasn't the divorce brought fol
failure to support, idleness, profigacy
and dissipation ?" A-Perhaps it was.
Q.-Why didn't you defend it? A
Because l didn't care very much. The
statements were false anyway, and ir-
ritated me good deal.
Q.-In other words, you started to
be framed up" very early in life
Didn't your wife accuse you of being
intimate with woman called Florence
A. Merrill? A.-She did not.
Q-Did you ever express love and
affection for this woman while you
were the husband of Grace Mansfield
and weren't there some letters between
you? Al don't remember.
Didn't you show Miss Merrill a
paper purporting to be your divorce
from your wife, although you were still
married to her? Al don't remem-
Der. l did have patient of that name
once.
Q--When did you first know you,
wife had obtained a divorce? A
Legally, was never informed of it
put she married again, SO felt a,
liberty to do the same.
Q.-You loved her, didn't you? A
Weii--yes; but l blamed her for on,
little girls death. The child caught
chill under an open window while
my wife was at a matinee. and dice
OF pneumonia. This caused hard feel
ings between US, which / never quit,
forgot.
Never Bought Her Anything
Q.-Wasn't it true that YOU left Won,
wife because her father, Mr.. Mansfield
did not furnish your home and pay yo,
tho $50 month promised you for ,
start? A.--No; I left because ther,
were more opportunities for me in tn,
East.
Did you ever buy anything 70,
your frst wife during your married
life? A:--No; but | should have
looked after her if she had come East
with me.
Q.--You said under direct examina.
ton that the last Mrs. Wilkins was
prepossessing. Al did not. | said she
aad bright mentality, and that when
she went to card parties she looked as
: well as any other woman,
Q.-Was she cleaniy? A.-Yes. when
she went out in 4 social wav
Q>s--What about the condition Of thu