The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1920-07-29

hearse. She told Of other trips taken
with the respondent. both before and
after the death of his wife.
Miss Outflow then related the cir
cumstanees of her relations with the
respondent, both at the Troy hospital
and at her home in Sodom. She denied
thet she ever took any automobile trip
with Pettibone in August. 1919. and
declared that she never saw the man
until March, 1920. this in eontradic-
tion TO evidence by the state.
The alleged confession of Pettibone
of the murder of his wife on the night
of April 6, when he is said to have
administered fatal dose of strych-
nine, was read to the jury just before
the close of court Friday afternoon.
The confession, which is one Of two
that Judge Stanley C. Wilson has said
that he would admit to the jury, comes
after one Of the most holly contested
legal battles in the history Of the
state of Vermont. Counsel for the
accused man sought in vain for nearly
two days to keep from the ears of the
u men sitting on the jury their eli
ent's own story of the events which
led up to his placing of the contents of
the strychnine sulphate bottle into a
dose Of salts prepared .by his hands
for his wife, according to his confess
sion.
At the opening Of court after Judge
Wilson and the rest of the bench had
carefully considered the confessions
and the evidence as to the circum-
stances under which they We're obtain
ell the court ruled that the confessions
would be allowed. In this connection,
Judge Wilson said in part:
in considering the matter Of the
admission Of the statements, we have
had in mind the rules of law as we
understand it has been laid down in
Vermont and other states. Whatever
ruling we make here is as to the ad-
mission of the evidence and has moth
ing to do with the truth of the state
ments. We have examined the tran
scripts and we are unable to find any
evidence which tends to support the
claim that the confessions were other
than voluntary. We might guess at
what happened and was not reported.
They expressly deny any improper
influence that was brought to bear on
the respondent to make these state
ments, and again all the witnesses
assert no promises, threats, force or
improper influence were used. We find
for the purposes Of the preliminary
hearing that these statements or con-
fessions were voluntary statements
made under the rules of law. The sub
ject matter may be admitted in evil
dence."
To this ruling Of the court, the de-
Tense took an exception, which was
allowed by the court.
The scene was the most dramatic Of
any since the opening Of this now
famous trial. the court room being
packed TO the doors, men and boys
hanging in the windows. The room
was so utterly packed with humanity
that, according to the permission of
the court, part of the jurors sat in the
jury box in their shirt-sleeves.
Pettibone was all attention from the
start and often he conferred with his
attorneys who are fighting every inch
Of the way. taking numerous excep-
tons end in every way endeavoring to
protect the rights of the accused man.
Pettibone sat with hands clenehed as
he listened to the striking points in the
story as brought out in the reading by
Attorney General Frank c. Archibald.