The independent-reporter., 1920-03-04
BURKE MURDER TRIAL
CONTINUED from Page Four

iOOntlnued from rage FOurD
consumed in walking from the store
to the house was from to 10 minu-
tes. After they went into the house,
he took his coat off and went direct
| ly upstairs to bed In from 3 to S
minutes he heard a shot fired. From
the time he left his store no rapidly
moving or slowly moving automobile
passed him. Under cross examina-
tion Mr.. Taylor could not say when
he had compared his watch with stan
dard time
RIGOR MORTIS AGAIN THE TOPIC
DR. Forrest c. Tyson of Augusta,
superintendent of the Augusta State
Hospital for a little over six years
and assistant superintendent at the
Bangor Hospital for eight years took
the stand He graduated from Tufts
College in 1905 and had performed
about three hundred autopsies. He
was familiar with rigor mortis and
advanced testimony to the effect that
Nelson W BARLEY could not have
been placed in the cave as soon a
his death occurred. He stated
that rigor mortis begins in
the small muscles of the throat usu-
ally and strikes the arms last. Atty.
Pattangall read a description given
by DR. Boothby for the state OF the
condition of the body of BARLEY when
it was found in the cave. which dealt
with the left arm having rested on
some support where it was held in
the position found until it became fix
ed by rigor mortis. DR.. Tyson be
iatyaA haf artificial SnnnOTt
must have held the arm in the posi-
ton found for from four to five hours
after death. According TO the tes-
timony previously given the arm was
found elevated from the chest and
Dr. Tyson stated that this would not
have been possible according to his
experiments from restraint OF cloth
ing. He also testified to the difficult
ty in handling bodies of dead persons
when death first occurred and stated
that ii was almost impossible Tor a
imam to handle a body of equal weight
under such conditions He gave rea-
sons for the sO-called blood stains
under Bartleys head as resulting
from spinal fluid which had become
tinged with blood from the wound.
Under cross examination he admit
ed that none of the autopsies per
formed in his institutional work had
/ been where death was due to gun shot
wounds He gave the amount OF
spinal fluid in an ordinary person
as being something like three ounces.
DR. Herbert f. Johnson of the State
Health Department took the stand
Friday afternoon. He was in the
hAupito1 from 1Q10-1Q17
and later was pathologist at Wor-
cester Hospital. He has assisted In
performing or performed three TO four
hundred autopsies. He was familiar
with rigor mortis conditions which de-
velop In the muscles after death. His
testimony cotroborated that of Dr. Ty-
son in the opinion that Nelson Bart
| Ilevs arm had been supported by some
artificial substance between the elbow
and the hand until rigor mortis set
| in and that the minimum time for RI
ror mortis to be established was from
/ four to five hours. This completed
the testimony for the defense and the
rebuttal was not begun Friday after
moon an important witness Tor the
State. DR.. George D. MeGrath of Har-
ward college being out of town ana
delayed by belated train.
John Burkes trousers again maze
their appearance in the Court Room
Saturday morning when the reouttal
was begun. John Folswartschney' OF
Portland a gun shot specialist took the
stand as the first witness for the state
on rehuttal and stated that he fired
four shots into the trousers of John
A. Burke. one at contact and the
others at 3. 6 and inches respec-
lively using a 3S Colts revolver.
There was no cross examination.
Iline McMann, who went with MISS
Erma Williams from the Williams
home to the home of Miss Florence
Rancourt according to the previous
testimony. and Miss Raneourt bo'n
testified to having left the Rancour'