News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1920-12-22
The Mudgctt Trial
Reported for the Morrisville Messenger
By Theodore II. Stopple -.
THURSDAY

THURSDAY
The feature Of today was the grilling
| examination of States Attorney Tracy by
| Attorney General Archibald, an exam
| nation so rigid and unsparing that
counsel for the defense took exceptions
to Mr.. Archibald's line of questioning.
You make mighty poor witness, the
same as lawyers usually do" said the
Attorney General in reference to his
colleague.
David E. Porter, of counsel for Mud
gett, put the states attorney through
another difficult half-hour as he cross
I examined him in reference to the early
| activities of the state, the notice re-
! ceived of the finding of the body, the
| investigations and other details lead
| ing up to the arrest of Mudgett.
"Your memory seems to be gather
poor" said the counsel for the defense
| in commenting on the testimony of the
| county prosecuting officer.
Archibald Outlines States Case
In outlining what the state would at
| tempt to prove, Attorney General Archi-
bald said that Amy Shonio came to
| johnson in August, 1919; that she pro-
| cured a room at the home of Mrs Har-
ret Foster; that Mudgett was a fire.
! quent visitor on Saturday nights and
Sundays; that as early as September
| last year he began to pay attention to
Amy; that he was a married man and
| had been separated from his wife for
about seven years and that his atten-
| tions to Amy soon became marked and
| a subject for comment.
Describes Couples Relations
The attorney general described in de-
| tail the conditions in the Foster house
| and the gradual progress and the rela-
tions between Mudett and Amy Shonio,
| leading up to the time, months after
| wards, when the desperate girl placed
herself wholly in Mudgett's power and
the tragic death that followed.
eve will undertake to show" said the
attorney general chat Mudgett was in
the vicinity where the body was found
on a Saturday night; that on Sunday
persons saw the body of a woman lying
there; that no attention was paid to it
at that time. The evidence will tend
to show that the respondent knew the
locality of the field where the body was
found and was seen there at various
times during the summer of 1920. 1t
will show that the murder was commit
ted on the last day of July, that on that
evening the respondent at the hour of
9:45 came from the direction of the field
to the hotel in johnson making his way
down a path in back of the hotel. The
path in the rear of the hotel branches
off to a path leading to the spot where
the body was found. The state will
show that the respondent was at his
brothers at 8 o'clock and at the Fosters
at 1880 O'Clock, although he claims to
have been at his brothers at o'clock
and at the Fosters at 10 o'clock. That
he knew of these two paths. That he
denied all knowledge of the paths, al
though he admitted later that he knew
of them; that he denied having any i'm
proper relations with the dead girl,
then later admitted them; that he even
denied writing letters to Amy Shonio
and then later admitted that he had writ
ten; that the only human beings who
knew of the girls conditions were Mud
gett and herself; and that an attempt
had been made. to perform a criminal
operation"
Attorney Walter A. Dutton of counsel
for the defense, said he had no state
ment to make at this time as to what
the defense would be.