The Washington times., 1920-11-01
SON MARKED
/. BEFORE BIRTH
MRS. PERRYCO
MRS. PERRYCO
Mother Stirs Women to Tears
With Recital Of Story Of Ac.
cused's Boyhood.

Three months before the birth OF
Edgar Randolph Perrygo. the eight
een-year-old boy who Ia being tried
for the murder OF Mrs. Mary Faith
full. q maniac who had escaped from
confinement at st. Elizabeth's Hos
pital endeavored to get int the room
OF his mother. through q window,
and frightened her SO that she
swooned and was confined to her bed
for a week. Mrs. Perrygo told the
Jury this morning.
| sTIRs WOMEN TO TEARS.
Mrs. Perryco was the nrst witness
called when . defense opened its
case this mor.Lng following a three
day adjournment. When she walked
into the courtroom hush fell over
the crowd which packed the ROOM
Women began to weep as they glanced
at the very small woman. who was
dressed In black and who gave her
name az Mrs. Rose Perrygo. mother
: OF Edgar Randolph Perrygo the de-
| PENDANT"
| Mrs. Perrygo was one OF the few
women In the court who did not weep.
At first she took her seat sort Of
|
chair. but upon suggestion of John l.
Sacks, who was questioning her.
leaned back and made a pathetic eff
| fort to relax.
ANSWERS QUESTIONS CLEARLY.
Her answers to the questions put
| by Sacks came straight and clear.
At no time was there any clubbing
| When yes" or mo" would suffice,
Mrs Perrygo answered in mono
| syllables. When called upon Ito elab-
crate statement she did SO in Il
clear. convincing way.
While she was testifying Edgar
sat with his eyes on the floor.
Never once did he glance up-not
even when attention Of the jury and
| the court was directed straight at
him by his mothers statement that
| he still carried a scar on hts fore.
head which he had sustained when
he fell against u rusty nail in his
| infancy.
! Besides the question of pre- .nsta
| influence. Mrs. Perrygo gave TO the
jury a number Of incidents OF the
earlier life OF Edgar, which the de-
| Tense. according to the statement Of
! the case as outlined by Bertrand
| Emerson. jr.. will use as the basis for
| Its plea OF insanity.
PRENATAL INFLUENCES.
The first question put to Mrs. Per-
l rygo after her Identify had been es-
tablished was one which brought out
the answer regarding a possible pre-
| natal influence in the boy which may
have ben responsible for his actions
on February 3. 1920. the day Mrs.
Faithful was killed.
Relating the incident, Mrs. Perrygo
said:
| Three months before Edgar's
birth 1 was standing in the kitchen
OF our home on the grounds at ST.
Elizabeth's Hospital, where my hus-
band was poultry keeper. was 40
| ing my work. / heard a noise and
looked toward the window. i saw
one of the patients from the hospital
violent one whom had been
warned to look out for. trying to &C:
| in the window. / collapsed. When
my husband came in I was in d
swoon. was sick in bed from the
fright about a week"
when Edgar was two years old.
he was riding with me in a spring
wagon. The wagon collided with
lumber wagon and we were both
thrown out Edgar sustained bruises
on his head which remained there
| for three or four weeks.
"Oncc when he was a very small
boy he was trying to climb into the
sink-a habit he had--when ne fell
against n rusty nail. and SUSTAINED
serious injury on his forehead. He
still has the scar.
"A little later, he was hit in the
head with stone by the child of a
neighbor. 1t was necessary to nave
the wound treated and to keep in
the house about a week.
Giving a chronological history of
the life of Edgar. as a small child.
| Mrs. Perrygo said.
when Edgar was very young he
| evidenced habit Of butting his head
against objects. He would butt his
head against the wall, and when !
! would remonstrate with him, he
( would reply in his baby language:
| You know where I belong
"He walked in his sleep. He would
walk out Of doors at night. The next
morning when l would speak to hin
about 1t, he would remember nothing
of what had happened.
ALWAYS HAD VACANT STARE.
| Edgar always had a vacant stare.
| He would sit and look at you--or you
would think he was looking at you.
And when you would speak to him
he would seem not to hear you or to
know you were around. He had a
strange habit Of sitting in q chair
with his head on the floor and his
feet over the back OF the chair. This
habit remained with him until a year
| or two ago. When I would say any
think to him about II he would an
swer. just as he had answered when
he was baby: Well, you know
where I belong"
Mrs. Perrygo said she did not know
what Edgar meant by the statement,
'well. you know where belong" hut
that he had used II all through his
life when she would demonstrate with
him about peculiarities.
Edgar all through life had COM
planned of severe headaches, she said.
She recalled an incident when Ed
gar, the victim OF a childish prank
in school. had struck his head and
the base OF his spine against a desk,
and received serious injuries.
HE was reciting at school," she
said, land while he was out of his
l