The Washington times., 1920-05-27
TUCC| GIRLS FATE !
IN HANDS OF Jury.
Her Counsel Makes Brilliant
Plea to Free Her OF
Staying. go
By ANNE DUNLAP

TON hlItCl 9SAStN
s. left the courtroom yesterday
mand for conviction ringing In their
ears. ,..
This morning the jury reassembled
before Judge Mott in General Sessions
to hear his charge and then retired 10
determine the verdict
Yesterday was spent In hearing tne
plea OF counsel for the defense'-J' V'a'
tor D,Aloia, who drew for the Jury
men word pictures OF the life OF the
Sicilian girl over
which, he said, the shadows OF SIN
and death had been thrown py her
older sister. Angelina Cont
These pictures drew all eyes anu
many hearts to the little ngure IN
black, crumpled and sobbing.
.. story Called .Unthinkabie." 80
Assistant District Attorney Talley,
the case, strove 70 con-
vince the Jury that the motive marie
gave. the manner .fn. which she SAID
her sister had been shot, could not
stand in the light of,reason, he said
n was unthinkablc that this Older
sister should have sought to drive the
Younger sister into a life of shame.
forcing upon her the man Marie would
have the jury believe was Angelina
paramour. ,..s-... ... ...,ta .
But Talley offered no substitute mo-
tive. t.H
No witness on the stand gave a hint
of any other possible motive for the
shooting the state describes as mur-
der. -., .- -.
Michael Mongiovi, a first cousin OF
Marie and Angelina, the man about
0nhu "a hlInR.
Marie and witnesses are TO be be
lieved. took the stand yesterday and
the interpreter asked;a ~-'-
May ] say something"
With permission, he continued:
.Castano" "a witness) mentioned
nv honor / want vindication. He
said that he saw me alone with An
gelina i'm her bedroom. i deny that.
/ DENY that ! ever treated either or
the girls other than with the greatest
respect. They were my cousins"
Her mo" n White Light.
In his plea for the defendant, D'Alola
said:
There shines through this sordid.
ugly picture one ray Of cleaning
light, and that is this girls No to
the. hldeous proposal OF shame her
sister put to her. 1t is the brilliant
in the jury box and those of us here
cling to our faith in humankind. And,
that No has brought her here to the
bar of Justice; that NO which stood
up at the point OF a knife; but hard('
still, that No which comes from the
squalor and filth and misery OF a
great city's tenements. and 'Justines
mans faith in womanhood and wom-
ankind. ..
Have you gentlemen ever been
through West Houston street? Have
YOU ever been through miserable
tenement house? l do not know that
there is any writer of fiction or real
ism who can picture, life in the dregs
as il is found there.
And this girl before you,is here.be-
cause she would not hecou1e part Of
that squaIor; because she would not
give herself over to d life of shame;
because she would not sell that which
all women hold dearest in exchange
for money from a man she despised.
Bitter Toward Mongiovi.
"Of Michael Mongiovi, who testi-
fled before you just now that he had
been arrested and brought into the
Of this country for carrying
a revolver and striking his sister
in the face. / have just this to sayl
Look at his face! Listen to his voice!
I wish / were an artist and could
sketch that face. or phonograph
record that could reproduce his tone
and his words. 1t would be enough.
Gentlemen. I want to ask you one
question. why is this girl on trial
before your She cooked meat the
night before this tragedy for her sis
ter's breakfast in the morning. Would
she have done this had her mind been
filled with a scheme to end her sis
tcr's life?
Have you not wondered why the
revolver shots were not heard by
anyone in the thin-walled tenement ]
house? 1t was because the pistol was
pressed down between the hair of the
dead woman and the pillow and its
sounds were muffled. This itself
speaks of a struggle. s. --.
"Conduct Absolves Her"
"Thc girls conduct prior to the
date OF this tragedy absolves. her in
the eyes of the law. And while re-
jecting her own story of the hideous
fear that led her into the death fight
with her own sister, the prosecution
vet offers no reason why Marie should
have wished to kin her sister"
In summing up Talley said that he
had never heard a more eloquent plea
for a defendant than that made by
Mr.. d'Aloia. But he showed as 'ir-
evidence Of guilt the blood
stained pillow cover on which An
gelinas head had lain, and tho black
revolver which had sent two bullets
through her brain. He said: .
"Those wounds could not have, been
made as they were II the story Of
Marie Tucci is true. I sayit is i'm
that the dead womsn's finger
could have pulled the trigger on the
second bullet with ono bullet already
In her brain. For when the first bull
let touched the brain the hand would
have lain lifeleSs on the pillow and
could never have sent off the second.
Every indication points to the fact
that the deceased was murdered in
her sleep and went to her reckoning
without warning"