Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-01-08
DALEY FOUND GUILTY
OF MANSlAUCHTER
Taxicab Driver Fails to Establish
Abb in Connection With Fatal
Accident to Hazel Rugg on
Shelburne Road Last Septem-
ber-Jury Has Case 2K Hours

shortly before six o'clock Friday evening
by the IL men charged with deciding
the case of the State of Vermont
against Edward T. Daley. A taXicab
driver of this city, who had been on
trial in Chittenden county court since
Monday afternoon. charged with man
slaughter in connection with the death
of Miss Hazel T. Rugg, who was kill
ed when struck by an automobile on
the Shelburne road near Clymer street
on tho evening of September II last.
Daleys defence was an alibi. but he
failed to convince the jury, which had
the case about two hours and a half
The case went to the jury at 3;17
O'Clock Friday afternoon following
arguments by the four lawyers and
Judge Moultons charge to the jury
The morning was taken up with the
pleas of States Attorney Allen Martin
for the State and Attorneys Brown and
Leary for the defence. Attorney Cen
eral Frank C. Archibald summed up
the case for the State during the first
three quarters of an hour of the af-
ternoon session before the largest
crowd which has been seen in the court
room of this court in many a day.
ARGUMENTS OF COUNSEL.
| States Attorney Allen Martin opened
the arguments for the state. He review
ed in some detail the testimony CIV
en- by tho witnesses for the defence and
showed where this testimony strength
| ened the case Of the state and where
some of tho testimony was irrelevant. He
emphasized tho fact that. n the lip ia
| Daley's mudguard had fallen off on the
way down TO Queen City Park. as this
defence would have the jury believe, 1T
!
dropped off at the very point where the
girls body was found. and he found "
| ing between her body and the electric
car track close to the track. which
would be to the extreme right hand side
Of the road going toward Queen City
! Park. II it had dropped off when Daley
was going to the park. It would hardly
! be in that position, when II was the left
mudguard It would naturally drop fur
| Their from the track. according to the
States attorney
! Attorney r. T. Brown. making the first
| plea for the defence, brought out the
point that Daley himself was the only
| witness produced by either side who tes
titled that he was on Shelburne road
| that day. and claimed that the State had
absolutely failed to connect Daley with
Miss Riggs death. Mr.. Brown reviewed
| the testimony of how the accident hap
| pened. especially the testimony given
| by the motorman and conductor of the
| street car which went south Just before
the tragedy. He laid emphasis upon the
| fact that the motorman had testified
| that he thought ne saw a lady on the
extra seat in the automobile. the lady
having something white on her collar,
! and that there were laughter and wom
| ems voices in the car Mr. Brown de-
, clared that all the evidence pointed to tho
fact that there were no women in Daley
car at the hour at which this accident
| happened
Attorney NJ e. Leary closed the case
for the defense. speaking for more than
an hour. from shortly before II o'clock
until few minutes after noon. He de-
clared that the State had produced no
evidence which was strong enough to
convict a man of manslaughter. More
attention was called to the testimony that
ladies voices and laughter were heard in
! the car which struck the girl. and that
no evidence had been introduced to show
! that there were any ladies' in Daley's
car at that hour.
Mr.. Leary called attention to the fact
! that the motorman on the southbound
trolley car ran TO the rear of his car
and saw something like flash when a
| tail light Is turned out as the car sped
| on into the darkness. 1t was the con-
| tention of the defense that. since it had
been shown that the tail light on Daley's
| car was not in working order. II could
! not have been Daleys car which was
seen departing from the scene of the
| tragedy. The grating sound heard by
w II. Collins of the Reynolds company
| frrNt tha ht,l, 80
! Willard street from Shelburne road
shortly after the accident, with only the
spotlight burning, was brought forward
as evidence that this could not have been
Daley's car for the reason that testi-
| mony had been offered to show thai.
| Daley's car was in good working order
| with no unusual noises that night.
Another argument of the defense was
| that Daley would not have come back
| into the city and left his car in pub
| lie place where it was sure to be seen
| II he had been the one who had struck
the girl. This argument was taken up
by Attorney-General Archibald, who
closed the pleas. speaking for about
| three quarters of an hour at the open
| ing of court in the afternoon. The attor-
ney-general declared that il was per-
fectly natural that Daley should return
| 10 the city ana go ABOUT as usual AFTER
the accident. Burlington was his home
| the place where he had spent all of his
| life. and being quick thinker, Daley
would realize that flight would estab-
| fish his guilt He also would realize that
| the best thing which he could do would
be TO come back to the city and drive
about where somebody would see him
| and be ready to testify that he was on
| the street at about the same hour that
| the girl was killed.
The attorney-generals argument CEN
tered about the States star exhibits, the
| mudguard and the broken Zip" which
went with 1t. The facts surrounding
the finding of the lip of this mudguard
all pointed toward Daley as the guilty
man, said the encouragement. 1t was
very strange that this lip should have
dropped off at the very point where the
girl was killed and lay beside her body
! when il was found, Nor was it likely
that this lip should have stayed on all
the way from Richmond, where il was
| supposed to have been damaged the last
time. and then simply fall off at that
spot where 1t was found without hitting
anything to knock it off
JUDGE MOULTON'S CHARGE
At the close of the plea Of ne attorney
general. Judge Sherman n MouIton de-
livered his charge to the jury, Of which