The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1920-11-18


god books. Mr. Burke wore a
Line cloth suit and silk waist to
match With a broad brimmed black
seIFet hat trimmed with bright bead
effects. She told of her marriage
10 IaAn a. Burke eleven years ago
IN Vermont and of her husband and
herself taking Richard Markham into
Their home 10 live with them. She
vas in Jaebman the night of the muir
der and the nisht her husband vas
shot She testified that she WAS call
cd into the den of her house to Wit
ness the signing Of the notes and the
receipt. At tie lime they were Civ
en- in May. The night OF the murder
she went to call upon her niece who
vas in the apartment over the HaneoX
store. She went from there To the
Holden home and She and Mrs. Holden
went to the motion pictures. After
the pictures she returned home.
FINDS HUSBAND SHOT
When she arrived home DR.. Booth
by met her at the door and told me
my husband was shot" She found
Mr. Burke in the kitchen and Dr.
Boothby was beginning to dress the
wound. The condition OF Burke's
clothing was the same as shown in
the court room during the present
trial except for more bullet holes.
She remembered calling her husband
TO the telephone while she was wash
ing her dinner dishes in the afternoon
before he was shot at night She
believed it was Bartley's voice. She
testified that she had shown the re-
ceipt and notes given by BARLEY to
Burke to Leo Jackson during the lat
ter part of May or first of June. 1919.
The cross examination Of Mrs. Burke
was very brief, and included a simple
question about clothing.
MEDICAL EXPERTS AGAIN
DR.. F. w. White of Boston, a stom-
ach specialist and member Of the Bos-
ton City Hospital staff for about 10
years, followed Mrs. Burke. DR.
White described the process of food
digestion and stated that the period Of
digestion with people of the same age
and having eaten the same kind of a
meal varied several hours. He stated
that meat, potatoes, coffee and bread
which was the food supposed to have
been eaten by Nelson BARLEY the
night he died might digest quite rap
idly, and might be finished in two
hours and even less or it might be
five or six hours before it was thor
oughly digested. Witness said diff
ference in the same meal in the same
person might be from two to three or
four hours; the stomach digests to
certain extent after death. When
questioned if it would be possible to
determine the time which might elapse
between eating and death by examina-
tions six days after death within the
limit of one hour, DR.. White replied
that he didn't think 50, nor within a
two-hour limit unless much other In
formation concerning the same could
be obtained DIR. White stated that
some of the things necessary to know
in an analysis of this sort was the
state of mind whether there was
worry, anxiety, or disagreeable feel
ings rapidity of eating, amount of
water drank with the meal and 10
know no other food was partaken of
after the meal. When asked II
meal partaken of as BARLEY had APP
parently eaten his supper on the night
Of the disappearance would be suf-
ficient to start basis Of any accurate
opinion Dr.. White replied that he
should not regard such data accurate.
Witness believed thai the process OF
digestion would be hindered II il had
begun and then the person had labor
ed under anger. Attorney Pattan
gall described what BARLEY ate and
the varied conditions as to the testi-
mony of his having eaten rapidly or
slowly and afterwards killed. If #ey-
eral days not less than three after
his death the stomach content should
be examined. the attorney asked II
there was any method known 10
science to enable any one to fix with
in the limits of one hour between the
eating of the meal and death. The
reply was that ne didn't think so nor
within two hours. DR.. White fixed
the limit at several hours, by that
three or four hours 1t will be re
called that DR.. Whittier fixed the limit
at from two TO three hours but not
exceeding the latter. You have
made this particular line Of work your
life work, have your said the attor-
ney and DR.. White replied II have
Under cross examination DR.. White
stated that his experience had been
mostly among living subjects and he
didn't think he had ever made an ex-
animation to determine the length OF
time between the last meal eaten and
death. Examinations he had made
on the stomachs of persons who had
died were diseased some. He had
never tried analysis OF venison diges-
ton. Witness based his estimates on
what he had read from the authorities
as to time variation. The return to
direct examination indicated that post
norton digestion occurs and 1t was
necessary to determine about diges-
ton going on when living rather than
after death.
DIR. TYSON AND RIGOR MORTlS
DR.. Forrest c. Tyson OF Augusta,
physician and perintendent OF the
State Hospital in that city, has been
seven years in charge there and has
Hoo patients IN the institution which
he is experimenting. He is a grad
uate of Tufts Medical college and was
employed at the Bangor
State Hospital for S years. lie had
performed about 800 nutopsys and was
familiar with rigor morus. lie de-
scrihea the latter condition as coming