Omaha daily bee., 1921-08-26
Neal Trial
is Marked
.ByFriivolity
Lapses of Decorum and Mark.
ed Sympathy for Woman
Defendant Features
Murder Case.
Resume Hearing Today

| leitStdll.J - frequent SdleS OF
laughter, curious for a murde, hear
ing. and lapses OF decorum, i'll
which marked sympathy for Mrs.
Lucy Neal, defendant, was evidenced
characterized the inquiry into the
death OF. her husband, Ben Neal, the
light of August II.
Even Mrs. Neal, charged with first
degree murder, and her daughter.
Aye. 10, only other inhabitant OF
the house when the fatal shots were
fired, joined in the peals OF laugh
ter.
Testimony Of Joel Turner. neigh.
Dor of the Meals, and the naivete OF
Mrs. Charles Buck. to whose horne
the women fed after the shooting,
occasioned the amusement.
Hearing Resumed Today.
The hearing will be resumed at 9
this morning
Whether Mrs. Meals nightgown
was stained with blood when she
turned in the alarm was the import
ant issue of conflicting testimony by
witnesses
Joel Turner said it was blood
stained
Mrs. Buel and Miss Millie Web
Der, school teacher at Auburn, and
Joe Wright, Mrs. Meals brotler-in'
law, testified it was not.
A legal battle ensued when attor-
ney for the defense asked County
Attorney Armstrong to produce the
gown worn by Mrs. Neal.
The prosecution objected, stating
three days' notice must be given
Attorney Hawxby, for the defense,
contended he was willing to stay he
hearing three days in order to pro-
duce the garment.
Order Gown Produced.
Justice Eustis, presiding, put an
end to the controversy by the toll
lowing order: "If have the right,
l order that gown produced.
Joel Turner, first on the stand,
testified he knew Neal for four years
and knew him to be right-handed.
He said he examined Meals wound
in the neck several times after DR..
Vance, the doctor, had called his at
tention to the fact. The first time
he saw a black mark about the
wound, but stated he did not think
it to be powder. His examination
was by lamp and fashlight.
"The neck of the dead man was
close to the floor, and had what
looked like clotted blood around it.
No blood was oozing out OF the
wound, but out of one nostril.
Gets Big Laugh.
Witness testified he had heard Mrs.
Neal testify at the inquest she broke
and run"
This caused an outburst of laugh
ter in the court room in which Mrs.
Neal and Ava joined.
Turner stated that Meals head was
lying in the door and that his body
blocked it-he heard Mrs. Neal
testify that her husband was lying i'll
bed when she was awakened by the
shot fired, and ran.
In answer to the query whether
Mrs. Neal could have passed around
the body without jumping over it,
his reply was:
II don't know how fast she is a.
foot" whereupon second gale OF
laughter swept the court room, the
two Neal woman joining again.
When he testified to seeing blood
stains three inches long on the back
of Mrs. Meals gown, he was asked
to describe the material and texture
of the gown.
Not Familiar With Gowns.
I'm not familiar with handling them
gowns" he replied, whereupon the
courtroom rocked with laughter
Miss Webber, the school teacher
who spent several hours with Mrs.
Neal the next day and assisted her,
at i'll the afternoon, to change the
nightgown for some outer clothing.
positively refuted this testimony.
Charles Buck, first witness put on
by the defense, said he too examined
the wound on Meals neck. He said
it looked like dark smoke around the
wound but he never saw smoke
burns on a PERSONS face. After the
wound was washed, there was still
dark streak around it, he said. He
did not see blood stains on Mrs.
Neapss gown.
Buck denied that Neal was lying
with his wound next to the floor. He
said. positively, the dead man was
lying on his right side.
Heard Woman Scream.
At the conclusion of Bucks testi-
mony, County Attorney Armstrong
read from Mrs. Meals testimony:
Can we keep this gown?" and her
answer: You can, so far as | am
concerned"
Bucks wife testified she was awak-
ened that night by sounds which she
took to be horses breaking out of
boards. Soon she heard women
screaming and exclaimed:
Something's wrong up at Meals.
| heard the women screaming"
She dressed hurridly but Mr.. Buck
was downstairs first. When the
Neal women rushcl in, she asked
them what was the matter.
They were in their underclothing
and did not answer but kept wringing
their hands and screaming. The
women remained there until 4 the
next afternoon, when some relatives
came with dresses for them. Both
women were in nightgowrs and Mrs.
Buck said she did not see the before
mentioned bloodstains.
Tell of Threats.
Cross-eHamined by the prosccu.
ton, Mrs. Buck said she could not
tell whether the noises she heard