The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-12-18
EASTLAKE' MOTHER
TEsT|F|ES FOR HIM
Tells of Happy Married Life Of
Man on Trial and Slain
Woman.
Continued from First Page.)

tSOntlHueQ F1fbL fdSeJ
making to save the life of Roger
Eastlake that his chief attorney. w.
w. Butzner. on November 30 took
a witness with him to Colonial Beach
and went through the motions Of
killing an imaginary victim, using
fhe witness for dummy. Then they
retraced the alleged steps of the
slayer, whom the defense has plainly
revealed in its case II hopes to prove
was Miss Knox.
Staying Re-enactcd.
The entire time consumed in per-
petrating the imaginary murder and
appraising the neighbor, w., ". Ca.
ruthers, jr., consumed eight minutes.
On the same day Mr.. Butzner paced
the distance from the Eastlake home
to the wharves-it requiring exactly
testimony the defense hopes to leave
an impression in the minds of the
jury that Mrs. Eastlake could have
been killed and the neighbors aroused
in eight minutes time, or q little
less than the tine 1t took Eastlake to
walk from his home and get aboard
the boat for Dahlgren.
The witness being examined was
Simon Perry, of Fredericksburg, who
told of going through the mock murder
with Mr.. Butzner. He said: In No
vember last with Mr.. Butzner and Mr..
Chichester. went to Colonial Beach
and was witness to certain actions
through which Mr.. Butzner put him.
self. My part In the procedure was to
take account Of the time 1t REQUIRED
to do the things which shall describe.
Tells Of Trip to Boat.
First, we stepped off the distance
to the wharf from the Eastlake home.
1t was approximately 993 yards from
his front steps to the place where ne
boarded a boat from which he was
called by a neighbor and appraised OF
his wifes death. This trip required
exactly eleven minutes.
Then when we were back to the
Eastlake home. set my watch at 5:29,
the hour which Mr.. Eastlake stated to
the coroner he kissed his wife good-by.
beginning at 5:29 we then enacted
the murder, as 1t appears to have been
committed. Mr.. Butzner entered the
kitchen door from the back porch, and,
with a hammer in his hand, struck
twenty-nine consecutive imaginary
blows upon my body. Then he walked
over to the wash pan and pretended to
wash the hammer. He went from
there out on the porch again and
placed an old wooden bed spring up
against the door which led to the room
where the Eastlake children are sup.
rosed to have been asleep. His course
was then out into the yard to the spot
where a raincoat and Ratchet were
said to have been found. and thence
over The back fence through some low.
clinging honeysuckle vines. Then he
traced a path through a patch of ur-
derbrush to the home of three neigh.
bors, who We're awakened, and at each
place we allowed ourselves sufficient
time to sound an alarm. This enact
ment required just eight minutes"
No Time for Changing Clothes.
Thomas Hunter, for the prose
cution. interrupted the description
long enough to ask II they allowed
sufficient time in their mimicry for
a man take off a raincoat and put on
clean white uniform. The witness
answered they did not.
Here the court adjoured for lunch.
Immediately before Mr.. Perry testi.
fled the mother and sister and cousin
of Eastlake were put on the stand as
character witnesses. Each testified to
the domestic tranquility of the East
lakes .,.