Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-02-23
STATES ATTORNEY VIM. GREEN'S
ARGUMENTS RESENID TO JURY
IN TRIAL OF WILLIAM GUNNER

WILLIAM GUNNER
that Mr.. Green asserted her a~ssailant
accomplished his motive.
Used F4ro-Hoee Nozzle.
Mr.. Green said that at some later
hour during the night her a~ssailant
went down the hall. took the fire-hoae
noxzle from its place and went back
to the room. Then the man who
Of the bed and struck at her head"
said Mr.. Green. He missed her head
! and struck the round on the head Of
the bed. She then tore her left hand
loose and in the endeavor to get away
, from the blows which he was aiming
at her, threw herself down between
the bed and the wall. He continued
to ring blows upon her with this noz-
ke-on he missed Vel and hit the
wall. Then. while she lay there, with
her head between the bed and the
wall. he stood Inc rained blow after
blow on her head, fracturing her
skull and making a continuous line
of cuts from one side of her cad to
the other, and, she lay there with her
head against the wall, bleeding, until
she died. Then, after she was dead,
and when her body was quite still, be-
cause there was no blood spattered
about on the bed, he or they lifted
her back on the bed and after she
had been dead so long that the blood
on her left wrist which thoroughly
covered it in a thick coating, was SO
dry that 1t would not come off on the
bandage; he or they tied a bandage
! around the wrist and tied it to the
head OF the bed. and then this mar
Or men smoothed her night gown,
smoothed the covers, wiped their
bloody hands on a towel very care
fully, wiped all h visible blood of
the nozzle at the same time using the
towel 80 that it became covered with
green verdigris and leaving everything
in the room in perfect order, walked
the entire length of the hall and put
the nozzle back where it belonged.
But before he or they went, not salts
fled with having raped and murdered
this girl. they went to her pocket
book and took everything that was
in it except a few pennies"
He showed. that the mattress had
only a small spot of blood where her
head had been placed and that q
large part of the blood was on a car
pet beside the bed.
Made Second Visit.
The prosecutor maintained that a,
some time after the initial attack and
before she was killed, the man respon.
sible for the crime, probably entered
the room again and was recognized
by the girl who had regained con.
seriousness and it was then that he de.
termined to kill her. The fact thai
she had regained copsciousness, Mr.
Green said. was indicated by the fac
that h had broker her hand loose
fr0r, Tho hnl ~~l hol %~ioa ~ %A~1r
herself away from the blows of the
nozzle. Mr.. Green c%ohtended that the
theft of money from che pocketboot
was only secondary and not the pur
pose of the attack.
The prosecutor. maintained that nc
person not known to the girl, afte,
having accomplished his motive
would have found it necessary latel
to kill her, for any person unknow,
to her would not take the additiona
risk of detection incident to the com
mission of the murder after the in
itial assault, "'but a man standin;
there, with the light on, who wa
!, known to this girl, had no alterna
tive"
| 1T became necessary for him tina
moment to see to it that her lips wer,
forever closed because he knew tina
!, as soon as the light of morning cam
he would be apprehended,' and thi
would be especially true if. in addition
to being known to her, he had mad
improper advances to her, so tina
there could be no question as to tn
Identification of him, and thi woul,
be still more true If he were in sucl
+ position that he could not get ava,
!, from the hotel, as a transient CUES
could, without arousing suspicion
} Knew Only Two Men.
Mr.. Green said that there were onl
" men in Fargo whom Miss Wicl
knew. One of these was Arnold Ras
mussen. whose movements during tn
night have been accounted for, an,
: the other was GUNNER.
The prosecutor said he could no
account for the action of the murder
er in replacing the body in the be,
or of tieing the left hand to the bed
stead again, but these are importan
because they show that the mar VIII
! committed this murder felt no need O
haste" said Mr.. Green. "Any ma
except n in that hotel who had com
mltted such a crime as this would NO
have stayed in that DON one minut
after this girl was dead, because ev
> cry minute he stayed in that roor
. would mean a chance of his being de
: tected, n yet the man who kilIe
this girl took the time to put he
back on the bed. to arrange he
clothes neatly, to smooth the be
clothes, to wait a sufficient length q
! time, 80 that the blood on that lei
: wrist was absolutely dry, and the
! tied the left wrist to the bed; stoppe
, to wipe this nozzle off and took
back and put it in it's place. The onl
man who would dare to take the tim
/ to do anything like that would be
man who had a right to be up an
o that hotel at any hour of tn
night. and who, in case he wer
found in that room, could say h
l heard something out Of the way an
had gone in there for the purpose Q
making an investigation and ha
: found this girl dead"
E Noises Fix Time
: Mr.. Green said hat the noises tes
titled to by Mrs. Van Worst as havin
occurred shortly after 1890 and th
, noises heard by Miss May Melaas a
! about 4 a.. m, must be accepted a
2 definitely fixing the time of the Grim,
! The evidence OF these two womel
he said, was not contradicted in tn
= least. With respect to the first nois
= he said that it must have taken plac
8 soon after 1890 and before the tim
that II. J.. Hagen was take, to rool
81 which was between 1:10 an
!. 1880.
Calling attention again to the gree
number of things that were done b
the rapist and murderer, Mr.. Gree
said it was humanity impossible I
do all things in the time within whic
the first attack o0k place.