Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-03-29
DYING GIRL SAID
ARbUCKLE D|D|T
SAYSHER NURSE
New Witness Heard for
First Time in Actor $
Trials Is Surprise.
Felt She Was Going to
Die, Wanted Assailant
Saddled With Bill.

San Francisco, March os.-The
first direct testimony linking Roscoe
Fatty Arbuckle with the death of
Virginia Rappe was given in his trial
Tor manslaughter Tuesday afternoon
by Miss Virginia Briggs. secretary to
DIR. Francis Wakefield, at whose
sanitarium the actress died. She said
Miss Rappe told her:
ArDuckle took me by the arm and
threw me on the bed and put his
weight on me and after that / do not
know what happened
With the testimony of Miss Briggs.
surprise witness, the state rested.
its case. The defense Immediately
began the presentation of its eyi-
dence by calling Adolph Juel, head of
the police Identification bureau. to the
stand. A portion of the alleged at
tack by Arbuckle on Miss Rappe was
enacted by the defense in an effort to
show that had force been used, the
finger prints on the hotel room door
would have been blurred and smudged
beyond Identification
Struggle lmpersonated
Z Nat Schmulowitz, defense attorney.
impersonated Miss Rape and E. O.
Heinrich, who had testified as fin
gerprint expert. impersonated Ar
buckle. The door of the hotel room
was used in the staging of the sup
posed scene. Heinrich had testified
that the door bore the prints of Miss
Rappe's hand. with Arbuckle's SUPER
imposed.
Adolph Juel. fingerprint expert for
the San Francisco police DEPART
ment. testified that the fingerprints
on the door of the hotel room in
which the struggle was alleged to
have taken place were not those of
Miss Rappe and Arbuckle. thus di
rectly contradicting the testimony Of
Heinrich. who developed the photo
graphs Of the marks.
Testimony Not Stricken
This is the first time Miss Briggs
has appeared as a witness. and at
the conclusion of her testimony the
defense made motion that her
statements be stricken from the record
as hearsay. The court denied this
motion.
Miss Briggs explained that she had
gone into Miss Rappe's room on the
day of her death. She asked me
about the amount of the hospital bill
that would be due said the witness.
"She said she didn't see why she
should pay the bill as Arbuckle was
responsible for her being there. L
told her that if Arbuckle or any one
else should pay the account after she
left, the money paid by her would be
returned. She replied that she was
not going to leave. that she was going
to die.
Denies Threatening Defense
'sThen I asked her why she thought
she was going to die. and it was then
that she told me the details of the
party"
Cross examined by Attorney Gavin
McNab. defense chief counsel, as to
whether it was not true that she had
telephoned him asking that Miss
Rappe's bill be paid and threatening
that if it was not. she would tell her
story to the district attorney. Miss
Briggs made an absolute denial. She
also denied that McNab had told her
to give any evidence she might have
to the district attorney. although ad-
mitting that he had told her to see
that official, she presumed, about the
bill.
Il had some one on the line while
vas talking to you said the witness
$50 did l." volunteered McNab.
Miss Briggs declared that she had
not told her story before or volun
teered any information because she
shrank from the notoriety. She added
that she had been summoned to testify
DEly last Saturday.