White Pine news. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1920-1923, 1923-02-11
WILLIAMS WOMAN'S TRIAL FOR
MURDER TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY

The trial of Mrs. Dawn Margaret
Williams for the murder of Jesse B.
Coverly in Ely January 12 will begin
at the district court room next We'd
|nesday, February "A, month and
two days after commission of the al
legged homicide.
The first day or two will b. con-
sumed in the selection of a jury. OF
the sixty-seven names furnished re-
Gently in the venire sixty-five have
been subpoenaed by Sheriff Nichol-
son and his deputies, the others hav-
ing removed from the jurisdiction of
the court. Several of those living at
remote places, as all ranches are dur
ing the snow blockade of two weeks,
have been summoned by registered
letter. which is legal proceeding,
and return of the service has been
entered by the sheriff with the others.
The state, as represented By Dis
trict Attorney II. w Edwards. will
put forth a strong effort to convict
the woman of first degree murder, as
charged in the information and upon
which charge the woman was held
for trial by Justice of the Peace D. C.
Mcdonald at the close of her prelim-
mary hearing To prove first degree
murder generalization will have to be
shown aud the feature of cold as
against hot blood will enter into the
case. If, for instance, it may be
shown that the woman had made pre-
wi xla ho
homicide. and there was no hot
blooded quarrel, causing the shooting
10 have resulted from an impulse OF
the moment, then 1t will be cold
blooded. premeditated and first de-
gree murder. for which the penalty is
death or life imprisonment II, on
the other hand, no previous threats
are shown and no generalization, and
the shooting occurred as the result
of a heated quarrel, Ii would revert
10 second degree murder, punishable
by ten years to life Imprisonment.
Manslaughter carries a penalty of
one to ten years in prison
At the preliminary there was little
testimony. 1: being confined to that
of Mrs. Williams and Samuel Harlow
better insight into the alleged facts
was afforded by the inquest, where
the woman did not appear, but two
witnesses testified fully. 1t came
out in the evidence given by Mrs.
Frank Buster that she was lying on a
bed in an adjoining room from the
one occupied by Coyerly and tho
woman, and that she heard the re-
port Of the shot; that Mrs. Williams
came out of the room and said. I've
killed him" Previous TO that she
had said to the witness that she in
tended tc kill Coverly, whom she re-
ferred to as her husband. Mrs Bus
ter told of the threat and said Mrs.
Williams gave as her reason for
intending 10 kill Coyerly that she ,
loved him.
The testimony showed that Har-
low was sitting in a position from
which he could have seen the shot
fired had he been looking through
the open door. but that he was not
looking in that direction at the in
stant. When he heard the shot he
bounded through the door and wrest-
ed the gun from the woman's S hand as
she was in the act of turning 1t to
her own head in attempting suicide.
Whether or not the couple were
quarreling was not made clear by the
witnesses. though such was published
at the time as a fact. the information
coming from the officers who went TO
The Buster home Immediately after
the shooting. that being where the
shooting occurred.
Attorney V II. Vargas. who was
appointed hy Judge McFadden to de-
fend the accused. is known to be en-
ergetically engaged in preparing the
defense, hut naturally its character is.
withheld until 1t comes ont 1T the
trial