Evening star., 1926-11-24
WILLIE STEVENS CONCLUDES
TESTIMONY IN BLAZE OF GLORY

been mentioned so often in the trial
that he assumed this was the date
meant by the prosecutor.
Rector Is Called.
The Rev. j. Mervin Petit. rector
of the Church of st. John the
Evangelist, of which Mr.. Hall was
rector at the time of his death, was
called to testify concerning the bap
tism of Willie Stevens, to offset an
intimation made earlier by the State
that he was not a full brother OF the
other two defendants.
The parish records showed that
William Carpenter Stevens was bap
tized June 16. 1872, and that he was
born in March of the same year. In
Aiken, S. G.
Prof. Raymond Smith Dugan OF
the department of astronomy. Prince
ton University. testified that on the
night Of the killings the moon rose
over De Russeys lane at 11:23 East
ern standard time.
The moon had entered the last
said. and in the evening was Of
The facts given by Prof. Dugan
were directed against the testimony
of Mrs. Jane Gibson, who testified
from a, cot that she saw the defend
ants at the killings.
Mrs. Gibson on cross-examinat1on
had said that 1t was about 1920 day
light time, when she left her house,
Al minutes away, on her second trip
to the lane and that it was bright
moonlight.
Moons Light in Doubt.
On cross-examination the witness
said that the light coming from the
moon on that night would depend to
a certain extent on the clOudiness OF
the sky, and that information could
be obtained from the Weather Bureau.
Mrs. Agnes Blust, the next witness,
told Of having seen Mrs. Mills on
Easton avenue. near the lane, just
a few hours before the killings.
She had a brown package under
her arm, which the defense contends
contained the letters which were
found near the bodies.
Simpson on cross ss-examlnatlon ques
toned whether the brown package
was not a scarf which was found on
the sopranos body.
WAS II a brown scarf In the arm
of Mrs. Mills?" asked the prosecutor.
II don't think it was" answered
Mrs. Blust. Later she said that 1t
..mjeht have BEEN and that she had
not observed it closely.
WAS she all alone?" asked Simpson.
yes, alone"
did she speak to you?"
mo, she just smiled.
The witness said that as she was
walking along Easton avenue after
meeting Mrs. Mills, she met Mr. Hall
who was walking fast and looked at
his watch and at the clock on a
school building as he passed.
Nobody was following him." asked
Simpson.
Not that I saw" answered the wit
ness. Mrs. Blust said that a detective
and one of the lawyers for the defense
had talked to her before the trial.
Thinks 1t Was Package.
On redirect examination. Mr.. Case
met repeated objections from Simp-
son when he sought to obtain an an
swer from the witness as to whether
she wasn't sure it was package she
saw under Mrs. Mills arms. Estab-
lishment by the defense that it was
a. package would aid the defendants
by tending to prove that Mrs. Mills
took the letters to the trysting place,
and that Mrs. Hall did not take them
there from the Hall home. The let.
ters found at the scene Of the Staying
were those written by Mrs. Mills to
Mr.. Hall.
Pleading surprise at the testimony
Of the witness under cross-examina-
ton, that she wasn't certain it was a
package she saw under Mrs. Mills
arm. Mr.. Case obtained permission to
read Mrs. Blust's testimony at the
preliminary hearing, at which she had
testified she was certain 1t was "a
small parcel" After hearing the ex-
cerpts from her previous testimony
the witness said she still thought 1t
was a, package.
Mrs. Mabel Plickiner. the next wit
ness, contradicted the testimony given
for the State by her mother, Mrs.
Mary Demarest, who had said that she
once saw Mr.. Hall and Mrs. Mills sit.
ting on a bench in Buccleugh Park.
and that Mrs. Minna Clark and Ralph
V. M. Gorsline, members Of the
clergyman's church, were Spying" on
them. The State has contended that
Mrs. Clark carried to Mrs. Hall stories
of her husbands S affair with the other
woman and that knowledge of this
affair by Mrs. Hall prompted the
murder.
Denies Seeing Pair.
Case asked Mrs. Plickiner: Were
you. in May or June, 1922. in an auto
mobile, in which your mother also
was a passenger. in the vicinity OF
Park and did you see Mr.
Hall and Mrs. Mills sitting on a bench
and Mrs. Clark aud Mr.. Gorsline
standing by the roadside?'
Il did not" answered the witness.
Simpson in cross.examination asked
the witness If she was now employed
by johnson & Johnson, surgical sup
ply manufacturers of New Bruins.
wick, and in which company are Off
cials who are relatives of the Hall
Stevens families. She said she was
so employed, but denied that she had
told some one that she knew If she
didn't testify for the defense she
would lose her job.
George Hubner. a New Brunswick
policeman. who patrolled Buccleugh
Park at the time of the Staying. was
called as a witness also to assai1 the
story of Mrs. Demarest. He said he
had never seen Mr.. Hall and Mrs.
Mills sitting on bench in the park.
Witness followed witness rapidly.
Two persons who saw the coat
which Mrs. Hall had dyed. testified
there We're no spots on it before it
went to the cleaners.
No Scratch on Face.
Two ministers swore they spoke to
Mrs. Hall, one on the Sunday after the
killings and the other on the day of
the funeral, and both were positive
there was no scratch on her face.
They were supported by a neighbor
who went to condole with Mrs. Hall
shortly after the bodies were found.
ate, Mass her Summer home until
Mrs. Anna K. Bearman, a relative
testified that she could not have help
ed remove papers from the Hall home
ou tho dav offer tho hOd{oS wore