Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-02
Eugene Beatty Is 0utspoken
in Praise of Deposed Heads
of Detectives.
AGREES WITH INSPECTOR
ON ALIENS TESTIMONY
Former Member of Investigating
Body Declares Excoriation
of Officers Outrage.

Eugene Beatty, member of the July
grand jury which excoriated Inspector
William S. Shelby and Lieut.. Edward
j. Kelly, came to the defense of these
two officers today when their joint trial
on charges of bungling the Mcpherson
case was resumed before the extraordi-
nary police trial board.
The first of Is of the principal wit
nesses of the defense, Beatty was out
spoken in mis- praise of Inspector Shelby
and Lieut.. Kelly and declared that the
sensational report of the grand jury
which reeked with criticism of the
police investigation of the Mcpherson
case had no basis of foundation.
Beatty also testified that he consid-
cred the charge that Kelly made an
inefficient and unbusinesslike investi-
cation an outrage and denied most
emphatically that Shelby had admitted
to the grand jury that the police
'hungled' the case.
Beatty made one disclosure, revealing
that after the July grand jury voted to
indict Robert A.. Mcpherson for the
murder of his wife, a group of a half
dozen members of the jury gathered in
corner of the grand jury room and
celebrated hilariously. The incident, he
said, shocked the sensibilities of one of
the women on the jury and smelling
salts were administered to prevent her
from fainting.
Tells of Another Theory.
From Beatty's testimony also emerged
another murder theory of former Po-
liceman Robert j. Allen. According to
the witness, Allen told the grand jury
that Assistant United States Attorney
William H. Collins had taken from the
Mcpherson apartment a book. on jiu
litsu, which described Japanese meth
DDS of strangulation. It was Aliens
idea. he said, that the book was used
by Mrs. McPhersons murderer in the
preparation of the crime.
In denying that Shelby had admitted
that the police had "bungled" the Nc
Pherson case investigation, Beatty said
that the first time he saw the word
used in connection with the case was in
newspaper story. He also denied
that Shelby was in a rage when he
raised his hand before the grand jury
and declared that former Policeman
Allen and Mrs. Roy Heavrin should be
indicted for perjury. Beatty declared
that Shelbys gesture was for the pur-
pose of emphasis, an action which
showed him to be human. Moreover,
the witness said he drew the same con-
clusion as Inspector Shelby before the
case was over.
Under cross-examination, Beatty ex-
pressed the opinion that one o1 the
principal reasons fer the grand jury's
charge that Shelby had tempered with
witnesses was due TO the fact thai he
had a written statement from Police
man Laurence Bolts, of the third pre-
cinct concerning Aliens story before
the policeman had testified to the grand
jury. Beatty said Shelby's explanation
cleared this matter up in his mind,
but that some of the Jurors remained
skeptical. Bolts was Aliens partner en-
the night he claims to have seen a man
escape from the rear window of the
Mcpherson apartment.
Beatty was the only witness at the
morning session of the trial board He
was on the stand continuously from
1918 o'clock, when the board convened,
until 1885 O'Clock, when it recessed for
lunch.
Beatty's Testimony.
Beatty testified that Inspector Shelby
was not questioned concerning the
presence of a stenographer in the
grand jury room. and denied that Shell
by made any statement to the effect
that the stenographer was there to
record testimony for possible use later
in a police trial board perjury pro-
ceeding. He said Collins told them
the stenographer was present solely
for the benefit of the jurors.
Inspector shelby, he said, was not
asked whether lights in the McPher-
son apartment were found on or
whether any windows were open. The
chief of detectives, the witness de-
clared. did say that a mistake had
been made if no search was made for
finger prints, but explained that the
phrasing of the question was such as
TO indicate to him that testimony to
this effect had been given by earlier
witnesses.
Beatty denied emphatically that In
spector Shelby or any other witness
before the grand jury had used the
word "bungllng."
He testified that Inspector Shelby
was questioned concerning the posi-
bility Of Policeman Allen having seen
a man leaving the window Of the Nc
Pherson apartment, and that he ex-
pressed doubt as to the physical posi-
bility of the policeman having seen any
such event. That evening. he said, the
members of the grand jury went to the
scene to determine for themselves
whether a man could have been seen
leaving the window. and that on the
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