Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-05
CircumStantiaI Evidence Only
Is Offered by State
at Rockville.
CLOSE COMES WITHOUT
INTRODUCING TRIGGER
Fragments of Internal Machine
Are Submitted, With Testi-
mony of Experts.

4
circumstantial evidence exclusively, the
State closed its case against Leroy
| Brady, charged with murder in the
triple bomb slayings at Seat Pleasant,
at 1890 o'clock today in Circuit Court
here.
This move was made without the ex-
| pected introduction of a trigger claimed
by the prosecution to have been used
in construction of the death-dealing de-
vice. Testimony relating to such a
! trigger was given yesterday by Emmett
! Brady, brother of Leroy, who proved
the star witness for the prosecution.
| He testified he had loaned fur gun to
Leroy, two months before the explosion.
This weapon, its steel trigger replaced
with a brass firing apparatus, was in
i troduced in evidence over the protests
of defense counsel.
Fragments Are Entered.
Numerous fragments found in the
kitchen OF the Hall home where the
| bomb exploded New Years day also
were entered as evidence over the pro-
| tests of attorneys for the defendant.
| Experts of the Bureau of Standards
and Johns Hopkins University in Bal
| timore were called IN an effort of the
/ prosecution to prove that sections OF
| tubing included among the fragments
| had figured in the explosion and were
similar to tubing included among the
| official exhibits ana said by witnesses
| to have been found in the stock room
of Washington garage where Leroy
was employed as mechanic prior to
| his arrest.
Red Clay Is Stressed.
Another point stressed by j. Wilson
| Ryon, who conducted examination of
State witnesses, was the statement
agreed on by several witnesses that red
| clay had been found on the shoes of
Leroy and was present in large quanti-
ties in front of the home of Mrs. John
Buckley in Seat Pleasant where the
bomb originally was delivered. IL was
addressed to Naomi Hall Brady, the wife
of Herman Brady, brother of Leroy.
/ Hermans wife, an expectant mother,
and her young brother and sister were
| wounded fatally in the explosion.
The principal witness today was Prof.
| Robert A. Wood, head of the experiment
| tai physics department at Johns Hop
| kinS University for the past 80 years
| Qualifying as an explosives expert, he
testified that spring and trigger ar
| rangement were used in the manufac-
ture of 1.-The Christmas gift
Wood was followed to the stand by
Joseph S. AlleSon of Cleveland, Ohio,
chief metallurgist of Steel g. Tubes,
Inc; Raymond Lewis, Chief inspector
of finished parts of the same company;
| Mrs. Mabel e. Lee a cousin of Naomi
Hall Brady, and Sheriff Charles S. Early
of Prince Georges County.
Agree on Similarity.
The Cleveland tubing experts agreed
there was marked similarity between
Leroy was employed and the bomb frag-
ments. Mrs. Lee told of attending
Naomi Hall Brady's funeral with Leroy
and of his silence while going to and
returning from the services. Sheriff
| Early was used to prove that Seat
Pleasant Is located in Prince Georges
| County.
Prof. Wood asserted that steel
| spring had played an important part in
the mechanism. He said he had found
prints in the fragments indicating such
| a spring had been impressed there.
| spring similar to the one known
| to have figured in the explosion was
| introduced in evidence last night. after
witnesses had told of finding 1t in the
stockroom of a Washington garage
where Leroy was employed until his
| arrest.
| Prof. Wood, who was cross-examined
for more than an hour by defense
counsel. insisted on upholding his
theory that the spring figured in a
| trigger arrangement which caused the
bomb to explode when the lid Of the
box in which it was packed was raised.
The witness testified copper per-
cussion cap, also found in the ruins
of the Hall home, had been held in
position at the end of plunger by the
spring. He said the fact that the cap
was found attached to a section of
tubing was explained by tests he made.
He said this disclosed cap would
be welded to steel when subjected to
extraordinarily severe heat, as in an
explosion of this nature.
Demonstrates With Magnet.
In support of his theory, Prof Wood
and held it several inches above the
copper cap. The cap was attracted
to the magnet, proving, the witness said,
that thin layer of steel still remained
on the cap. He explained that copper
alone will not be attracted by a magnet
Pointing to tiny holes in several OF
the fragments, Prof. Wood said these
hau enabled the Trigger arrangement tc
cause the bomb to explode automatical-
~. He added that the bomb could have
been composed to great extent of gun
powder and dynamite, or gunpowder oil
dynamite alone. He held to this view
under cross-Nxamination, denying that
acetylene could have been used ano
have left the same traces.
Lieut.. Joseph H. Itzel, ace of the
Baltimore detective force, who worked
up the case against Leroy, was sub
jected to a severe cross-examination
He denied using third degree" methods
IN an effort to extract information from
Leroy and his brother Herman. The
witness said there was no truth to re-
ports that he had locked the bloody
garments of Hermans slain wife in 8
cell with the husband.
Ohicials announced last night thai
| Herman would be tried in the Fall or
charge Of murder resulting from the
he