The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-10-30

had talked at the funeral of the
slain girls in June.
Her daughter Lois substantiated
the statements.
Testimony of Mrs. Ona Gibson
and Mrs. Moran was to refute pre-
vious defense assertions that Mrs.
Fannie Cook had been in the rear
of her home, next to the Pollard'S.
Mrs. Cook testified from a sick
bed for the state, asserting she had
seen Jackson in front of the Pol
lard home prior to departure of the
picnic group to Memorial park, and
had not left her front porch.
Special Prosecutor Roy Adney
and Prosecutor Ben Scifres will
argue that Mrs. Simmons should be
convicted of the murder of her
daughter and placed in a state
penal institution. ,.1r
They are not expected to ask for
the death penalty.
Depleted physical condition is be-
lieyed to be the states argument for
motive for what they term an
unnatural crime"
The defense's oratory to urge the
acquittal of Mrs. 81 MS will be
led by Charles L. I. Green
field counsel for the d, w. H.
Parr ST., and w. H. Jr.
Work Mystery Angle
The defense is expected to con-
tend that the reunion murders are
mystery-and will always remain
so.
Culpability of jackson, accused
in innuendoes by defense evidence,
may be used by the defense in
arguing that person or persons
other than Mrs. Simmons could have
committed the dual Staying.
Just to prove, seemingly, that the
old whirligig of sensation after
sensation still had a few kicks left
in it's system, it acted like Capone
tommy gun" Thursday, as the de-
Tense closed its direct case with
testimony of Mrs. Simmons and the
state opened fire in rebuttal testi-
mony.
Mrs. Simmons return to her seat
as defendant was the signal for an
attempt by the state to press home
the charge that Mrs. Simmons was
in indianapolis June 10 and that
she bought poison on that day in
the drugstore of Charles w. Fried
man.
Through John j. Purdy, a drug
clerk at Hooks drugstore in the
Lincoln hotel, indianapolis, they
hoped to show the possibility that
she had failed in an attempt to buy
poison from him.
Purdy was not permitted to testi-
fly by Judge Hornaday, on the
premise that the state was reopen
ing its field of evidence on rebuttaI.
But the states loss in a witness
was counteracted in part by the
courtroom buzz, speculation rife as
to his testimony, and the inter-
ested look of jurors as he sat in the
witness box and answered prelim-
mary questions before being ex-
cused.
Deny Other Purchases
Immediately the state swung into
a general denial that Miss Louise
Robinson, Bargersville, was the pur-
chaser of poison from Friedman's
store and denial that jackson,
the straw defendant" bought poi
son pellets in New Palestine phar-
macy.
Friedman again faced the woman
he accuses as a poison purchaser
and declared by inference that his
Identification of her the first time
as the buyer was the only true
identification.
He denied emphatically he ever
had seen Miss Robinson until that
day when she ran into his drug
store and called out, I'm the wom-
an to whom you sold the poison.
You've made a mistake"
Did you sell Miss Louise Robin
son sixty grains of strychnine June
1872" state attorneys asked Fried
man.
mo, sir" replied the druggist.
Answer Is SiIenced
Whom did you sell it?" he was
asked.
Friedman's answer was silenced BY
defense objection, sustained by
the judge.
Tindall attempted to harass
Friedman on cross-exarnination, re-
calling Friendman's testimony when
he first identified Mrs. Simmons.
and Friendman saying that he rep
resented himself as Mr.. Scott Of
Cincinnati" when he first saw her
in the Boone county Jail.
Friedman said following the
Identification, that 81 had my fin
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