Evening star., 1935-03-07
WITNESS REVEALS
SUICIDE THREAT
TestifieS Mrs. Davidson
Made Statement Three
Weeks Prior to Death.
(Continued From First Page)

case Of suicide DR.. Carpenter said he
did not believe so.
He said the knees would have tended
to straighten after death.
Five Verdicts' Open to Jury.
Solicitor Rowland Pruette said the
jury could return any one of five
verdicts:
Murder by some particular per-
son.
2-Murder by persons unknown.
3-Accident.
+Suicide.
5-Death from carbon monoxide gas
under circumstances unknown to the
jury.
DR.. Carpenter took the stand at II
o'clock. He is professor of pathology
at Wake Forest College.
He testified he performed an autopsy
on Mrs. Davidson last Thursday. On
that day he told the first coroner'S
jury the immediate cause of her death
and that his views expressed then have
been substantiated by his subsequent
Investigations.
The physician then said carbon
monoxide gas gives its victims skin
a cherry-red color and increases the
liquid content of the blood. He said
he believed a running automobile
motor in a garage as large as the
DavidSons' could produce death.
Asked how long it would require to
cause death, he said this would vary.
but that man at rest would collapse
within an hour if the atmosphere
contained two-tepths per cent of
carbon monoxide gas.
Replying to hypothetical question,
he said If all doors in the Davidson
garage had been closed, person could
have been rendered unconscious in
from 80 to IS minutes, dying from Is
to 80 minutes later
He testified from 60 to 80 per cent
of the deadly gas is usually found IN
the blood of its victims. He said he
found 59.7 per cent in Mrs. Davidson,
Just "a little less than the usual
amount required to cause death"
DR.. Carpenter said Mrs. Davidson
could have been dead "as long as two
hours" when her body was found.
He said Mrs. Davidson could have
gotten out through door or window
or have sounded an alarm, before being
affected by the gas. He said he did
not believe she could have fallen into
the position in which the body was
found. Her body was kneeling on the
running board. the upper part on the
floor boards with her head against
the foot brake.
He said he did not believe the body
would have remained in that position
if she had placed herself there be-
fore losing consciousness. because the
legs probably would have Strengthened
out.
The witness then began descrip-
ton of marks on her body.
One, he said, was slightly raised
and thickened area on the left arm.
He added there was a "pin-point
perforation" near the middle of this
area. II did not classify this as a
bruise." he told the jury.
He said there were number of fresh
bruises above her knees, which were
not more than 48 hours old. He said
he did not believe any of the bruises
could have been inflicted by tennis
ball in the manner previously de-
scribed by Davidson.
He said his opinion is that the
peculiar raised mark on the left arm
was caused by her being pinched with
some solid instrument before death.
1t might have been made by hand,
he said.
Some 10 of the marks on her body,
he added, were caused by corrugations
on the running board. He said he did
not believe any other marks were
caused by the position in which she
was found. He said the marks might
have been caused by blow from
human hand.
Davidson testified two days ago
there was a silver plate in his wifes
head. DR.. Carpenter said he didn't
see it while performing the autopsy.
He said the area on the left arm
was a deep red color with circular
creases front and back.
1T might have resulted from a
bite" he declared.
He said he did not believe any of
the bruises contributed directly to
her death.
Questioned by Davidson's attorney,
DR.. Carpenter said he neglected to
testify about the mark on the left
arm at the first inquest. The mark
might have resulted from a dog bite, |
he told Davidson's lawyer. The attor-
ney also brought out Mrs. Davidson
had been given hypodermic injections
after being taken to the hospital. It
was suggested the perforation in the
left arm might have been made in
this way.
He conceded he might have over
looked the silver plate in her head
during the autopsy.
M. G. Boyette, the Davidson at
torney, also drew from the physician
an admission that Mrs. Davidson
might possibly have fallen into the
position in which she was found with
out bruising her face.
He said there was no poison except
carbon rnonoxide in her system and
that a hypodermic injection at the
hospital could not have produced the !
condition found.
Scratch Across Right Thigh.
There was a scratch, he said, run
ming diagonally across the right thigh.
1t also might have been caused by
dog jumping on her.
Mrs. Herbert Vail, a friend of Mrs.
SPECIAL NOTICES.
ON SATURDAY: MARCH 2; 1885: At q