Evening star., 1936-01-15
ASHCRAFT CHANGE
IS
TOLD BY FRIEND
Crippled Vendor Became
Morose Last Spring, Wire
Manager Says.
FEAR SON INHERITED
DISEASE POINTED OUT
Social Worker Says She Consid.
cred Mind of Man Accused
of Murder Unsound.

A great change came over the mind
of David L. Ashcraft last Spring, and
the crippled newspaper vendor who
had been known as Happy Dave"
became melancholy and morose,
District Supreme Court jury. trying
him for the f1rst-degree murder of his
5-year-old son, was told today.
Il would see him on his corner at
Fourteenth and G streets selling his
papers day after day, year in and
year out" said william j. Dunn.
branch manager for the Western
Union telegraph station there.
I'VE became friends. He called me
Bill He told me his troubles, of his
financial situation and of his fam
lily. I gave him clothes and other
things. He seemed brave and always
smiled. We used to call him Happy
Days
Then, in the Spring of 1885.
great change seemed to come over
him. He became moroSe I couldn't
get close to him as I used to. He
seemed to resent any questions about
himself. It reached a point where
he would hardly recognize me- There
were any number of things which in
dicated the change in him.
Absolutely Melancholy"
when would gather up his papers
any money for him at the end of the
day he scarcely seemed to know what
was doing ! would say to him:
Dave. do you want a cup of coffee?
Is there anything can get you?' And
he would just look sour, shake his
head and say, No
He became absolutely melan-
choly"
1t was the next Fall that Ashcraft.
| whom his lawyers claim is insane, held
his only son over gas jet in their
basement home at 227 Third street
until he was dead. He told police he
felt that an impending visit to the
hospital would be his last and he did
not want to leave the boy in the
custody of his wife, Josephine. whom
he thought unfaithful.
Ashcraft burst into tears this
morning as he sat in his wheel chair
before the jury. A witness, Mrs. j. N.
Stead of Falls Church. Va. social
worker, had just told of Ashcrafts
fear that his son did not get proper
care and that the boy had inherited
the fathers tuberculosis.
Considers Mind Unsound.
She also said she considered that
his mind was unsound
| traffic officer whose post is at
Fourteenth and G streets, F. NJ Mo-
votny, who helped Ashcraft across the
busy intersection frequently, said the
! cripple seemed depressed and childish.
| John v. Muse. steam engineer at the
Lee House, testified that Ashcraft once
tried to hit him with a crutch because
he replied jokingly to question.
Two alienists. employed by Defense
Counsel Fred J. Icenhower. are ex-
pected to testify this afternoon. They
are Drs. Roger Cohen and Antoine
Schneider.
Icenhower said Ashcraft wants to
take the witness stand himself when
all the others have finished.
Testimony of defense allenists prob
ably will be met by the Government
with testimony by Dr. John E. Lind
of st. Elizabeth's Hospital and DR..
Joseph Gilbert of Gallinger Hospital,
who also have examined AShcraft.
Benefactress Testifies.
Walking painfully with the aid Of
crutches, Miss Fannie Stocking. 3840
Fulton street, white-haired benefac-
tress of Ashcraft. was helped to the
witness stand late yesterday to testify
that he had lost his mind gradually
during the last eight years.
Miss Stocking, we'll known for her
welfare work, was the last witness of
the day, and her appearance came as
a surprise
Speaking earnestly and clearly. she
described how she first met Ashcraft
in July, 1928. as he huddled on a
street corner selling papers. Out of
compassion for him she bought him
a wheel chair the next day.
David did not seem altogether
right to me then" she said. Il
could not deal with him like I could
with other people. I wanted to help
MIN to become self-reliant and self
supporting"
Tells of Change i'm Defendant.
He always was moody. she said. but
a decided change seemed to come over
him in 1888 She said he wrote her
letter in November of that year and
told her his chair was broken. She
had it fixed, but shortly thereafter he
complained one of the tires was
punctured. When she told him over
the telephone where to go to have it
fixed. he became angry and hung up,
she declared.
Il felt hurt because I had been a
genuine friend to David" she told the
jury.
Justice ODonoghue sternly rebuked
Icenhower for attempting to introduce
evidence rejecting on the character
Of the defendants 13-year-old STEP
daughter. Helen Ashcraft. who had
been a witness during the morning.
Icenhower had asked a witness, Mrs.
Elsie Redmond, who lived at Ashcraft's
rooming house. whether she ever saw
the girl in the arms of a man.
YOU'RE not going to blacken young
girls reputation" the judge said
angrily. There can be no motive in
this line of questioning. The girl
Is no blood relative of the defendant" !"