Evening star., 1938-06-29
WAMPLER, FREE,
WILL WRITE BOOK
Lawyer and His Wife Are
Acquitted in Staying in
80 Minutes.
BY GARNETT ID. HORNER,
Staff CORRESPONDENT of The Star

Staf Correspondent Of The Star
LA PLATA, Md, June 29.-T. Nor
ris Wampler. former Washington at
torney. settled down to the task of
finishing writing law book on Grim
inal Evidence" today after he and his
wife were acquitted late yesterday on
manslaughter charges in the death
of Charles Adams.
A Charles County Circuit Court Jury
deliberated only 50 minutes to find
Mr.. and Mrs. Wampler not guilty Of
killing Adams, 7l-year-old handy
man who was found dead on April 20
after what witnesses described as a
drunken brawl" on Mr.. Wampler's s
Fenwick (Md) estate.
Both Wampler. 81. whose brilliant
law career in Washington was cut
short In 1888 when he was sentenced to
prison for 18 months on Federal in
come tax charges. and his 32-year-old
wife, Wyvil, burst into sobs of relief
when the jury's verdict was announced.
To BE Published in Fall.
Gaining control of his emotions with
difficulty, Wampler then told reporters
he now would devote his full energies
to finishing the legal volume which he
contracted to publish next fall.
The jurors apparently were moyed
to acquit the Wamplers promptly by
what defense counsel described as
failure of the prosecution to implicate
them any more than the States star
witness in the alteration that pre-
| ceded Adams death, or to establish
definitely that the elderly man died as
result of the alleged beating.
DR.. Howard j. Maldeis, Baltimore
City post-mortem physician who per-
formed an autopsy on Adams body
for the State on May 10, attributed his
death to multiple bruises and lacera-
tions followed by cerebral hemorrhage
but said under cross-examination that
such hemorrhage might have oc-
CURED in what is commonly known a.
stroke"
Testimony by Writer.
Principal testimony concerning the
"brawl" in which Mr. and Mrs. Wam.
Ter were accused Of hitting Adams
with their fists, came from Alan Buck,
26-year-old writer and neighbor of the
Wamplers, who admitted hitting the
elderly man frs. in attempting to
prevent him from striking Mrs
Wampler.
Buck said he ran home when he
became alarmed at a strange look or
Adams face. He was arrested with
the Wamplers on charges of killing the
handyman, but freed to appear as q
State witness when the grand jury die
not indict him.
Defense Attorney Frank Hall told
the jury in his closing argument that
''if the State has proved-which I say
they haven't-that Adams died as 9
result Of that fight, then Alan Bucl
was responsible. I've sat here wonder.
ing, as I know you have, why he wa.
not on trial"
| He Did Not Take Stand.
Wampler, who told officers he coult
remember nothing of the circum.
stances surrounding Adams death, die
not take the witness stand, but Mrs
Wampler testified she did not consider
the disturbance that ended their drink.
ing party an actual fight and that hel
husband was very intoxicated ane
perfectly unconscious Of what wa.
going on" She denied that she OF
| Wampler had hit Adams
The trial was completed in two days
before Judges Walter A. Mitchell
Joseph M. Mattingly and M. G. Loker
The Wamplers were represented BY
Mr.. Hall, John Mudd and Gwynr
Bowie. States Attorney Edward ]
Edelen prosecuted the case.