The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1939-01-25
MRS. SMITH
TAKES STAND
in SURPRISE
Red Bat' Letter Is Ad-
mitted Also in Morn
ing Of MeIodrama


on murder Indictment in the death
of Thomas Colling, reached dram
attic height this forenoon when As
sistant District Attorney George
Folta surprised the courtroom and
the defense by producing as wit
ness. Mrs. Smith, wife of the de-
PENDANT, who did not testify at
the first trial and was believed to
be in Seattle.
The defense agreed to permit the
testimony of Mrs. Smith, and during
cross examination, defense attorney
George Grigsby succeeded in intro
ducing the widely discussed Red
Bat" letter as evidence, letter Mrs.
Smith admitted writing to Colling,
but which was not admitted to
evidence at the previous trail.
Heightening the drama of the
courts, Smith himself was permitted
to cross examine his wife.
Tells Her Story
Telling her story of the shooting
of Colling for the first time before
the District Court, Mrs. Smith,
dressed in black coat and hat and
wearing glasses, spoke calmly and
volubly, her hands most of the
time folded quietly in her lap.
Colling, steward on the steamer
Tongass, went to the Smith home
on Gastineau Avenue on the day of
his death, with a jar of cookies in
his arms, Mrs. Smith testified.
"He had promised me the cookie
jar on the trip north on the steamer
Tongass," Mrs. Smith said. He
came in and gave me the jar.
took it out to the kitchen. took ii
I out of the paper sack and was
surprised to find cookies in it.
II offered him one and took one
myself. He had taken seat near the
radio and I came in and sat down
across the room from him. had
! Just taken a bite of my cookie when
I heard noise and jumped up.
!
doorway with a gun in his hand.
"He said, I've been laying for you
and I'm going to kill you,' and Mr..
Colling jumped up-and they started
struggling for the gun back through
the kitchen door into the kitchen
II was near the front room door
I don't know what was doing, and
I heard a shot--then I heard an
other shot.
'Down On Your Knees"
Jack came out of the kitchen
then with the gun and said, Get
down on your knees or I'll kill you.
IT said, Go ahead, Jack, shoot
me- but he said, No, you stay here,
and then he left-to call the police,
I guess"
Mrs. Smith further testified that
she had returned from trip south
on the Tongass, getting back late in
September after having gone Out
side on the Tongass in midsummer
and shortly after her return, she and
her husband had entered into a
separation agreement.
HE asked me to stay until after
the 18TH" Mrs. Smith testified. HE
said he wanted to be with the baby
five days more. Now I know he
wanted to wait until the Tongass
arrived"
Returning again to the day of
the shooting, Mrs. Smith told of how
attorney Sam Duker had gone to
the Smith home and arranged for
Jack" to stake mining claims for
him at Taku
IT told Jack it was all right with
me and he said he was to meet
two other men with a gasboat at
Grindstone Greek, taking a taxi to
Thane and walking down, leaving
Wednesday morning."
Movements Checked
Asked by Folta if Smith had made
any efforts to check her movements.
Mrs. Smith said, Eyes, a taxi driver
1 CclllC W OiiC 1AOdoC OilC kJdtQl
night and asked if Jack was home.
Il asked Jack why the cab driver
had come and he said it was none
of my business. Then I found a
note in one of his pockets saying
that if I wasn't home, to get an
officer and pick him (Jack) up be-
cause he had a sick baby at the
house"
Mrs. Smith said the baby did have
a cold at the time.
On cross examination by defense
attorney Grigsby, who asked Mrs
Smith if she had "any Illicit rela-
lions with Colling," Mrs. Smith said,
None"
WAS he your lover?" Grigsby
asked.
mo, just a friend" Mrs. Smith
answered.
RED Bat" Letter
At that point, Grigsby asked for
admission to evidence of the RED