Evening star., 1948-09-20
Janitor Looks
LikeBri|I Killer,
Witness Says
Playmate Tells Court
How Girl Was Slain
By Man With Knife
By the Assoeioied Press

BALTIMORE, Sept. 2O.-An IL
year-old girl looked today at Eugene
James, 31-year-old janitor, and
testified he CLOCKS like" the man
who dashed from the bushes and
fatally stabbed little Marsha Brill
last July 6.
Barbara Sapperstein was with IL
year-old Marsha that afternoon
while they bicycled down hill near
Pimlico race track.
James. who is colored, pleaded not
guilty through his attorney when
he was called to trail on a charge
of killing the Brill girl.
James also is accused in anotner
Indictment of raping a 38-year-oid
Baltimore woman, and is under in
dictment in Washington for the
slaying of Carol Bardwell, IL, IN
knife attack paralleling the Balti-
more crime.
Barbara, after qualifying as a
witness, did not go further IN her
Identification than to say James
resembled the man who brandlshed
a knife and plunged it into Marshas S
BODY. ~
Girl Tells of Attack.
Under questioning by Assistant
States Attorney Alan Murrell, the
Young witness told this story:
Barbara, her younger brothef'
Alan, and Marsha had ridden their
BICYCLES down a hill on Glen ave,
nue.. They were tired and stopped
for a while. Marsha and BARBARA
we're standing by the bicycles Wilt
Alan started up the hill.
A colored man garbed in coveralis
i,,mned out of the woods, pointed
a knife at Marsha and stabbed her
Barbara got on her bicycle ana
started up the hill. She saw Mar
sha "zigzag four or five times
across the road, holding her stom-
ach and screaming. The man was
walking rapidly toward Marsha
Barbara kept on fleeing.
Barbara was shown set OF cover
ais which she said looked ike
those the man was wearing.
Under cross-examination by De-
,ense Counsel William H. Murphy,
the girl said that she looked az
several Negroes in two nneups JCly
6 and 7. She said she had oeen
unable to identify any OF them as
the man VINO stabbed Marsha.
Medical witnesses Called.
She added that the first time she
saw James was last Tuesday Wheh
a representative of the States AT
torney's Office pointed him out 10
her ~,
The sapperstein girl was the
third witness called
The first was DR.. Howard D.
Maldeis, State medical examiner
who performed an autopsy July T.
He said he found a gaping sIao
wound about AZ inches long: Inc
knife had cut through one rib ana
partly through another, ana mao
punctured the lobe OF the llVer;
Hemorrhages in the stomach ana
breast caused death, he SAID.
The second witness was Df.
Henry G. Freimuth, chemist for
the State medical examiner he
was shown a tan shirt, otherwise
unidentified, and said he hao loul,o
a small bloodstain on pocket; ne
said the stain was too small 10
hermit determination OF the plooo
grouping.
Attorney Murphy made no men
.;or, ~ n in making the plea, but
previously. in writing James, had
pleaded not guilty because OF IN
sanity. That plea is still on record.
The court was informed once
more that James elected to be trleo
bv the Judge rather than a jury.
Houston Aiding Defense.
Anpearing to assist Mr.. Murphy
with the defense was Charles II.
Houston, colored Washington at
torney.. Mr.. Houston frequently
appears in cases on behalf OF the
National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People. He
said the NAACP had not retained
him in the James case. He was ap-
pearing at Mr.. Murphy's request.
While he awaited trial, James
underwent mental tests.
The court instructed DR.. Man.
fred Guttmacher, medical advisor to
the Supreme Bench, to conduct
psychiatric examination. Under
court rule, DR.. Guttmacher did not
divulge his findings to the court or
attorneys connected with the case
They will be made public when he
testifles.
James was arrested several hours
after the Brill girl was killed.
Charged With Killing.
Two days later, he was charged
with her murder. The charges were
entered against him after police an
nounced they had found the butcher
knife which killed Marsha and
James had been taken to the scene.
Meanwhile, Washington authori-
ties-struck by the similarity OF the
Brill Staying with that of Carol
Bardwell nine days previously-en-
tered the case.
Carol was killed while bicycling
in Rock Greek Park, Washington.
Washington police have quoted
James as admitting he killed the
Bardwell child.
AS an outgrowth of the James
case. five Baltimore area radio sta
tions and a radio news editor have
been cited to show cause why they
should not be held in contempt of
court for their handling of news
stories about it.
The stations were cited under q
Baltimore City Court rule restrict
ing publication of crime news
Their cases will be heard some
time after conclusion of the murder
trial.