Milford chronicle., 1950-07-14
Kent County Woman
Cleared liz Staying
tcontinued from nrst page,

This testimony was in reputation /
of part of her statement to state
police in which she employed the
name of her husband, Marvin, as
the one wanting in and said she
was afraid of his getting into the |
house because there might be an
argument and he might hurt her.
In her statement to police, which
was admitted into evidence, the
frail, 93-pOund mother of three
children contended she did not aim
the .22-caliber bOlt-action rife but
simply. held it in her hands and
pulled the trigger when her hus-
bands arm was in the window.
81 did not mean to kill him." she
insisted in her statement, in which
she also told police that it was
only when he was drinking that
her husband did not treat her prop
erly.
AS she heard "Marvin's" efforts
to get into the house, she kept
quiet, she had told police, and got
the already-lOaded-a rifle
from the foot of the bed when she
saw his arm through the window
after he had torn the screen away,
broke the window pane, and opened
the window.
The dark-haired widow insisted
in her testimony, however, that she
was certain it was a prOwleT trying
to get in as under similar circum-
stances in the past her husband
always called to her, which he did
not do the night of his death.
E She declared it was not until he
called to her, after the bullet had
pierced his stomach, to "get doc
tor" that she realized the "intru-
der" was her husband, after which
she dragged him into the kitchen
and sent her oldest child to a neigh
Dor, Mrs. Eva EllingswOrth, to call
a physician.
Died In Milford Hospital
In response to the call, DR.. w. T.
Chipman, Harrington, came to. the
house and had Alexander taken to
the Milford Memorial Hospital,
where he died.
Mr.. Hughes, defense counsel,
stressed to the jury in his closing
argument his contention that Mrs.
Alexander used her husbands name
in making her statement to the
pOlice because at that time she had
become aware it was he who had
sought entry and not burglar. Mr..
Hughes called the fatality "a tragic
mistake which was not discovered
until too late to correct"
Deputy Attorney General Henry
J. Ridgely, prosecuting the case
argued to the jury that the circum-
stances of Alexander's driving to
the house, first trying the back door
and then breaking through the bed
room screen and window, all in
volving much noise, refuted any
contention of the wife that they
were the actions of a prOwler and
insisted that she had to be held
responsible for her act of killing
her husband. He maintained also
that 'fear of an argument from q
person" was no excuse for shoot
ing that person.
Explains States Position
He explained the states position
that the time Mrs. Alexander hac
to ponder while her husband was
trying to get into the house while
she remained quiet involved pre-
meditation, the requisite for first
degree murder charge.
Mr.. Hughes maintained the Alex
anders were a happy family, mar
ried since 1912, and having daugh-
ters seven and four years of age
and a son, six. He declared that
eff there was a flaw in their home
life, it was Marvin's drinking"
He brought out that Alexander
was angry that night because his
mother had gone to the State LID
uOr Commission and had him bar
red from purchasing liquor, but
that his anger was not directed to
his wife. He had left the house that
night presumably to visit his mo-
ther in Dover to protest her action
according to the attorney and the
wife.
The wife said she did not believe
he would be back before going tC
work at the International Later
Corporation plant in Dover at mid
night and that she retired abou
$3.50 o'clock in the first floor bed
room and fell asleep.
= During the trial, the wife sat will
lowered head practically all tn