CHAPTER
X
The
Trial of the Hearnes
HERIFF PRATT
arrived on the Brookfield accommodation at 10:55 a. m. with Dr. and Mrs. J. C.
Hearne. The train stopped at Fourth
street, and the prisoners walked from there to the court house in charge of the
officer. The Case of the State vs.
Frances C. and Joseph C. Hearne, indictment murder in the first degree, was
called. Dr. and Mrs. Hearne entered
the court room in the custody of the officers and accompanied by their
attorneys, Col. R. E. Anderson and Geo. M. Harrison[38].
The case will be called on the first day of the Pike County court in
November.
D. A. Ball, of Louisiana, has been employed as additional counsel for
the defense. Col. Dryden was not
present. The attorneys for the
state will be Ras. Pearson, prosecuting attorney for Pike county; H. Clay
Heather, prosecuting attorney for Marion county; Champ Clark[39]
and Dick Giles.
Dr. Hearne and wife were taken to the grand jury room and remained there
until noon, when they were taken to the Park hotel.
One table was set apart for Dr. Hearne and wife, Harold Stillwell and
Mrs. Virginia Todd and her sister, of Bowling Green.
Dr. Hearne and wife will be taken to the Bowling Green jail as soon as
the transcript has been completed.
The prisoners were taken to Palmyra this afternoon.
Dr. J. C. Hearne and wife, under indictment for the murder of A. J.
Stillwell, the pork-packer of Hannibal, in 1888, were brought to Bowling Green
yesterday on a change of venue from the Marion county circuit court and lodged
in jail to await trial, which is set for the first week in January.
The prisoners appeared to be well and cheerful, though Mrs. Hearne seemed
a little nervous. She was neatly dressed in a blue skirt and hat, with white
shirt waist and white bow at throat. The
doctor was attired in black and wore a Masonic pin in his lapel.
The prisoners entered a carriage and were driven direct to the jail,
where Sheriff Daugherty took charge of them.
Dr. Hearne was placed in a steel
cell, but not in the cage. His room
is 6 by 15 feet, contains a stove and cot and has new matting on the floor.
One grated window admits a dim light.
Mrs. Hearne fares better. Her
apartment is not a part of the jail proper, but is a brick room on the second
floor, a part of the sheriff’s residence, and is tastefully furnished.
Brussels carpet, with a pretty design of vines and roses, oak chairs and
table, one rocker, bedstead, washstand and dresser, the latter with French plate
mirror. In Marion county, Pike
county has the reputation of not convicting prisoners of murder in the first
degree, and the impression has gone out there that the people of this county are
rather opposed to capital punishment. Whether
this is true or not, it is undoubtedly the reason that the Hearnes asked to be
tried here. Dr. Hearne is getting
tired of confinement. He said he
was anxious to get back to his business and did not believe he would be confined
much longer, so he evidently believes that Pike county will hold to her
reputation and clear him without much trouble.
Mrs. Hearne still manifests that stony indifference and silence she has
shown from the beginning.
The
Trial
Bowling Green, Mo., Dec. 11.
Court opened at 10 o’clock this morning and the Hearne party was
brought in by Sheriff Dougherty, accompanied by W. T. Hearne, of Independence,
Mo., who is an uncle of the doctor, J. W. Hearne, of Chicago, also an uncle, and
Frank P. Hearne, of Alton, a half-brother, who is here to stand by Dr. Hearne
and furnish all the money required to fight the case to its bitter end.
He believes in the innocence of the doctor, notwithstanding all that has
come out tending to the contrary. Mrs.
Susie Hayward has expressed herself as not wanting to come to the trial to
testify. The jurors to serve on the
case are all farmers except one, who is a druggist, and all are married men.
Daugherty and Hearne spend all of their leisure time in abusing
newspapers and patting each other on the back.
The witnesses who will be first called to testify will be H. Clay
Heather, Richard H. Stillwell and Sample Birch, for the state, and Mrs. Hearne,
Rufus Anderson and Miss Virginia Hearne for the defense, and they will be
permitted to remain in court by agreement, but all other witnesses will be
excluded. G. Dick Biggs has arrived
in the city with the ax with which Mr. Stillwell was murdered, and the blood
stains are still upon it. Excitement
in this case is raging and there is considerable speculation as to what the
final outcome will be.
Court was called to order again, when Prosecuting Attorney Heather
submitted a list of new state witnesses. H.
Clay Heather then began his opening statement, and said:
“I will now unfold to the court and jury the fatal assassination of one
of Missouri’s best and wealthiest citizens,” and after dwelling to some
extent on the character of Amos J. Stillwell, went on to say that “Dr.
Hearne’s wife had killed him, and that the validity of the indictment devolved
upon the character of the Marion county grand jury.”
He went on with his opening address and made a concise statement of the
case. Mrs. Hearne remarked to
friends that she had been hypnotized by the wily doctor.
Attorney Heather went on to say that he expected to prove a deep
conspiracy on the part of Dr. and Mrs. Hearne.
It was the effort of Heather’s life and made a good impression
on the jury. When court opens
tomorrow it is expected that more sensational developments will occur.
Dr.
Hearne to Face the Music First
N. C. Dryden, attorney for the defense, called up the motion for a severance, and suggested that Mrs.
Hearne be tried first. Prosecuting
Attorney Heather objected to this and asked that the doctor be tried first.
The court decided that the doctor should be tried first making first
victory for the state. Champ Clark, co-counsel for the prosecution, asked how many
had visited the Hearnes at the jail. This
move was made a basis for disqualifying jurors, but Judge Roy ruled that the
simple fact of having visited the jail would not be sufficient to disqualify,
unless a conversation had been held with the Hearnes.
Bowling Green. 3:30 p. m. -
Harold Stillwell, oldest son of Mrs. Hearne, arrived at noon.
When he entered the court room his mother called him to her side.
He looked at her and hesitated. Then
he entered within the railing and sat by her side.
On examination, five jurors from the second panel of twelve were excused
on account of having visited the jail and conversed with the defendants.
A
Defiant Sheriff
At the time of Hearne’s arrest, and in fact till he came into Mr.
Dougherty’s keeping he was crestfallen. This
has all disappeared and Hearne is himself again.
He made an open threat in the court
room against a representative of The News and crossed Prosecuting
Attorney Heather. Mr. Heather was standing between the doctor and his daughter
addressing the court, when Hearne said: “Get
away from here. Don’t stand
between us.” The state’s
attorney replied in a caustic manner: “Who
appointed you officer of this court?” Mrs.
Hearne is improved in looks, having gained in flesh since she has been in
Bowling Green. She wears a cloth
skirt and blue shirt waist, gray cloak trimmed in fur and a pretty little
bonnet. When looking at her
adversaries the fire snaps out of her eyes, but she is usually laughing and
talking with friends in the court room, not seeming to realize the situation.
Champ Clark, of the attorneys for the state, made a remarkable statement
today that if Dr. Hearne was not hung it would not be because he has not said
and done everything he could to give out the impression that he committed the
murder, except to confess it. The
state will attempt to show that Dr. Hearne was at the bottom of the prosecution
started in Hannibal some time ago against Dr. Vernette for assaulting the
Hawkins girl, knowing that at some time Vernette might be a valuable witness
against him and with the view to forever discrediting him.
In examining jurors Champ Clark took a delight in asking them if they had
called at the jail and been introduced to the Hearnes by Sheriff Dougherty.
Many answered in the affirmative that it became a joke. One juror Champ Clark asked:
“Have you been down to the jail yet to pay your respects to the Hearnes?”
Senator Ball, of the defense, objected on the ground that the question
was improper, and he was sustained by the court.
One juror when asked if he had met Dr. Hearne, replied that he had formed
the doctor’s acquaintance in the post office some weeks ago, and since that
had met him several times on the streets. The
sentiment here in Bowling Green is divided.
More than half the people in Bowling Green have called upon the Hearnes
personally and have been introduced by the sheriff, who never loses the
opportunity to present these “distinguished guests” in the best manner.
Mr. Dougherty is defiant. He
is in bad repute with the best citizens here and is probably serving his last
term as an officer of Pike county. The
doctor has come to the conclusion that he was mistreated by Sheriff Pratt and
has sent word to that gentleman that among those he is going to kill when he
gets out are Dick Stillwell and Sheriff Pratt.
It may be true that the defense wanted to try Hearne first, but it is
also true that the state wanted to try him first.
Bowling Green. Dec. 12. -
The Hearne trial has opened in earnest and with all parties on their mettle.
Much interest is now centered in the jury.
It is composed of three young men, five middle-aged and four aged men.
All are good, substantial and intelligent men, who will, it is believed
by both sides, decide the case honestly. They
have families and can realize what it is for a man to work a life-time,
accumulating a competency and rearing a family, and then while enjoying the
fruits of his labor in old age, to have a villain step in and murder the man and
cast a shadow over his children that will remain for life.
If it can be proven that Dr. Hearne was the villain in this case, there
is no question about the sense of justice and the action of the jury.
The fate of the Hearnes now depends upon the evidence. As to the trial, much depends on the court.
Judge Roy ruled, while Mr. Heather was making his opening statement to
the jury, that the domestic infelicity attending the marriage of the Hearnes of
the Hearnes divorce, re-marriage, etc., was not relative.
Judge Roy simply made this ruling in so far as the opening statement was
concerned, and it is not believed that he will exclude such material testimony.
Charles Bonfils was the first witness to testify in the case.
He had made a map of the Stillwell house and surroundings, which was
admitted in evidence, and marked “Exhibit B.”
W.
A. Munger on the Stand
W. A. Munger was second on the stand.
His testimony was about the same as his deposition in the DeYoung case.
He said Hearne had told him that he had gone directly to his office from
Mr. Munger’s house and from the office to his home and did not come out that
night. The state expects to prove
that Dr. Hearne was out again that night and was seen coming from the direction
of the Stillwell mansion. Col.
Dryden cross-examined Mr. Munger to quite an extent.
Dr. Gleason testified about the condition of the body as he
found it and indicated to the jury the length, breadth and depth of the
wound. Mr. Heather was in fine
spirits and said the state would prove all that had been stated and more.
The state is not relying altogether on Dr. Vernette to prove that Dr.
Hearne was seen on the street after
one o’clock on the morning of the murder.
It will be proven by a man
whose testimony cannot be impeached that Dr. Hearne was seen on the same night
after Dr. Vernette had seen him. This
will be in the nature of a surprise to the defense, as they have not been
expecting it. The skies are
brightening for the state. Mr.
Heather says he realizes all the disadvantages he has to contend with in the
case in that much of the most convincing evidence which has been talked for
years will not be admissible and yet, taking all this in view, he expects
conviction.
A
Card from Dr. Hearne
To the Public:
After a continuous tirade of abuse, heaped upon me by H. B. Hull, of The
Evening News, when we came to Bowling Green on Monday last, he presumed to
speak to me when I entered the court house.
I refused to recognize him. Smarting
under his deserved rebuke, he further vents his spleen in his issue of the 10th
inst. by concocting and publishing in his “chump” paper the following
language: “Hearne has been so
well treated at the hands of Dougherty that he has come to the conclusion that
he was mistreated by Sheriff Pratt, and has sent word to that gentleman saying
that prominent among those he is going to kill when he gets out are Dick
Stillwell and Sheriff Pratt.” I
take this opportunity to denounce said charge as being made out of whole cloth.
I have neither entertained nor sent any such threats, and am forced to
the conclusion that the said H. B. Hull is a constitutional liar, whose natural
talents for mendacity are only equaled by his impudence, and that he would
receive the application of a cowhide with the cringing humility of a cur, to
which he has more than a striking resemblance.
Respectfully,
(Signed)
J. C. HEARNE, M. D.
The above statement was handed out last night by counsel for the defense
for publication. The News
representative’s informant about the matter was Richard Stillwell, who said
today that Sheriff Pratt told him of it and would verify the statement.
But certainly it is no discredit to be publicly denounced by Hearne, the
man who stands indicted as the murderer of Amos J. Stillwell.
Dr. Gleason finished his evidence.
He said that Stillwell did not move after the blow was struck.
The evidence of Dr. Gleason was very damaging to Hearne.
Dr. Gleason said that the victim might have moved convulsively after the
blow has been struck, but that he believed that he did not.
It was shown that Anderson had said at the time of the murder that there
was no necessity for a post mortem examination. Dryden asked the witness if he had ever seen a chicken’s
head cut off, and asked if the chicken did not jump around pretty lively.
Gleason stood the cross-examination well, and gave testimony damaging to
the defense. The state will attempt
to prove that Col. Anderson, as prosecuting attorney of Marion county, stood in
the way of an indictment.
W. T. League was called to the stand and rehearsed the story of Mrs.
Stillwell crossing the street to his house and awakening the family with the
statement that Mr. Stillwell had been murdered, and that she was dressed in her
night clothes and was barefooted. During
all of Mr. League’s testimony Dr. Hearne’s eyes were riveted upon him as
though he were trying to exert some hypnotic power over the witness.
At the conclusion of Mr. League’s testimony Dr. Hearne helped him on
with his overcoat, and manifested a great deal of friendship for him.
Jake Kornder gave his evidence this afternoon, which is substantially the
same as has been published in his depositions.
The trial will likely be more sensational tomorrow.
Interest
Growing in the Trial
Dr. Hearne occupies a seat in the group of his attorneys and stares at
the witnesses as though he were trying to exercise an undue influence over them.
This was especially true while Lizzie Julius, the colored servant at the
Stillwell home, was on the stand. Every
time she would catch the eye of Dr. Hearne she would become frustrated and
stammer as though frightened. She
stated that the ax that struck the blow was locked up in the wood shed on the
night of the murder - that she locked it up herself.
She was very positive on this point.
Mrs. Hearne occupies the same seat every day on a bench immediately back
of the press table. Dr. Hearne’s
two daughters and her son Harold sit with her.
No intelligent person who knows the history of this case believes there
is a single spark of affection existing between them.
Champ Clark gives it as his opinion that if by accident these people
should be set free, divorce proceedings would be begun immediately and that they
would get as far away from each other as possible.
In the event that Dr. Hearne is acquitted, it has been stated that the
case against Mrs. Hearne would never come to trial because it has been alleged,
certain parties fear her. Mr.
Heather said: “Hearne will never be acquitted, but if he should be I will
try Mrs. Hearne just the same.” The
state’s attorney shows that A. J. Stillwell had been dead nearly an hour
before Mrs. Stillwell gave the alarm. Senator
Ball intimated in a remark to the court that the defense would prove how this
time was spent. A big effort will
be made by both sides on this point, as it is very material. Dr. Hearne is seen about the hotel lobbies nearly every
evening. While Lizzie Julius was on
the stand Prosecuting Attorney Heather exhibited the ax. Lizzie is superstitious and said: “I don’t want to touch that thing.” Mrs. Hearne was amused and laughed, as much as to say “That
won’t hurt you.”
Mrs. Gleason said that she had resided in Hannibal about thirty years
and knew Hearne and wife and A. J. Stillwell.
She described the location of the residence. She was called to the Stillwell house the night of the
murder, about 2 o’clock. She went
over and saw Hearne there. She was
surprised to see him there when she arrived, as she hurried so.
Dr. Hearne said he had not been in bed.
As he was coming down the steps at Munger’s he met A. J. Stillwell, who
asked him, “Why are you, a young man, going home so early?”
Hearne left Munger’s and kept just ahead of Mr. Stillwell and wife to
Broadway. Hearne made this
explanation to witness soon after she arrived, even before she went up the
stairs. After talking to Dr. Hearne
witness went up the stairs. Dr. Hearne remained with Mrs. Stillwell being there all
night. Witness heard Mrs. Stillwell
addressing Dr. Hearne, “Don’t leave me.”
Mrs. Gleason says she looked at the body of Mr. Stillwell and was
surprised that it had been removed from the place where the blood was, which was
on the south side of the bed, while the body was on the north side.
Mollie was in Quincy that night. Mrs.
Gleason remarked that Mollie was surprised to get permission to go away from
home. Witness said Mollie and her children were very intimate.
While the attorneys for the defense were on their feet crying,
“Object,” Mrs. Gleason raised her voice and said her children told her that
Mrs. Stillwell’s children told them that they were sent away on occasions when
Dr. Hearne called. Col. Dryden
cross-examined witness. Witness
said Dr. Hearne visited Mrs. Stillwell frequently, and she knew of it because
Mollie would invariably come over to her house.
The state scored some good points in Mrs. Gleason’s testimony and it
was perceptible that an impression was made on the jury.
Court
Called to Order
R. H. Stillwell was the first witness placed on the stand this morning
when court opened, and as he took his seat Mrs. Hearne changed from her
accustomed seat and took a position directly in front of him and stared at him
throughout his examination, but if she had any effect on him it was not
discernible. Hearne glared at him
occasionally and showed more than ordinary concern. In relating the crime Mr. Stillwell lay upon a table to show
the jury how his father was found dead; said that the body had evidently lain in
the middle of the bed until all of the blood had run out, and then been moved to
the side of the bed; said this was the first time Mollie had ever been away from
home over night that he knew of. Witness
said that his step-mother had told him that she
cared nothing for his father - her husband; that she thought he was too
old for her. She
also said that she wished she had married a young man.
Mrs. Hearne was peering into witness’ eyes and was half smiling and
half crying.
Witness testified that his father had made a will leaving the entire
estate to him in trust for twenty years.
Mrs. Stillwell set about breaking the will, and did so; shortly afterward
Stillwell was murdered; that Mrs. Hearne got a child’s part.
He said Anderson had the grand jury reports in his office and Dr. Hearne
had free access to said reports. Anderson
was prosecuting attorney for the county at the time and had complete control of
the grand jury. Col. Dryden
cross-examined the witness. Witness
said his step-mother had repeatedly told him that his father was too old for her
and that she wished she had married a younger man.
All this was said to him before his father was murdered.
Witness said that Dr. Hearne was never employed in the service of the
family with the consent of his father.
Sensational
Developments
Bowling Green, Mo., Dec. 14.
R. H. Stillwell got some good work in for the state last evening while
on the stand. A letter which had
been written by him to his step-mother while she was in Battle Creek was read by
Col. Dryden for the purpose of cross-examination. The letter was full of comfort.
The state’s attorney objected to the letter being read, but consented
with the understanding that witness should have an opportunity to explain it.
There were two letters. Mr.
Stillwell’s letters were to the effect that there was nothing in the
accusation and that he believed in Hearne’s innocence.
Then Mr. Stillwell dropped the bomb.
It was to the effect that he was the last man in Hannibal to believe that
his step-mother and Dr. Hearne committed the crime.
He explained how natural it was that he should feel as he did.
His step-mother had always treated him kindly. She was the mother of his father’s children, whom he
desired to protect, but recently evidence had come to his knowledge which had
changed him completely. When the
second letter was read and Mr. Stillwell’s time arrived to explain it, he
simply said these words: “The
very fact that those letters have been preserved by them through all these years
is convincing evidence to my mind of their guilt.”
Why did those people preserve the papers for seven years unless they
thought there was a possibility of their arrest?
Harry Nichols, who resided in Hannibal at the time of the murder,
testified that he set his watch at 1:15 o’clock on the morning of the murder
and walked to the opera house in company with Harry Nash and Dana Hubbard.
When they arrived at the opera house witness said it must have been 1:10
or 1:15 o’clock and that he saw Dr. Hearne pass.
Hearne was going north and turned the corner of Center, going towards his
home.
Mrs.
Susie Hayward
Mrs. Susie Hayward was placed on the stand this morning.
Witness stated that she had visited Mrs. Stillwell more than a year
before the murder occurred, and from the beginning related her knowledge of the
doctor worming his way into the Stillwell home, and went on to say how she had
followed Mrs. Stillwell to Dr. Hearne’s office and found them locked in a back
room. Witness said that on one
occasion she went over to the city park and watched for them to come out of the
doctor’s office; that she saw Dr. Hearne come to the front door about two
hours after she had seen Mrs. Stillwell enter the office, and look up and down
the street as though looking to see if anyone was watching, and that shortly
afterward she saw Mrs. Stillwell come
from the office. Witness said she
approached Mrs. Stillwell and said, “Fannie, I know where you have been;”
that they went to dinner together, and that during the conversation that
followed Mrs. Stillwell said to her that she was very unhappy, and that she
could see nothing but trouble before her; that she studied more and more about
the matter and had made up her mind that she would break up the family ties
between herself and husband. Witness
said that she remonstrated with Mrs. Stillwell and advised her not to do it.
She further said that Mrs. Stillwell had asked her to go and have a talk
with Dr. Hearne, and ask him to desist from his attention to Mrs. Stillwell and
in reply to her Dr. Hearne said that he would not give her up.
“The fact is,” said he, “I want her to get a divorce from old man
Stillwell and marry me.” Witness
told him he could not support her and she did not see what he wanted with her.
Dr. Hearne replied that she could get alimony, and with the assistance he
could take care of her all right. Witness
said to him: “Well, but she would
lose the alimony when she married you.” Then
Dr. Hearne said he could have Mr. Stillwell slugged for $2.50.
Dr. Hearne further said to witness:
“I suppose you know about me being in the house one night, about 1
o’clock when Stillwell returned from St. Louis?” Witness replied: “Yes;
suppose he had seen you?” “I
would have shot him.” “Then you
would have been hung.” “Oh, no.
It would have been thought that a negro burglar had gotten into the
house, and upon being discovered, had done the work.”
“Then you will not give Mrs. Stillwell up?”
“Remember, I visit her professionally.
Physicians and preachers are never suspected.”
“Suppose I should tell?” said witness to the doctor.
He replied: “I would kill
any one standing in my way.” Witness said this was all she knew about the case; that she
had not talked with Dr. Hearne from that day to this. The court ordered Col. Dryden to refrain from pointing his
finger at Mrs. Hayward, on an objection from that lady. She said she would not object if he pointed both hands at
her. Witness said she had not
disclosed these secrets sooner because of her love for Mrs. Stillwell; that she
wanted to protect her. Hon. H. Clay
Heather asked witness if an attorney for the defense had not been to Tennessee
to see her, in an attempt to induce her not to appear at this trial? This question brought both Dryden and Ball, of the defense,
to their feet with objections. The
objection was sustained by the court, but it had its effect on the jury, just
the same. Mr. Ball charged witness
with having been prompted by her husband, and asked that he be excluded from the
room. The court refused to exclude
him, on the ground that he had not been subpoenaed before taking the seat he
then occupied.
Ollie
Cole
Ollie Cole was placed on the stand this afternoon.
He told of the conversation he had heard over the telephone which took
place between Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell.
The conversation took place on Dec. 22, 1888, just a few days before the
murder. He said the talk was as
follows: “Hello, Fannie, is that
you? Where is A. J.?”
“He is across the river.” “What
time is he coming home?” “About
7 o’clock.” “I had better come over, hadn’t I?” “No, I guess not. Somebody
might see you.” “I can come
over by the back way.” “All
right, come ahead.” Soon after
the murder the doctor was met in a drug store where he made the threat to
witness that he would kill a d__d telephone spy or two, if they should ever say
anything about him. Cole was the
only telephone man present at the time.
Dr.
Hearne Out of Danger so far as this Trial is Concerned
Bowling Green, Mo., Dec. 10.
As the trial wears on Dougherty grows more defiant and irregular in his
conduct of the office of sheriff. He
has sacrificed his political ambition for the Hearnes.
When the jury of twelve was secured Judge Roy turned them over to the
sheriff and instructed him to keep them together.
He also warned the jury about reading newspapers and talking to
outsiders. Dougherty secured the parlor of the Emerson house for the
jury. It was expected that they
would not have callers and that no communication would be sent to them.
A correspondent of the News sat in the hall, in view of the parlor door
for thirty minutes. During that
time Dougherty was bobbing in and out of the room.
Two little girls were admitted, and one juror was permitted to go out
with a man.
Mrs.
Hearne's Father
Mrs. Hearne’s father is living in Kentucky, and is a high-minded,
respectable old gentleman. Some
have wondered why he is not here standing by his daughter who needs friends so
badly. Perhaps the Kentucky lady
could tell. Her aged father
attended the funeral of A. J. Stillwell and returned home to Kentucky a
broken-hearted man. He said when
questioned about the murder and funeral: “Fannie’s
levity was worse to me than her grief. I
never expect to see Fannie again.” Mrs.
Hearne looks into the face of her boy Harold as though he were all the world to
her. Harold is like his brother
Dick in one respect. The expression
of his face is always the same - no matter whether the testimony is good or bad.
Dr. Hearne’s daughters always look pretty in court, and everybody is
anxious to see them. Much sympathy
is felt for these innocent victims of circumstances.
Nothing but sorrow is written on their young faces.
Some say that Col. Anderson is nearly as much on trial as Hearne.
He has been accused of using his official position while prosecuting
attorney, to shield Hearne. The
state will attempt to sustain this charge.
John
E. Stillwell
John E. Stillwell was the first witness placed on the stand today.
He testified that he attended the Munger party on the night of the
murder. He noticed that Mrs.
Stillwell looked morose toward the end of the party.
Dr. Hearne and Mr. Stillwell and wife left the party at 11:30.
Dr. Hearne kicked the money in the alley with his foot and called
witness’ attention to it. Prosecuting
Attorney Heather: “Did you know
the condition of Dr. Hearne’s eye-sight?”
Witness: “Yes; he was
near-sighted.” In conversation
with witness Hearne said: “Either
a burglar killed Mr. Stillwell or Mrs. Stillwell knows all about it.
Now is the time for her friends to rally around her. My name has been connected with hers and the only way for me
to stop it is to do some shooting.” Mrs.
Hearne shed her first tears since the trial began, while John Stillwell was
testifying. Dr. Hearne noticed it
and asked Senator Ball to speak to her. He
did so and she replied: “All
right, I’ll try to stand it.” She
afterwards braced up, but looks unusually sad.
She is apparently suffering the tortures of hell.
Witness said that he was surprised to see the calm and peaceful
expression on his uncle’s face, as though he had fallen asleep.
He had expected to see the terrible expression of one killed in a
struggle with a burglar.
At the afternoon session George D. Clayton[40]
testified that he attended a party at A. J. Stillwell’s in the latter part of
November, 1888, and that Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell remained up stairs for
fully thirty minutes.
Charles Clayton swore that Mr. Stillwell and wife and Dr. Hearne left
the Munger party at 11:30.
Dr. Vernette was then called to the stand and testified that he saw Dr.
Hearne after 1 o’clock on the morning of the murder. Col. Dryden cross-examined him and an attempt will be made to
discredit him by other witnesses. Mr.
Heather says the state’s case is made and that the state may rest at any time.
Bowling Green, Dec. 17.
During the course of Dr. Vernette’s testimony it developed that the state board of health had revoked his license to practice medicine while Dr. Hearne was its secretary, and while Dr. Vernette resided in Montgomery City.
“Do you know William Gilchrist?” asked Col. Dryden.
Witness: Yes, sir.
What did you call him?
Mr. Gilchrist.
Didn’t you call him Gil?
Didn’t you tell Mr. Gilchrist, in your office in Montgomery City, that
you would get even with Dr. Hearne?
Never said anything of that kind?
While your office was in Hannibal, on Broadway, and Dr. Hearne was
driving by one day, didn’t you remark to Lucy Hawkins, in the presence of H.
O. Hawkins, that you proposed to get even with him?
Didn’t you send Lucy Hawkins to the Eclectic college in Cincinnati?
On re-direct examination Mr. Heather asked witness why his license was
revoked. The reply was because he
advertised. “Who was the
prosecuting attorney when you first testified before the grand jury?”
George Harrison asked the witness if he did not meet Dr. Hearne on the
street one day, after he had gotten into trouble with the Hawkins family, and
say, “You have gotten me into trouble with the Hawkins family, and by G___
I propose to get even with you if it takes a life-time?”
Did you arouse anybody to get into your office when you arrived home
from St. Louis that night?
Were you on friendly terms with Dr. Hearne before the murder?
I was not on unfriendly terms. I
have no ill-will towards Dr. Hearne.
Mrs.
R. H. Stillwell
Mrs. R. H. Stillwell went on the stand at 4:30 o’clock yesterday.
She began with the trip to Battle Creek, Mich., which she made in company
with Mrs. Amos Stillwell, Dr. Hearne and the Stillwell children.
Left Hannibal Friday and arrived at Battle Creek Saturday afternoon.
Nearly all of that day Mrs. Stillwell and Dr. Hearne were alone.
On Saturday or Sunday she found Mrs. Amos Stillwell and Dr. Hearne alone
together in the latter’s room with the door locked.
On Tuesday or Wednesday Dr. Hearne went back to Hannibal, after telling
witness that he intended to propose to Mrs. Amos Stillwell after the proper
length of time had elapsed. Two
weeks later Dr. Hearne returned to Battle Creek, and one morning sent a note to
witness saying he wanted to see her without Mollie Stillwell’s knowledge.
She met him and he showed her a copy of a Chicago paper with allegations
against Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Amos Stillwell.
He said he had been sent to Battle Creek by Dick Stillwell to keep Mrs.
Stillwell from reading the papers. Witness
said she understood she was in Battle Creek for the purpose of doing the same
thing, and Dr. Hearne replied that he knew it, but thought it wise for him to be
the one - that Dick Stillwell had sent him.
On that day Mrs. Stillwell was brought back to the sanitarium from the
hospital, where she had been almost ever since her arrival, recovering from the
effects of a surgical operation. That
night Dr. Hearne returned to Hannibal. Mrs.
Amos Stillwell returned to her home and Mrs. Dick Stillwell to hers.
Witness visited the widow twice a week for some time, seeing Dr. Hearne
there on one occasion and at that time in a room with her behind a locked door,
alone. Mrs. Hearne was said to be
sick, suffering from one of her “spells.”
On the night of the murder, when Mr. and Mrs. Dick Stillwell reached the
house of death and Mrs. Dick Stillwell went to the room of Mrs. Amos Stillwell,
she found the widow lying on a wicker couch, wearing a fresh, clean Mother
Hubbard gown, made of muslin, with trimming at the neck.
It struck the witness that the gown did not look as though it had been
slept in. Witness testified that it
was the custom of Mrs. Amos Stillwell to sleep in a very plain common flannel
night-gown. Closing the examination
witness testified that the widow had told her some months previous to the murder
that she wished she had a young, handsome husband.
Col. Dryden began cross-examination by asking a question that provoked
merriment, and caused witness and her husband some embarrassment.
“Didn’t you ever say that you wished you had a young, handsome
husband?” Mrs. Stillwell blushed
and replied, “I think I have.”
Aha, you think you have.
Then Mr. Stillwell blushed. In
the cross-examination witness admitted that she had not been friendly toward
Mrs. Amos Stillwell for some time prior to the murder, nor to Dr. Hearne since
his marriage. She said she
understood Mrs. Hearne was an epileptic and had seen her in one fit.
She admitted that she saw Mrs. Stillwell faint at her husband’s coffin.
Dr. E. D. Ireland testified as to having heard Dr. Hearne call up Mrs.
Stillwell often and tell her when he would be at liberty.
T. B. Morris[19]
testified that Dr. Hearne on one occasion said to him:
“By G___, suppose I did kill Stillwell.
Let them prove it.”
Jim Abbey was called to the stand and told about searching the Stillwell
vault and finding a pair of men’s drawers and a woman’s heavy night-gown,
besmeared with blood. Col. Dryden
did not cross-examine Abbey.
Richard Stillwell was
recalled and Dryden asked him: “Do
you remember Dr. Hearne telling you not to take the things out of the room?”
Stillwell: “No, sir.
I think he was glad to get them removed.”
State
Rests upon Failure to Get Important Evidence Before Jury
The refusal of Judge Roy to admit as evidence Mrs. Hearne’s petition
against the doctor for a divorce and the re-marriage episode was another ruling
in which the state got the worst of it. Mr.
Giles read the divorce petition filed by Mrs. Hearne against her husband in San
Diego, last August, alleging cruelty and abuse and an endeavor to force her to
deed to him her property, which petition Mr. Giles contended has direct bearing
on the intent of the defendant to acquire the property of A. J. Stillwell
secured by his wife by deed of murder, claiming that their re-marriage was
prompted by the fear that in case the divorce was allowed to stand the woman
might be compelled to testify against her divorced husband.
Mr. Giles was followed by Mr. Ball, who ridiculed the proposition set up
by the state that the divorce and remarriage and the unhappy life of the pair
were evidences of murder.
Champ Clark followed with a speech on the sacredness of the marriage
tie. He quoted “Hamlet” in
speaking of the hasty marriage of Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell, saying, “The
funeral baked-meats were used to eke out the marriage feast.”
Mr. Heather followed in a short exposition of the position of the
state in the matter, and Nat Dryden wound up the discussion in a few
words, in which he stated to the court that the only object of the divorce
testimony was to cast a suspicion on the defendant.
The attorneys for the state consulted for a few minutes and then Mr.
Heather announced that the state rested its case.
Mr. Ball then made his opening statement dealing with the facts as the
defense expects to prove. “We
expect to show the gentlemen of the jury that Dr. Hearne was early enlisted in
the Confederate army in Kentucky, and at the close of the war entered Columbia
college in this state and graduated. He
then spent three years at Jefferson college in
Philadelphia and then took up his residence in Hannibal, where he had a
large lucrative practice. His first
wife was Miss Fannie Brown. He was
the family physician of R. H. Stillwell and Amos Stillwell, as well as their
intimate friend. We expect to show
that Dr. Hearne went directly from the Munger home to his office.
We expect to show that the testimony of Dr. Vernette and Harry Nichols
cannot be true. We expect to show
that Vernette’s testimony was prompted by malice.
We expect to show that Mrs. Anderson, the mother of Mrs. Stillwell, now
Mrs. Hearne, insisted on Dr. Hearne going to Battle Creek with her daughter, and
that Dr. Hearne went against his will. In
December, 1889, Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell were married.
R. H. Stillwell and wife and the prosecuting attorney of Marion county
were present. We expect to show
that the story of Cole, the telephone man, was an infamous lie.”
Dr. Hearne and his wife will go on the stand late in the trial.
Mrs. Hearne will be on the stand at least a day.
Defense
Commences to Establish the Innocence of Hearne
L. P. Munger was the first witness called for the defense.
Witness said it was 12 o’clock when A. J. Stillwell and wife and Dr.
Hearne left the Munger party, and that it was between 12:15 and 12:30 when he
took Virginia home. Witness was asked how long it would take to walk to the
Hearne residence from the Stillwell house and replied, “three minutes.”
Miss Virginia Hearne then told of her father unbuttoning her dress,
talking to her grand-mother and going to bed.
Ed Tomer testified that he was on the corner of Fifth and Broadway at 1
o’clock on the morning of the murder for five minutes, but did not see
anything of Dr. Hearne.
H. C. Graham and John Hollyman testified to the good character of Dr.
Hearne prior to the murder.
Bettie Blackwell, a nurse, testified that pleasant relations existed
between Stillwell and his wife, and that Dr. Hearne had only been there twice
except when called professionally. The
defense introduced a wooden model of the room where the murder was committed.
Dr. Crewsdon testified that the blow which killed Stillwell caused
convulsive movements of the body.
Gov. Ball asked David Dubach if Col. Anderson had performed his duty as
prosecuting attorney. Witness said
Anderson was given the cold shoulder.
W. A. Munger was the first witness who ever publicly announced that Dr.
Hearne was suspected of murdering Amos J. Stillwell. At the time he was on the stand Mr. Munger testified that the
only person he knew of who did not believe Dr. Hearne had something to do with
the murder were Col. Garth and Charles N. Lee.
Dr. Lucy Hawkins was called to go on the stand to impeach the testimony
of Dr. Vernette. Dr. Lucy was
positive that Dr. Vernette was at home sick on December 29 and 30, 1888, and
that he was not out of the city. The
witness said that Dr. Vernette was sleeping in the back parlor and that she saw
him every fifteen minutes up to 12:30 o’clock on the night of the murder and
gave him his medicine.
“What kind of medicine did you give him?” shouted Champ Clark.
But what kind of medicine?
Then he was drunk?
“Yes.” Witness said she
had rheumatism at the time and seldom slept.
What school of medicine do you practice, doctor?
You mean you cure people through the advice of the spirits?
Was George Harrison at Springfield to see you?
There to talk about the Hearne case?
Didn’t you know Vernette was in Hannibal?
H. O. Hawkins, father of Dr. Lucy, followed her on the stand and
corroborated what she testified to. On
cross-examination Hawkins could think of but little except that Vernette was
home sick on the 29th and 30th of December, 1888. Champ Clark accused the witness of looking at Dr. Hearne
before answering questions and after that Dr. Hearne turned his head in another
direction.
Clark Price and Press Winn were put on the stand and testified that they
had made a test of standing in the shadow of the electric light tower on the
corner of Fifth and Broadway, and standing there they swore they were unable to
distinguish a white man from a negro in the middle of Broadway on an average
night while the electric lights were burning. On cross-examination Mr. Winn said he thought the shadow was
not the same every night.
David Dubach, foreman of the grand jury in 1891, was put on the stand to
prove Dr. Hearne’s good character prior to the murder.
Mr. Heather asked him who was prosecuting attorney at the time he was on
the grand jury. “Col.
Anderson,” was the reply. Mr.
Ball then asked if Col. Anderson didn’t do what he could in the way of giving
the grand jury assistance. The
reply was that the members of the grand jury gave the prosecuting attorney sort
of a cold shoulder.
All
for the Defense
George Leake was the first witness called. His testimony corroborated the evidence of Price and Winn.
John Patten testified to the good character of Dr. Hearne prior to the
murder.
M. L. Franklin, Dr. Hearne’s book-keeper, introduced his books and
showed that A. J. Stillwell’s account was $39, also charges of $75 and $140
for the Battle Creek trips. This
account was credited in Dr. Hearne’s handwriting, proving a victory for the
state. William Gilchrist, of
Montgomery City, testified that Dr. Vernette had threatened Dr. Hearne in his
presence.
Wes Butler testified that Dr. Hearne had assisted him to arrest a man,
and had gotten blood on his sleeve. Dr.
Hearne then went to Munger’s to attend the party. He went up stairs and washed the blood off.
Mrs. Dr. Allen testified that she went over to Stillwell’s on the
night of the murder and found Mrs. Stillwell shivering and placed her on a couch
and covered her up.
Dr. Hays thought that convulsive movements might have thrown Mr.
Stillwell from the bed.
An adjournment was then taken.
The court room was packed this afternoon on account of the rumor that
Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Hearne would take the stand. Will League testified that Mrs. Stillwell was very much
excited the night of the murder. She
crouched down and said, “There he is,” several times.
Mrs. Briggs stated that she knew Mrs. Stillwell after the murder and
said that Dr. Hearne visited the Stillwell house professionally only.
Did not know of Mrs. Stillwell ever going to Dr. Hearne’s office except
when accompanied by witness. On
cross-examination witness said she positively knew that Dr. Hearne never made a
social call on Mrs. Stillwell until three weeks before marriage.
Mrs. League testified that Mollie Stillwell visited her daughter at
Wither’s Mill twice between ten and twelve years ago. Witness could not remember Mrs. Stillwell saying to Dr.
Hearne, “Don’t leave me.” The
witnesses for the defense were generally surprised.
Mrs. Fannie Hearne was placed on the stand at 2:30 o’clock.
She drew a long breath as she stepped upon the stand, but was never more
composed. She said when they came
home from the party Mr. Stillwell went to the back part of the house and got a
drink of water. She then stated how the family slept. Mrs. Hearne grew dramatic when she was asked if she knew who
killed her husband. She drew
herself up to her full height, and with a firm voice said: “No, sir.”
Did you see Dr. Hearne there that night?
Did you ever tell Susie Hayward that you did not love your husband?
Did you tell her you were intimate with Dr. Hearne?
Witness said that she had been subject to queer spells since the birth
of her first child.
State
Introduces More Testimony in Rebuttal
John E. Stillwell swore that he was positive there was no snow on the
ground that morning in rebuttal of Tomer’s evidence. R. H. Stillwell testified that he had never paid any of Mrs.
Stillwell’s bills to Dr. Hearne. W.
J. Roth spoke words of praise for Dr. Vernette.
S. A. Birch swore that there was no snow on the ground that morning and
that a man could be identified under the electric light at Fifth and Broadway as
sworn to by Dr. Vernette.
Evidence
All In
There was something pathetic about the closing hours of the Hearne
trial. Dr. Hearne seems morose.
Apparently he is not confident that he will be acquitted.
Senator Ball’s pathos in describing Mrs. Hearne’s pitiable condition
did not move her. She surely has a
heart of stone and iron nerves. The
society women of Bowling Green have been much in evidence at the trial.
“It was cold-blooded murder in the first degree, without a doubt,”
said Mr. Giles. “The question of
the guilt of this defendant is left in your charge.
The law does not require you to know that Joseph C. Hearne killed Amos J.
Stillwell. It
is simply necessary for you to believe it beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is a case of circumstantial evidence, not a case where the crime was
observed by eye-witnesses. The
assassin does not carry his witnesses with him.”
A description of events leading up to and following the murder was given.
After describing all this, Mr. Giles said:
“Now the question is, who committed this murder?
The jury must have arrived at the same conclusion that it was either a
burglar or that Mrs. Stillwell knew all about it.
I will go a step farther and say that it was not a burglar - that Fannie
C. Stillwell knew all about it. Burglars
don’t kill if they can help it. They
don’t burn matches all over the house.”
He advanced illicit love and
the greed for Stillwell’s money. Illicit
love he quoted as the most powerful motive in the world inductive to crime. “Mrs. Hearne did not go to bed that night with her husband.
The bolster shows only one indentation, made by one head.
She arranged the house. Her
own evidence shows it. I am willing
to believe that when she saw the man sneak into the room with the horrible
instrument of death in his hand, that she hid her face from the awful spectacle
of the murder. I believe it, for
she is a woman.” Senator Ball
made a strong argument for the defense. He
was followed by E. W. Major, a young attorney from Bowling Green.
A
Night Session
The court house was crowded last night with the best people of Pike
county. Mr. Major was followed by
H. Clay Heather. He made a master
effort. He was once Dr.
Hearne’s best friend and is now sworn to use his best efforts to secure a
conviction. He knows the story of
the Stillwell murder mystery from beginning to end, and he knows it well. In closing, Mr. Heather expressed sympathy for Mrs. Hearne.
He said Dr. Hearne’s hands were not only stained with the blood of Amos
Stillwell, but with the disgrace of Fannie C. Hearne.
The disgrace and stigma on her children he was responsible for.
Mr. Heather concluded by thanking the jury, “and when your verdict is
returned,” he said, “I hope a message will flash over the wires that will
enable grand old Marion to say that her fair and proud name has been at last set
right and that the foul assassination of Amos J. Stillwell has been avenged.”
Probably the strongest point in Mr. Heather’s speech was his closing
words in which he charged that Dr.
Hearne has ruined the life of Mrs. Stillwell, which might have been a happy one;
that he had disgraced her and cast a stigma upon her children which would stay
with them through life.
E. P. Hicks, of the defense,
followed Heather in a short speech. George
M. Harrison, of Hannibal, was the next orator for the defense.
He started in to explain Dr. Hearne’s war record.
He worked entirely to bolster up the alibi and to discredit the testimony
of Dr. Vernette. Ras Pearson,
prosecuting attorney of Pike county, made the opening statement for the state. It was a good argument and was well received.
The attorney jumped on the war record of Dr. Hearne.
He appealed to the sentiment of decency of the members of the jury who
fought for the lost cause for their opinion of a man who would for sympathy
claim the honorable distinction of having been a soldier at such an early age
that the fact if true, would make him a hero.
The speaker placed Dr. Hearne in an extremely bad light before the jury. Col. Nat Dryden followed for the defense.
Col. Nat Dryden appeared wearing his blue and white seersucker coat.
The
Speech of Col. Dryden
In an easy conversational tone, the speaker announced the positive
innocence of Dr. Hearne, and then with startling suddenness, broke into a
beautiful description of the joys of Christmas time, of the coming of the Christ
child, the atmosphere of love that pervades the season, the reuniting of home
ties, the hanging up of the stocking, “the peace on earth and good will toward
men.” When the eyes of the jury
were dewy and blinky there came a request, a hope from the speaker that as a
Christmas present to Dr. Hearne and his beautiful daughters, his sorrow-stricken
wife and his friends, the jury “would give relief from as bitter a persecution
as exists in history.” Col.
Dryden then went at once into the case and the evidence.
Concerning the evidence of the state he affirmed that it forbids the
belief for an instant that Dr. Hearne was present, no matter who struck the
blow. Drifting over to
circumstantial evidence, he announced that sometimes the “surest things on
earth are the most uncertain,” and to illustrate the fact he gave a most
realistic and appropriate illustration of a supposed game of three card monte.
It was an illustration that went home. After reading a portion of the court’s instructions, Mr.
Dryden started in to explain what part the newspapers have played in the case,
and then naturally, got to Mike DeYoung, of San Francisco, proprietor of the
Chronicle, which paper Dr. Hearne sued for libel. He announced that he would show the mercenary hand and mind
of Mike DeYoung, eager to avoid the payment of money and eager to make a
sensation, running through the case. He
called attention to the unreliability of testimony concerning alleged
allegations made by Dr. Hearne and Mrs. Hearne to others years ago, and to the
blighting influence of gossip, to the vagaries of memory.
Then he asserted that the one and only point the jury had to consider was
the fact that it rested with the state to prove that Dr. Hearne was present at
the time the murder was committed, and unless this was done without leaving a
reasonable doubt an acquittal must follow.
He then brought in a little bit of pathos that filled the room with sobs.
It was a simple, chaste description of the retirement of little Virginia
Hearne the night she came home from the Munger party.
With his voice trembling he described how the father unbuttoned the dress
of the child, how she disrobed and put on her white night-gown, how her poor
little head throbbed and ached and how she asked her father to please stop
talking. He went on and described
home ties. He appealed to fathers
and mothers with sentiments full of heart interest and family love, using
Virginia Hearne and Kittie Hearne and Dr. Hearne as illustrations.
Quickly he shifted to the awful responsibility resting on the jury in
determining not only the guilt of Dr. Hearne, but the future of his children.
“Think,” he said, “of the blighting, withering shame that will
follow these children, these lovely girls, wherever they go, even to the
fastnesses of the Rockies, if you say their father is a murderer. Think of the curse that will bar them from the doors of good
people and crush them under this awful weight.
Think of the mountain of responsibility that rested on this child
Virginia when she went on the stand, the life of her father and her own future.
Think of what she might have gained by lying.
But she did not lie. She
told the truth.” Then he talked
again of the home of Dr. Hearne on the awful night, of Grandma Brown and little
Kittie, then a baby, until Dr. Hearne, Mrs. Hearne, Kittie and every mother and
father and nearly everybody in the room was crying with more or less feeling.
The stoicism of Virginia Hearne was illustrated in this incident.
While hundreds of handkerchiefs were out in the room, rubbing and hiding
hundreds of eyes, she sat with her head bowed in the same position she had
maintained all morning. She did not
sob nor moan nor use her handkerchief, but down her cheeks coursed teardrop
after teardrop and off onto her black wrap, where they glistened.
She made no effort to remove them and long after the others had dried
their eyes the tears continued to flow. Following
the exposition of the alibi, Col. Dryden devoted some time to Dr. Vernette, John
Stillwell, Mrs. Hayward and other witnesses, pointing out impossibilities.
He went extensively into the impeachment of Vernette’s testimony,
showing how much dependence the defense is placing on the alibi.
He appealed to the jury to act as a sympathetic body, not with a sickly
sympathy, but with that broad sympathy that would enable them to suffer with Dr.
Hearne and his dear ones every pang of body and soul a verdict of guilty might
entail. He went back to the time of
Christ and painted a picture of the character of the Savior, using it as an
illustration of an ideal life. He
asked the jurors to do as Christ would do, to be merciful, to be kind. Then he talked of home and mother and babies, and
pathetically described the troubles of Mrs. Hearne.
“He’s yours now,” he concluded; “you can tell him to kiss his
little ones good bye, to have his hands bound and his neck bared to the
loathsome fingers of the hangman. You
can tell those children their father will be hung, a black mass between the
earth and sky. You can disgrace and
curse those children by your verdict. But
I will not entertain such a thought. I
know you will deliver your verdict in accordance with the evidence.
I know you will not give to Mike DeYoung as a Christmas gift the life of
a man he has hounded to this court room. I
know you will rather give that life to his wife and his sweet little girls.”
When the speech was completed the sound of muffled sobs was heard on
every hand. Col. Dryden carried the audience and the prisoner and his
wife and family from the depths of horrible fear
to the heights of hope. As
he bowed to the jury, Dr. Hearne, with streaming eyes, had his arms around the
swaying form of his wife, and his daughters sobbed as though their hearts would
break. Two of the jurymen were
powerfully affected. Court
adjourned for an hour.
Mr. Clark made a great speech. It
was not the same sort as that of Col. Dryden.
It was forcible, bitter, denunciatory, strong.
He scored Hearne most unmercifully and Rufus Anderson, if possible, more
unmercifully. It was said to be the
strongest prosecuting speech ever made in Pike county.
After an extended introduction, he cried down the theory of the defense
that the prosecution of Dr. Hearne and his wife was due to the Hearne-DeYoung
libel suit. He wanted to know why
Dr. Hearne, if he was so sensitive to slander, did not sue the Chicago Herald
for slander in January, 1889, when it printed the same story that appeared in
the San Francisco Chronicle. He
answered himself, “Because he was a afraid it was too close to the murder - it
was too fresh in the public mind.” “They
ask us,” said Mr. Clark, “why the prosecution has been delayed for nearly
seven years. I’ll tell you why,
and the reason is a disgrace to the noble profession of the law.
Suppose while you were in the army, down in the forest swamps of
Tennessee somewhere one of you pickets gave your enemy the countersign and they
were allowed to sneak in and slaughter you?
What would you think of that sentinel?
That’s what Rufus Anderson did, though sworn to maintain the law in the
high office of Prosecuting Attorney - Rufus Anderson, the son of an illustrious
sire and an illustrious grandsire. If
the shades of his ancestors take any interest in earthly affairs what must be
their feeling today when they see the degradation of the descendant?
Judas Iscariot betrayed his Savior for thirty pieces of silver.
Benedict Arnold endeavored to betray the American army.
Their place and the place of Rufus Anderson in history is side by side. Take the day when Mrs. Hayward sat in the park at Hannibal
and watched Dr. Hearne’s door for two hours, waiting for the appearance of
Mrs. Stillwell. Who was it
came and spoke to her for ten minutes?
Rufus Anderson, and he had never spoken to her before in his life.
Why? Because he wanted to
detract her attention from Dr. Hearne’s door long enough to allow Mrs.
Stillwell to escape. That’s why.
They have made a combined attack on Vernette. They attacked him front and rear. Dryden attacked him with mortars. Ball attacked him with
his rifled cannon and Harrison brought up the band of guerrilla Hawkinses from
the Ozarks. Ball nearly burst his
throat yelping and howling at me to know the reason why I didn’t impeach the
Hawkinses. I didn’t have to
impeach ‘em. Old man Hawkins
impeached ‘em both.” Following
this came a scorching denunciation of Dr. Hearne, lasting over an hour. The speaker then started in on a defense of all the witnesses
contradicted by Dr. Hearne, and in this defense he handled the evidence, now and
then taking a good hard jab at Nat Dryden.
The Colonel sat in the court room awhile and then went out with a
disgusted expression on his face to the clerk’s office, where he smoked his
pipe all the rest of the afternoon. “If
you hang Dr. Hearne,” said Mr. Clark, “you will do more in the interest of
law and order than if you hanged
all the poor devils in Pike county. If
he had been a poor man without money or friends, he would have died the death of
a felon six years ago. If you
acquit him you give the well-dressed scoundrels of this country assurance.
Dr. Hearne is not alone on trial, the petit jury is on trial.
I demand at your hands under the evidence and law in the case a verdict
of conviction.”
The jury retired at 4:20 p. m.