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Had Their Hearing

Had Their Hearing image
Parent Issue
Day
12
Month
March
Year
1897
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The examination of the three young men, Wm. Larkins, Ed. Lyons and Rupert Jones, of Plymouth, who have been under arrest since Feb, 13, oa the charge of having murdered James Richards, in the town of Superior, on the night of Jan. 30, was held iu Justice Gibson's court room, Tuesday. The two rooms which compose the justice's office were all too Binall to aoconiodate the large crowd of people who were desirous of hearing the proceedings. Many of them were from Plymouth and Superior, but the majority were residents of Ann Arbor. It was 10:15 o'clook when the defendants, eaoh of them wearing a large buttonhole boquet of white carnations, were brought into court by the offlcers. The case tor the people was condnotod by Prosecutiug Attorney John P. Kirk, while the defeuse was conducted by Frank E. Jones and S. C. Randall, of this city, and Mr. Cady, of Detroit, who is a cousin of Rupert Jones The first witness oalled was Dr. Walker, of Salem. She not being present, M. C. Peterson, who has worked up the oase was put on the stand. He testifled thut he arrested the defeudauts at Plymouth, Feb. 13. He stated that wheu questioned as to their whereabouts on the night of the murder, each of the defendants admitted that they were out together but did uot apree as to the time they started, the time they got back, or which road they went, although they all finally agreed ou a certain road. Larkins told hini they went to Northville to "bave a time." Lyons said they went to NorthvilJe to get a music stand belonging to Jones aud which he had left there wheu he p!ayed at the gymnasium. Jones said they went to Nortbville to see the boys. At Norihville they could not get into tte hotel and drove on to Novi, where they also failed to rouse anybody and drove on to Farmington. Here again the hotel and saloon were closed and they drove back by a sborter road to Plyïnontb. The time of their arrival home at Plymouth was giveu by Lyons as 1 :30 or 2 o'olock, by Jones as 1 :30. Larkins claimed to have worn on his feet that night feit boots and rubbers. Lyons wore pointed shoes with rubbers, and Jones wore pointed shoes without rubbers. Peterson testified that he had gone to the Richards' farm on Monday, Feb. 1, in company with Sheriff Judson. That while there he had made an examination of the tracks around the house and at the place where the ontter had stood. The tracks around the house were made by two persons, one of whom wore a feit boot with rubbers and the other a pointed shoe with rubbers; also exaniined tracks at the place where the cntter stood, and which were made by a pointed shoe. The traoks were on the north side of the borse and on the west eide of the bouse. He made measurements of them, on a newspaper, whioh he' exhibited in evidence. Noticed some peouliarities in the tracks made. One rubber boot had the appearanoe of being more worn than the other. There were also some peculiar marks on the hesl of the right rubber, there were lines that ran to a point with a couple of lines running aoross. The feit boots and rubbers corresponded as nearly as possible to the measurements. On cross-exainination by Mr. Jones, the witness admitted that he had made lio attempt to measnre any otber felts and rubbers than the ones he had in his possession belonging to Larkins and Lyons. His attention was first called to the traoks by other parties. Futther cross examinatiou brought out the conversations he had held with Larkins, Lyons and Jones, the gettinp of the 44calibre revolver and the feit boots froin Larkins' wife and other points. Mrs. Hendricks, the wife of the tollgate keeper two miles west of Farmington, testified that sbe was on duty at the gate on the night of Jan. 30, until 11:30, and that nu cutter had gone through with three men in it. Frank Kingsbury, who lives three miles west of Plymouth, testified that he had been to visit a friend named Henry Root on the night of the murder and stayed there until between 11:30 and 11 :50. While on his way home he was passed by a horse and cutter in which were three men who were driving towards Plymouth. The horse was a dark colored one and the rig passed him at a distance of eight or ten feet. Dr. Jane A. Walker, of Salem, testified as to the cause of James Richards' death. Andrew Shanldand, of Salem, said he was at Richards' house at 3 p. m. the day after the shooting. Did not hear him say when he was shot. He saw the tracks described, and examined them. He compared them with the boot wornjjy hirnself which was a No. 9 and tbey were identical in size. The catter had come in trom the east and went out towards the east. There was no track at all going west. Bxamined the road for 20 rods. It was 25 rods frorn the flrst gate ïiearest the road to the second gate, and 50 rods between that gate and the house. The felts and rubbers worn by Larkins and the rubbers worn by Lyons were offered iu evidence by the defense and were marked tor ideutiliciitiou by Justice Gibson. This was all the testimony given and as it would take some time for the stenographer to reduce it to writiug, the men were reuianded until Thursday, Alarch 18. when Justice Gibson will render bis decision.