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The Murder of Anna Wiese | ||
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EVENING TIMES REPUBLICAN |
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1894 CONTINUED... | |
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April 7, 1894 continued... Maud Stover testified - I am in the county jail; was there when Mrs. Bennett was confined in jail. She is strong in her hands; she took hold of my arm and left red marks. She talked to me about the crime; I told her Anna Wiese was good looking; from her picture; Mrs. Bennett said she didn't see how I could think so, as Anna was red headed; told me if she suffered for the murder others would have to suffer with her. She did not make the answer readily, but hesitated and studied. Cross - Am serving out a sentence; was convicted for prostitution; don't want to favor the officials; do not expect any favors to be shown to me. She told me if she suffered for it others would have to suffer with her. Dr. C. C. Cottle, sworn - Live in Marshalltown; am a physician and surgeon; have had experience with microscope, principally in medicine; Wildman gave me some hair, I understood from what source the hair came. Here are four plates of hair, marked 1 to 4, given me by Wildman. I understood it came from the hand and shoulder of Anna Wiese. (Attorney hands two plates to witness, and court reporter is instructed to mark them numerically.) Two of the plates handed witness are the hairs taken from the hand, the other from the shoulder. I have compared the hair found in the hand of Anna Wiese with the hair of defendant; have examined the hairs with microscopes; have magnified them as high as 525 diameters; have examined over 2,000 hairs from the head of Anna Wiese. It is dark brown, with a tinge of red - fine hairs and coarse hairs, as in all heads. Hairs taken from the hand of Anna Wiese have been examined under microscope. I did the most of the work in taking the photos. Under the microscope could see splits that could not be seen by the eye. The hairs were split some at the ends; seven out of seventeen were split; the hairs found in the hand were red, some light red and some dark red; found both coarse and fine hairs in the seventeen found in her hand; two were particularly larger than the others, and were crooked and kinkey and had splits along their length. The hairs found on shoulder have split ends; two out of six have split ends; the light hairs were reddish and the darker ones were nearly black. The hairs taken from head of Anna Wiese are light brown; finer than those from her hand and shoulder, and the splits are much finer; most of the hairs in the hand were darker and more of them larger than the hairs found on shoulder; most of the hairs had the appearance of being cut; some were broken; one hair taken from hand had a root on it. The black hairs in Mrs. Bennett's head are frayed and split badly, while the hair in Anna Wiese's are square at the ends. Mrs. Bennett's hair ranges all colors, from light red to black. Out of 2,500 hairs examined, taken from the front of Anna Wiese's head, only seven were found split; the splits in Anna Wiese's hair are small and not so large as the splits found in the hair in hand and on breast. In Mrs. Bennett's hair the coarse hairs are split the most, while in Anna Wiese's hair the large hairs are best preserved. The large hairs in hand and on shoulder are split. The characteristic of Mrs. Bennett's hair is that the larger hairs are split; the color is of a reddish tinge; the shafts of the hair are smoother and not constricted. It is unusual to see such large splits as in Mrs. Bennett's hair. Some of the hairs in the hand had the appearance of being pulled out; the broken pieces were about three inches long. I could see two that were directly broken. There was blood on the hair in the hand, but none on the hair on the shoulder. When I found large hairs split in Mrs. Bennett's hair it was not only split at the end but on sides, and the split ends curled up. In the hair found in the girl's hand I found on that was large and split on the side, and curled around the hair. I did not find any such splits in the hair of Anna Wiese, and examined over 3,000 hairs. The dark hair in Anna Wiese's head decreased rapidly in size. This characteristic did not exist in Mrs. Bennett's hair, nor in the hair in the girl's hand. I found a few gray hairs in Anna Wiese's hair, but none in Mrs. Bennett's, nor any in the hair in the hand or on the breast of the dead girl. The splits in Mrs. Bennett's hair were from one-half to five-eighth inches long; the splits in the hairs in the hand and on the shoulder were heavy (shown waist taken from Mrs. Bennett's house). I got the waist from the sheriff; cut out pieces to test for blood; left half the stain where I cut pieces out. I spent a great deal of time in testing the samples and made the tests to discover blood; stains seemed to be all over the waist front and back, and on the arms. There were rents on the shoulder when it came into my possession. I applied the Guac test. It is a recognized test; applied the test properly, as I believe. In four of the experiments I found blood, two very bright and two not so marked; in two the reaction was good. In judgment blood was the cause of the reaction I examined the fuz or fibers that collected in the corners of the garment and from these I obtained the positive reaction. In examining the hair of Mrs. Bennett I obtained fibers and particles that dropped off this hair. I examined the material under finger nails of Anna Wiese. I cleaned the matter out carefully; have examined that material under 525 diameter microscope. It had three colors, red, black and white. (Witness here gave an extended and minute description of the fibers obtained from Mrs. Bennett's hair and also those found under the nails of Anna Wiese. He produced as showing drawings of the fibers, greatly enlarged, from which it was shown that the fibers obtained from these two sources were identical and the same, and also a fiber of the same kind was found on the hair on the breast.) |
Notes The cross examination of Dr. Cottle is very rigid, and, like the direct, is being conducted at great length. Mrs. Bennett was a trifle paler than usual today. Otherwise her appearance and general demeanor were unchanged. The jury probably learned more about hair today, in its various characteristics, than was ever dreamed of in their philosophy. All the witnesses except the one on the stand were excused this afternoon until 1 p.m. Monday. The jurymen were excused later to the same hour. Dr. Cottle, still on the stand this afternoon, is the twenty-third witness so far introduced by the state. His cross examination began at 2:15 p.m. SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1894 CONTINUED WITH THE FOLLOWING HEADLINES HEADLINES APRIL 7, 1894 EXPERT EVIDENCE The Hair Upon Which So Much Depends Graphically Described Today Dr. Cottle on the Witness Stand Nearly All Day, With Plates Revelations of the Microscope - How the Various Samples of Hair Differ Status of the Trial at the End of the First Week - Defendant's Nerve, Etc. THE WEEK'S WIND-UP Progress of the Murder Case - Expert Testimony - Unabated Interest, Etc. This evening closes the first week of the Bennett-Wiese murder trial, and it may be said that the case has only fairly begun. Only about half the witnesses summoned on the part of the state have as yet testified. Subpoenas for thirty-two additional witnesses for the prosecution were issued this morning, making over fifty thus far summoned. The expert testimony began today when Dr. C. C. Cottle was placed on the stand. His evidence was mainly in relation to microscopical examinations and plate reproductions, many times magnified, of the hairs taken from the hand and head of the murdered girl and from the heads of Mrs. Bennett and others. There is no apparent abatement of interest in this remarkable case. All through the week, at every session of the court, a crowd has been in attendance that has taxed even the standing capacity of the court room, and hundreds have been unable to gain admittance. People have stood in the aisles for hours at a time without seeming to grow weary. When one goes out there are two who endeavor to get into the space he occupied. There has been an increased attendance of ladies the past day or two. The public will naturally be interested in knowing how the accused, Mrs. Bennett, is bearing up under the prolonged strain. If she feels fatigue it is not apparent in her looks. If the ordeal is telling upon her nerves she doesn't show it. If there is agitation or apprehension, mental disturbance of any kind, she conceals the fact most effectually. She ends the week as she began it, calm, collected, courageous and confident. Her wonderful nerve has not for a moment forsaken her, and her endurance is truly remarkable. Counsel for the state are in quite good spirits. They seem to feel that they have made very fair progress. A full report of the proceedings is appended and a faith picture of the murdered girl, taken a short time before her death, is herewith reproduced. Beginning Monday next, evening session will be held. Dr. Cottle was on the stand about all day, his examination relative to the hair being very minute and exhaustive. The crowd this afternoon was simply a crush.
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