Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 July 1895 — THE BLIND WITNESS. [ARTICLE]

THE BLIND WITNESS.

“Yes; I have been in many remarkable criminal trials. Probably the most remarkable was the Gorton murder case. The murder itself was, so far as motive and the mode in which it was perpetrated are concerned, of a character common enough, unhappily, in our criminal courts —a young girl shot by her rejected lover, mad with jealousy. But •what gave to this particular case its exceptional character was the agency by which the murderer was brought to justice in a very curious and most unexpected manner.” We were in the chambers of my friend Mr. Grimshaw, Q. C.—the eminent criminal lawyer—in the Temple; and over a cigar, after luncheon, my host was giving me some reminiscences of his long and brilliant career at the bar. “Gorton is a small village, about twenty miles from. Barchester, the well known manufacturing town in the Midlands,” continued Mr. Grimshaw. “One September evening, some fifteen years ago, the normal peace and quietude of the place was disturbed by the news that the dead body of a young lady had been found in Burton Grove, a shork distance outside the village, under circumstances which left no doubt that she had been murdered. The police of the village had received information of the crime from a blind man—one of those wandering musicians who perambulate the country from village to village, led by a dog. "His story was that he had walked from St. Olaves—a village about seven miles from Gorton—that afternoon, and as the evening was sultry, he decided to save the 6d. he would be charged fora night’s lodging in Gorton by sleeping in Burton Grove. The grove is a thick plantation of trees and shrubs,' midway between the mile of road which connects the railway station with the village, and as it lay at an angle of the road, a footpath through it afforded a short cut from one point to the other. “The blind man further stated that, as he lay under the shelter of a

bush, a few yards from the footpath, with his dog close beside him, tired after his trump, and composing him- | self to sleep, he heard footsteps coming along the pathway, apparently going toward the village, and the voices of a man and woman, as if they were having an angry altercation. A few minutes after the parties passed where he lay concealed from view, he heard a shot, then a woman’s shrill, agonizing scream, followed by another shot. He scrambled to his feet, terror stricken, his dog barking, and shouted, ‘What is that?’ No answer was given to his outcry, but he heard the trampling of the undergrowth, as if someone was rushing wildly from the spot. The blind man immediately proceeded to Gorton, and gave information of what he had heard to the police, who, when they arrived at the grove, iound the body of a young lady named Emily Dicey, with two bullet wounds in her he a d and close at hand a discharged revolver.

'‘-Miss Dicey was the only child of a ■shopkeeper of considerable business at Barchester. It appeared that a very ardent attachment existed between her and a young man named Griffiths Turner, a clerk in her father’s employment; that her parents were opposed to a marriage, that they Jiad done everything to try to break ■off the match, but were unsuccessful, *nd that finally they dispensed with the services of Turner and sent their -daughter to her aunt at Gorton. “On the body of the unfortunate .■young lady was found a brief note ■from Turner, written in Barchester, which stated that on the evening of tbhe 6th of September (the evening of (the murder) he would run down to 'Gorton to see her. ‘Perhaps,’ he added, mysteriously, ‘it will be the last time we shall see each other.’ “He paid his promised visit to Gorton that evening, and, indeed, had been two or three of the villagers with Miss Dicey in the Grove. A. warrant was issued for Turner’s arrest, but when the police went to

his lodgings at Barchester next morning to take him into custody it was found that he had left for Liverpool en route for Canada. This, of course, increased the suspicion. A telegram to the authorities at Liverpool secured his apprehension that evening cn board one of the outward bound transatlantic steamships. He was brought back to Barchester, and after the usual magisterial investigation was held for trial at the ensuing winter assizes. “I was retained for the defense. The evidence against him, though altogether circumstantial, was very strong. “The ticket collector at Gorton railway station swore that Turner returned to Barchester by the 9.30 train from Gorton—half an hour after the time of the murder; while the girl's father stated that his daughter had promised that, although she was unalterably attached to Turner, she would not marry him without her parent's blessing. “In this latter development of the WM to be found, in the view of the Crown, the motive of the murder. had convinced himself that 1

the parents would never consent to a union between him —a penniless young man and with no prospect of bettering his worldly condition —and their daughter; and that conclusion prompted him to commit the crime. “The defense was that Turner, finding the parents of Miss Dicey were utterly opposed to the marriage, and that the young lady would not marry him without the consent of her parents, had decided to go out to gome-relatives in Canada, determined to make his fortune in a few years, then return to England, and win the consent of the girl’s parents to their union.

“On the eve of his departure for the new world he went down to Gorton to bid Miss Dicy good by, and, after two hours in her company he returned from Gorton by the 8.30 train to Barchester, and at 6 o’clock the next morning left the latter town for Liverpool en route to Canada“You will notice that on the moat important point, as to the train by which he returned from Gorton, there was an absolute contradiction of his statement that he traveled by the 8.30 train in the evidence of the ticket collector, who was positive that the 9.30 was the train. It happened that both trains ran from Gorton to Barchester without stopping at any of the intermediate stations, and that the tickets were consequently collected at Gorton. The prisoner stated he had taken a third class return ticket from Barchester to Gorton. I, therefore, inquired whether the return half of the ticket had been collected on the 8.30 train or the 9.30 train; but here, again, was discomfiture, for the halves of several return tickets issued that day between Barchester and Gorton had been collected on both trains, and Turner’s could not be identified. “The revolver from which the shots were fired did not help the prisoner in any way. It had been bought some months previously at an establishment in Barchester, but the shopman could not identify the purchaser. Was it possible that Miss Dicey had any other suitors for her hand, and did her parents urge any particular person on her acceptance? Of this I could learn nothing. “These inquiries were made by nr while I was making myself acquainted with the facts of the case before the assizes. The entire case against the prisoner had been laid bj‘ the Crown before the magistrates at the preliminary investigation. The same witnesses were examined at the trial before Baron Graham: and they repeated substantially the depositions they made in the court below. My cross examination of the witnesses failed to make any material point in favor of the prisoner. All 1 could do was to keep well before the jury the defense of the prisoner, weak as it appeared to be. “The last witness for the Crown, and, therefore, the last witness in the case, was the blind man. His evidence was followed with intense interest by the crowded court. He was asked by the counsel for the prosecution whether he had caught any of the words of the man and woman who passed along the footpath in the Grove close to where he lay just before the shots were fired, and when he said ‘ Yes,’ every ear in court was strained to catch his evidence of the conversation. “ ‘What was said between the parmy learned friend. “ ‘As they passed me,’ replied the blind witness, ‘ I heard the man say : “ But your father objects to the marriage,” and the lady said : “ Yes, and I do not mean to marry without his consent.” “ ‘They continued to walk on, and a few moments after I heard the man, in a loud, angry voice, say: “No one else will have you.” Then there was a shot, and the lady screamed ; then another shot. My dog began to bark, and I cried out in terror: “ What is that?” The man then rushed away ; I could hear the crunching of the brambles and undergrowth as he fled.’

“I rose to cross-examine the old man with some trepidation,” continued Mr. Grimshaw. “Before do- i ing so I asked my solicitor, in a whis-' per, what was the quality or timber ’ of the prisoner’s voice ; and he re- I plied that it was rather sharp or acute in tone. I had but one question of importance to put to the witness. I trembled to put it for the answer might not, on the one hand, do the prisoner any service, while, on the other hand, it might seal his fate. ■ “Having asked a few questions on rather unimportant points, I put to him the fateful question of which I spoke, determined, of course, should the answer prove unsatisfactory, to drop that line of cross-examination at once.

“ ‘What sort of voice was the voice of the man in the grove that evening?’ I asked with all the unconcern which I could assume. “But the Judge and my learned brother on the other side, and the jury—and more especially the foreman of the jury—grasped at once the importance of the question. I saw that fact visible; the strained look of attention on all their faces as they

breathlessly awaited the answer. The die was cast. However the answer might be favorable or unfavorable to the prisoner at the bar—l saw I was bound, and would be obliged to pursue the matter to the end.. I had the occupants of the jury box particularly under my gaze. I watched, as every counsel does, the effect of each statement on the jury, so far as that effect manifests itself on their faces. I noticed that the foreman of the jury—a rather young man, with a self-absorbed manner—listened for the answer of the blind witness to my question with the most intense and painful anxiety. The reply of the witness followed quickly on my question . “ ‘lt was a deep voice,’ said the blind witness. “How my heart jumped at the answer! Here was the first important point for the defense I “‘Would you recognize that voice again?’ I asked. The witness said ‘Yeg, ’ and every one believed him, for the extraordinary keenness of hearing in|he blind is a well known fact. I began to entertain some hope for the prisoner. “ ‘My lord,’ I said, turning to the Judge, ‘I should like the prisoner to speak a few words. I am sure you recognize how essential it is for the

purpose of my cross-examination.* “‘Certainly, certainly,’ said the Judge. ‘Prisoner at the bar, be pleased to address a few words to me.’ “‘My lord,’ exclaimed the prisoner, in tones of the deepest feeling, before God I protest that I am innocent of this crime.’ “The voice of the prisoner was, in its intense earnestness, shrill and piercing. It certainly was not a deep voice. “ ‘Well,’said I, resuming my crossexamination of the blind witness, ‘is that like the man’s voice you heard in the grove before the shots were fired?’ “ ‘No, said the witness, ‘not a bit like it.’ “‘You are sure of that?’ I asked. “ ‘I could not be surer of anything,’ he again replied. “I scrutinized the foreman of the jury again. He seemed to be laboring under the greatest agitation. When the judge had reviewed the evidence the jury retired; and after an hour’s absence returned into court At last the foreman handed the issue paper to the Clerk of the Crown. “ ‘Gentlemen of the jury, you agree to your verdict?” asked the Clerk of the Crown.

“ ‘Yes,’ responded the foreman in a deep voice. “The blind witness, who sat in the well of the court, just below me, now started up, laboring under the most intense excitement, and fixing his sightless eyes on the jury box, listened intently for the declaration of the verdict- “ ‘You say the prisoner is guilty?’ continued the Clerk of the Crown. “ ‘Yes, my lord, guilty, responded the foreman, in his deepest and most solemn tones, and with a remarkable emphasis on the word ‘guilty.’ 1 ‘But it was not for the verdict that the blind witness had been listening. It was the voice of the foreman of the jury, which stirred him to the soul, and when it fell a second time on his ears, he loudly exclaimed : “ ‘My lord, that’s the voice I heard in Burton Grove just before the murder. That’s the man,’ and, extending his right hand, he pointed in the direction of the foreman of the jury. “You can imagine the profound excitement which this sudden and most unexpected scene created among the crowded and overwrought occupants of the court It was the most thrilling moment of my experience as an advocate. “All eyes were turned on the foreman of the jury. His face was livid; he nervously clutched the desk in front of him, and, as if physically unable to remain standing, dropped heavily into his seat. “The prisoner, in reply to the Clerk of the Crown, protested that he was innocent, while the Judge, in another moment, put on the black cap and sentenced him to death. “Turner was immediately removed from the dock. Baron Graham, with characteristic imperturbableness.declared the court adjourned. The foreman of the jury—pallid and broken—groped his way rather than walked out of the building, avoided by everyone with instinctive apprehension .” “But what was the end of the drama?” I asked Grimshaw. "Was Turner hanged?” “No; he was not hanged,” replied Grimshaw. “The attention of the entire country was aroused in the case, and immediately a demand arose for a fresh investigation. It turned out that the foreman of the jury was James Clarke, another Barchester shopkeeper, and one of the rejected suitors of Miss Dicey. The Crown’s theory with regard to Turner was actually true of Clarke. The continued attachment of the lady to Turner convinced Clarke that Miss Dicey would not be his, and, filled with mad jealousy, he decided to kill her. On the day of the murder he went on a fishing expedition to Gorleston, which is reached by a different railway line. He then walked from Gorleston to Gorton by an unfrequented road, and concealed himself in Burton Grove in the hope of meeting Miss Dicey. Unhappily, he did succeed in meeting her, as she was returning to Gorton through the grove, after having parted with Turner, Then he waited beside the railway line, at some distance from the station, until the train —the 8 :80 — conveying her lover sped past her and vanished in the distance. What occurred in the grove you already know. After the murder Clarke made his way back to Gorleston, and thence returned to Barchester the same evening. I maj* tell you that this is his own confession.”

“But what has become of poor Turner?” I asked. “Turner,” said Grimshaw, “received her Majesty’s gracious pardon —for a crime he never committed. He went out to Canada,and I believe succeeded in making a considerable fortune. He acted very generously toward the blind witness, and I am told that he frequently sends money to relieve the necessities of the old man, whose evidence was the means of saving his life.”