II 1 I'M ' -
Ttranr - r- - - . - -
- v.. . f , . " " M 11 ' ' , . , . ... .
ELIZABETH CITY, N.. C.; FRIDAY, flAR. 2 1 i 1 902:
No. 37
Wilcox'sMMH
He Judge to Charge the Jury Today, When They Will
vvimv i i isuiici o rate.
the charge . t of the
be delivered tojthe jury
moiming. mere is mucii
Mseaa to tiie pro oa Die ver-
but it is expected that the
jurt will not prolong its verdict -
aflnng up the threadof evidence
left off last Friday with
i the stand we erive
he evidence since that
ffiiere we
ati
said
I Mm IDE STRONG SPEECHES FDR THEIR SIDES.
S;eritinjent Runs High and Mob Violence May be ExpectedPrisoner
I ij Unaffected Long Array of Witnesses Sister of Murdered
bin lestmes Amid Tears Strong Men Weep
at Her Sad and Pathetic Story. , ?
'e sensational and all absorb-
in i.i
dase is drawing to a close.
argument was completed yes-
: v add
r -
ae wil
a ye
the cross-examination
terdar. The witness ex-
ed that the lungs -were made
tofgh, fibrous substance.
get into the lungs,
wpild hare to go through the
pipe! and the larger bronchial
He said: "We did not ex-
windpipe and the lar
brofichal tubes. I do not
what condition they were in.
stion of bruises on the
was gone into. Witness
all the bruises were made dur-
ife, fjir there could be no blood
after circulation ceased.
n
!
aii ile th
said, the
clelomposed.
Jd. haja been disorganized as the
Jnty
SATURDAY.
j
Fearing was put on the stand
this morning as soon as
convened. E. F.. Aydlett,
ng counsel for the defendant,
iiueq!
e qui
sed
on.
Fearing made a strong-
atenfent for the state than he
estsijday by saying with as-
. . ...... . .. -
mat the contusion was
fiil enough to produce a con-
He said that contusions
through the pleurali cavities and
cut off nothing in the pleural cav
ity. We found every evidence of
drowning absent We came I back
home but were ordered to return
and mate a second examination.
We made an. incision and examined
the head. Iu cutting on the left
side . we discovered a circular
shaped blood clot. The membrane
of .the bone under that was slightly
discolored "--blue."- Miss Cropsey
was an adult Tne blood clot or
contusion, in ' my jupgment, was
made by a, blow with a heaw
i- . ....
round covered instrument"
coroner's jurymen on the stand.
Dr. W. J. Lumsden was called
by the State as an expert witness.
He said' that he did not think- him
self qualified to" give ; expert evi
dence in a case ' where the body
had l)een dead and in the water 37
days. Judge Jones excused him.
Mr. J. H. Leroy one of the cor
oner s jury- tesunea tnat ne.-was
present when the autopsy, was held.
He noticed during the first exam
ination tnat tne leit temple was
swollen. Others saw it as ne. did.
On the second examination when
the knife cut through the contus
ion on the head a dark bloody fluid
ran out The brain was in bad
condition. It had begun to decay
and smelt unwholesome. Leroy
was not cross-examined. : .
. J. B. Ferebee and. r. S. Shipp
were, put on the stand and corro
borated what Leroy' had said.
mm. be dxternal or internal. . "
dlett completed the cross-
liialibn at 11.15 o'clock, and
tVVam be can the redirect ex-
V ' III w : '
aatioBi. He said the brain of
drcjy sev was .in 1 a defluent
and it was the only "Or
- . THE FATHER TESTIFIES. jJ
Mr. W. H. Gropsey, the father? of
the girl was the next witness. His
testimony ,was ; corroborative of
what Miss Ollir had1 said the -day
previous. He! was up at 11. o'clock
the night Nellie disappeared but
he had been asleep - since ,9. At
12:45 he got up again to see . what
the dog ws after Ollie then said
that Nellie was ynissing. " "JCoout
1 :30 1 went to the Wilcox home. I
never saw J Jim." When I knocked
on the door some one called from
above: 'Helo.' Mr. Thomas Wilcox
came to the door. I heard nothing
that was said inside the house.
"Wilcox came to my house before
day with policeman Dawson. He
told my wife that Nell cried be
cause he gave her back her picture,
but we have never found it
"On the first trial Wilcox said
that his mother waked him up
there - and : that he
them having little spats. I ieard
Nell say to Jim, 'If you'er going to
act like this the balance of the
season you can stay home.' -
'For a while they did not speak., when I went
Carry came to visit ua and they turned right over and went back to
began speaking again. : ; : j sleep
That night Jim came and' we During the cross-examination by
knew his riner. Carrie an- the defense. Mr. Cronsev said: "No.
swered the bell. Nell was fixing sir, Jim Wilcox did not come to mv
.... . .... . -. . .... w i - . "
the lining of the coat she was go- house voluntarily after Nell disap-
mg to wear to : New York. Jim I peared. I do not consider that a
sat on a rocker. , He was very still man comes oi "hisxown free will
and continued to look at his watch when he is accompanied either by
and compare it with our clock. He I a police officer or a deputy sheriff.
and Nell did not speak. Jim pull- That is the way he came.
ed out his watch at 11 o'clock and I ' When the , defense was asked to
said his mama wanted him home put on witnesses. Mr. W. M. Bond,
then. I said 'Jim, you'er getting 1 one of the council. for Wilcox, re
good.' . . A plied that the case was with the
' "Jim j&lled a cigarett and asked state. Speeches began at once.
Nell if he might see her outside a
rmnrtQ -"NTftn AlA Tint onawof Vint
AAA AM M W : A. VU .. UV H w HUU f f WA , ' K V .... . ' - 1 .. . : r
went That as the first time she Mr' R W-' McMullan made the
had been to the door with him in t speech in behalf of the-de-
nraoW t f ense. , It was brief and ornate, dis-
door ahd could liear them walking. Wg rhetoric rather than or
I never saw Nell alive after that lucl T
I retired and had been in bed a dence 10 snow Aeu aiea a.n
few minutes when theclock struck aasua&1UBUttUU' 1 " ? ...
dence to connect Jim Wilcox with
the crime. He said the state relied
stun? sustains thenrto ; the grave."
' "I see before me men who have
girls -. budding into, womanhood,
sweet wives andUovely sisters. I
will tell you, if the women of North
Carolina cannot be protected : we
had best burn the law- books and
tear down the-jails and court
houses and dissolve the Legisla
ture." - , - ' - l , '
. The lawyer read several verses
from different ' parts of the Bible.
" "Iri the name-of the, Almighty,
and the names of -these wives, sis
ters, mothers and daughters, I ask
you not to let the guilty escape. I
ask you, under your oathes, to
bring in a verdict that will put Jim
Wilcox to death." (
The speaker here painted a pathe
tic picture of sorrow in the Crop
sey home. The Misses Cropsey be
gan .weeping. , He turned to them
and said with pathos: "; :' .
i "Weep on; we mingle our tears
with yours; we echo, your sighs."
The speaker also expressed
sympathy 'for the Misses Wilcox,
who sat nearby with downcast eyes,
and said .he would do anything
honorable to put them back where
they were before November 20V, He
referred both families , to the re
ligion which Nell embraced. ,
SPEECH OF MH. BOND
12." Nell was not there. I lay
r
fiwfiTrA until thfi 12:30 whistle blew.
I heard the dog barking at. the Pn Jim J"" last
stables.;-: Somer one called papa to
He
J.
a blowf - , A
tness accounted for
v.
the
s excellent state of preserva-
ving his opinion that the
Pasquotank
ire qualities. '
ALTH OFFICES WOOD I TESTIi
FIES. . - ' I
K Wood, the health offii
3 county, was the . second
n the stand. He went on
p. m.' Judged Jones said
ould findlt a facf that he;
expert Dr. Wood said
river
.had
re
ss Nellie Cronsev. I
the body in the outhouse
: Miss Cropsey. 4- assis
Fearing and McMullan
ury in holding the autop-r
clothes were not dis
and we found noj picture
nto. We-found no exter-
marts of violence. ; On open-
fl I the I body . we : found that ; the
1: 1 was a chaste, uure woman:
' I M
M stoltach was empty, . except a
oit'KatriA ... W WATlt
MONDAY.J T -
- THE SISTER'S TESTIMONY.
The story of Miss Ollie Cropsey,
the beautiful sister of the dead
girl, was the prime1 feature of to
day's proceadihgs. i She gave a
sorro wf ul - recital : of the events
leading to the tragedy, and bore
up bravely under ; the terrible
strain of the lawyers' questions.
The strain 'was too much, for her
womanly ; nature and she broke
down in tears before a large but
sympathizing crowd.' Many weep
ed with her. " -Her! testimony was
in part as follows:! .. r L - . -
"We came - to Elizabe th City
April m, 1898. L: ...
"We knew Jim Wihjox ,m June
that year. He came to our- home
and met Nell He; seemed to show
her attention from the first.
"Is that the man?" said Mr.
Ward, -pointing at the prisoner.
WUcox covered the witness with
his eyes during Jher - whole , recital.
There was a suspion of a smile on
his face, but it was i not pronounc
ed- - ;s 'r - -
"Yes. that is he f he used to come
to see her every Sunday, and later
he came almost every afternoon.
He paid her much attention.; They
would walk, lide and sail together
and Jim took her to all the. shows.
"Last fall they quarrelled. -It
was" in September when. I -heard
get the gun that some ono .was af
ter the pigs. I told papa not to
shootr for Jim. and Nell were in the
yard. Then Nell was missing and
the search was begun. They look
ed; all about for her. About 2
o'clock Mr. Dawson and another
moti ViTrm cr Tit .Tim.
. ii. ,1 it. 1 -. J justice I ask
"Jim came in ana neia me iuce - .. .
curtain in one hand. : Mama grab
bed him by the arm and said 'Jim,
for my sake and your mama's? tell
me where Nell. is,'"
- TUESDAY. l
seen with JNell: his conduct was
against him and doctors' testimony.
He admitted the first and denied
the others. He believed that Miss
Cropsey Jknred Wilcox and Wilcox
loved her. He thanked God that
Nell's" life was ? blameless: said
Wilcox's conduct was not indicative
of guilt ' "In the name of eternal
guilty.'
for a verdict of not
WEDNESDAY.
MR.' SAWYER S ABLE SPEECH.
WILCOX'S BOOM MATE TESTIFIES.
-Harlev Meads, who was board-
This - morning-the ' - ablest and
most .? : eloquent and convincing
speech of the long trial was made
by Hon. J. Heywood Sawyer tor
It was a
review, of the
it clear that
evi-
the
At.- l'i.- I. Ta
tirnA MifiS Crot5Sev disanoeared. i? J
testifies that he: slept'in the bed the eyes of tr?nff men; 001(1
with James on -the night of the win noi, convey aii ,ui ux
20th cf:-November.V He' went t9 "ee only. .those who heard
, -n , n '-l. "j'jij i it will Know oi its power.lt was
D6 a ai 1U o woe Ji imu ma uu i juiu w . - , . . k
oTivthinrr n mnrninff.' ' Hft nfiflra .. .,7., ........
v.. ..' O i . , ,. I .. . H' a. -i vMnsnnnT- 4lin4- Vi
nrkthinor rif Wi myi whfin lift camfi t -y.
in or when he- left -with Officer id theory i was incompatible
wnv'fl nlnn- with ths girl buoyant spirits, He
U CH OVaa. JT- .JM.Ji. BW II i ? I MWi. k u.av vaawu i . .......... m i'
J, Miini. thft- door tha next maae. a. careiul
mi ii. " 1-l x dence and made
WnvAAr, mVht bftfor ftd girl was drowned.-In part he aaid
, , . ' I . , 1 "Now I have ; shown you that Nell
had on in court to-day. , ; J
was no uruwueu; x uuv buuwujuu
that shev was . killed by a blow
C. T, Parker .who resides" in the Who killed her?-There is'the man,?
lower part of the county said: I "pointing to ; Wilcox. The speaker
was' at Frog Island about sundown J moved' towards Wilcox and pointed
nn th a nihf of '"November 20th. I a finsrer in his face. But Wilcox's
left' there and came to town. Near expression never changed.
the" Cropsey ; house I met some ' "He sits there now the speaker
folks, ' There' was a man and a wo-1 said, in thunderous tones, turning
man of about t the same v size and towards the defendant "as cold as
h m o-h tr Thev seemed to be moviner death and - as relentless; as the
I could not.tell. . whether it was a grave,
Mr. Bond followed Mr; Sawyer.
His reputation - as an orator : had
preceede hiin, but he was nj)t at
his best He 'seemed to realize that
he was fierhtinfir a cause in which
public sentiment was absolutely
against him. He dwelt largely on
possibilities, such .- as "it . might
have" been, it could have been" and
the like. . -
He begged the jury not to ,be
swayed by dramatic appeals even
throuerh it required a nerve of
Km
iron. ' ;
He said he woud attempt to
show there was not enough -evi
dence to convict Jim Wilcox, nor
even to' show Nell had- been mur
dered by any person. ; He then
took, up the medical testimony and
compared the tests to rotten sticks
of timber. He argued that the
discoloration of the temple was
caused by the setthng of bjood,
not by a blow. It was "awful to
have a man put upon the gallows
by populaTclamor. ', He said none
of us wished to add to the trouble
of the Wilcoxes.-
Mr. Bond' did not contend-that
Nell committed ' suicided but - said
the affair was yet wrapped in mys
terv. He said if Wilcox was - in-
nocent he had been much wronged
aid persecuted ' Wilcoxsjconduct
since the disappearance of the girl
was explained; " He said, without
disrespect to womanhood, . that
jealously was a prominent-- qualityi
and that- conditions for . 'suicide
were inviting ' -.- '
. THURSDAY.
man and a . ;
girl. "
woman or
.. .- -
a ; boy and
-9
"Sucli men have the stuff in them
to commit foul deeds, and the same
badj decomposed, as;- a " result :. of
the blow. The state '. dwelt vat
ength on the utter and sullen
manner ox - wucoxthroughouttne
wholB affair.; -
-f"' MR.' AYDLETT CLOSES.
E. Fa Aydlett, leading council for
the defense," consumed the . entire
afternoon and concluded tjie argu
ment in the sensational case'.' Mr:
Aydlett's speech was" a character
istically strong one- "He advanced
and dwell upon the theory of sui
cide. He showed '-' that he had
carejfully prepared the -case, ana
certainly it was that he' had" fam
iliarized himself, with the principle
of mecical jurisprudence. "
He Baid that absence of water
from lungs was no proof that - she
was; unconscious whenj entering
water. . - -7 , ; 1
He claimed that there had
water in the lungs and ' tha
water had passed into, the p
cavity, and was absorbed .- b
saline tissues. He argued, that ac
cording to statistics 1-10 of the bus
man system is blood. This ; would
have given the " deceased 11; pints
of blood Upon examination no
blood , was i found in .. veins ; - this
blood having! disappeared by ab
sorption. ."If" says ,the defense
here;was.no blood in the system
the "only conclusion is that absence
of water was due to some cause of
absence of blood." .
Defense claimed that blow., on
templer was caused by body h com
ing violently in contact with" some
object in water. This the last
speech was, as might be expected,
a resume of the preceding speech
es. - - . ;
The court adjourned - to meet
Friday morning when; His Honor
Judge Jones, will change the jury.
It is expected that the charge will
be a' long one. -There is 'much
speculation as to the probable ver
dict '
. - ,r..s6LICIT0B WARD SPEAIS. -
Mr. W ard consume d. the morn
ing session of court with a strong
thoughtful and highly;.,! logical
speech. xlis argument was . prin
cipally to the., effect that r Nell was
either dead or unconscious before
enterinsr the water, and -that i the
U . f . : .-- .
absence of water from the .Jungs
plural cavity and stomachi 'and ab
sence "of blood from '.right - side
of heart were conclusive evidence
that she did not . meet "death by
drowning. He further agreed
that the scar on left ' temple was
the result of a blow from some; in
strument in the hands ; of another
party, and that this party was Jas
Wilcox. - - '''""'
JtLe discussed; the condition o
brain, some being in fluid, state and
been
t, this
t me
It was . a most unusual , scene
which occurred in the court house
yesterday, when, as Mr. Aydlett,
began- his speech more than three-
fourths Of the great throng, for
warned and - determined, showed
their disapproval by leaving the
court room.;. And for a time it look
edaslf. Judge, jury lawyer W
prisoner were about nil thatwould
remain. .Not long after this a false
alarm of fire was turned in which
almost emptied' the court room
Such were the open expressions of
sentiment yesterday, and not by a
few thoughtless boys, but by the
most conservative men in the city.
Sentiment "against tha prisoner "is
HLxuug mubeu. v - xi me juryreiums
a' verdict of acquital, serious action
may be expected It is the belief
of 99 per cent of people that Wil
cox is guilty, and should the jury
fail to return such a. Verdict it is
hard to say just" what may not
happen: ; ?; :
3Che prisoner has had a fair trial,
and his lawyers have labored long
and well. The jurors are good men
who patiently have heard the long
testimony; and upon their verdict
today depends the fate of Jim Wil-
-1 He has been tried - by .his God
and country. Good men baVe heard
his cause. Let us abide spy the
decission of the 'court and 'in no
sense uphold mol -:. violence. ; -Let
the majesty of the law be upheld.
4 ArT
w j, 9 i
? i r i
FOR SALE.
. At a sacrifice, the' William Wilson
paVC AAA . Tf WUXaaO,. HU1 MIX: fXtlVV.
$500 will , buy it , : in next - thirty
AprflS
J. C. Peer x.