The witness saw Mrs. Borden’s body immediately after viewing that of Mr. Borden and was asked by Mr. Knowlton if there was anything inconsistent in his opinion in the appearance of the body with the supposition that she had been dead for two hours?
Mr. Adams objected and Mr. Knowlton said he had asked a similar question in every murder case he had tried. Mr. Adams retorted that there were a number of bad habits the District Attorney had acquired which should be corrected. The Court thought the question could be allowed. Mr. Jennings thereupon objected and commenced to argue. Mr. Knowlton said the habit of arguing after a decision was not one of his bad ones, and Mr. Adams objected to Mr. Knowlton’s hitting him over Mr. Jennings’ shoulder.
Dr. Dolan said there was nothing inconsistent with the appearance of the body and the opinion that she had been dead for two hours. Mrs. Borden died from shock. He removed her stomach and forwarded it by express to Prof. Wood. “I went down the cellar stairs and found four axes or hatchets resting against the cellar partition. One was a peculiar hatchet, the head being a hammer claw. There were three others, and all were lying six or eight feet from the cellar door. I examined two of them, which were brought to me by the officers. One of them looked as though it had been scraped on the blade. This had a cutting surface of five inches and would weigh from three to five pounds. The officer took it. Afterwards I examined it with a glass and found two hairs upon it and
what appeared to be blood. I could not swear it was blood. I gave this hatchet and the axes to Prof. Wood, on all of them there was what appeared to be blood. Took certain dresses also. Told Mr. Jennings I wanted them and he got them of Miss Borden. Sent them to Prof. Wood.”
The court then took a recess for dinner and Mr. Adams furnished for publication a copy of a letter received by Emma Borden. He produced the original copy and the envelope, and according to the latter it was mailed in Waltham, Mass., August 18, at 11:30 a. m., and received in Fall River on the same day at 4:30 p. m. The letter is as follows:
Waltham, Mass., Aug. 17, 1892.
Miss Emma Borden:
Dear Madam—You must excuse that I take the liberty in sending you these few lines. I ought to have written to you before this, as I was unable to do so, as I was travelling every day. My name is Samuel Robinsky. I am a Jewish pedler. When the fatal murder in Fall River occurred I was only a few miles from Fall River. That day, while sitting on the roadside, towards New Bedford, I met a man who was covered with blood. He told me that he worked on a farm and that he never could get his wages, so he had a fight with the farmer. He said he ran away and did not get any money after all. All he had was a five-dollar bill. He bought from me four handkerchiefs, one looking glass, one necktie, collar and shoe blacking. His boots were covered with blood, and he put lots of blacking on them. I helped him to fix up again and get cleaned, but by this time I did not know anything about the murder. I felt sorry for him and thought only he gave the farmer a good licking. I advised him to travel at night, which he said he would do, as he feared arrest during the day. I gave him my lunch, and he gave me a quarter, and told me not to say anything that I met him. He asked me what time the train left for Boston after 8 o’clock at night and I told him. He had also a bundle with him which was about two feet thick or big; when I was peddling I did not read any papers only Sundays, as I am studying the English language. When I was in Boston last Sunday a friend of mine told me about the Fall River murder. I told him about the stranger, and my friend said: “And why did you not report this to the police?” I told him I was afraid, as they would lock me up as a witness, and another thing, I did not have any license, so I was afraid. I told my friend I would write to you, or Mr. Jennings, I read last Sunday’s Boston Globe, and thought that I might have seen the murderer. If I should see him in Boston, I am sure, yes, dead sure, I know him again. He is of medium height, dark brown hair, reddish whiskers or moustache, weight about 135 pounds, a gray suit, brown derby hat. His shoes were what they call Russian leather. No blacking on so-called summer shoes. He put my blacking on to make them look black, so that people could not see the blood. It
was about 1 o’clock noon that day. I only heard about the murder at 6 or 7 o’clock that night. I kept quiet as I had no license and feared to be arrested. My stranger was very much afraid. He asked me a million times if he looked all right again, and I brushed him off with my shoe brush and told him to wait till dark. If I come again to Fall River next week I shall call on you, if you think it is necessary, but all I can swear he is the stranger which I have seen that afternoon. This is all; but if this man was the murderer I cannot say, but I shall find him out of fifteen thousand. Will close now. Will go to Fitchburg to-morrow morning and return to Boston Saturday night. Please do not say anything to the police. I would be arrested. If I had known about the murder the time I met my stranger it would have been different, as I would have followed him up and perhaps got the reward. I thought it was a poor farm hand and so took pity on him, as I know as a rule, farmers seldom pay their hands during summer. Hoping that my information may be of some use to you,
I remain very respectfully,