Annie M. White, the court stenographer of Bristol County, was called to tell her story of what took place at the inquest in Fall River. Gov. Robinson arose and asked that the further examination of this witness be dispensed with until a full explanation could be made of the important question which the testimony proposed to be submitted, brought up.
CHAPTER XXVI.
Seventh Day of the Trial.
On Monday morning the Court came in and Mr. Moody argued at length in support of his claim that the testimony given by Lizzie Borden at the inquest be allowed to go before the jury. It was a verbatim report of this testimony which Miss White would have testified to. Mr. Robinson made an extensive reply and in the afternoon it was decided that the testimony was incompetent, and therefore ruled out. Thus the strongest prop of the State’s case was broken down. Officer Joseph Hyde told the story of a search of the premises.
Medical Examiner Dr. William A. Dolan said he had been a practising physician for eleven years; “I first went to the Borden house at 11:45 a. m.; I was passing by the house; I was in there ten or fifteen minutes when the City Hall clock struck 12; I first saw Mr. Sawyer, then Dr. Bowen, Bridget Sullivan and Mr. Morse, also Miss Russell and Mrs. Churchill, Officers Allen, Mullaly and Doherty were there. I had a little talk with Lizzie Borden that morning; she was in her room; I asked her about that note and she said Mrs. Borden had received a note to go and see somebody who was sick; I asked her what had become of it, and she said she supposed she had thrown it in the stove; when I first went in I saw a form lying on a sofa; the end of the sofa was flush with the jamb of the dining room door; the body was covered with a sheet. Dr. Bowen and I went together; I looked at the body, touched it and saw the body was warm and that blood was still oozing from the wounds in the head; the head was resting on a small sofa cushion; a coat was under that and an afghan under that; I made no particular examination of the wounds; I then went upstairs to see Mrs. Borden. I got Mr. Kieran to take some measurements for me; some time after I noticed the blood was coagulated; Mrs. Borden was lying more on the left side of her face, so as to expose the rear of the right back of the head; there I found a handkerchief, it was an old one, of silk, and was bloody; it was near her head; I did not take the handkerchief,
but it was buried with the rest of the clothes. I was only there two or three minutes at that time; I had a thermometer with me, but I didn’t use it; I found the temperature of Mr. Borden to be very high; I learned this from the hands; at that time the blood was dripping in two places down the head of the sofa; there was no blood on top of the carpet, but it had soaked in; I saw no coagulated blood on Mr. Borden; I touched the body of Mrs. Borden, and it was much colder than Mr. Borden’s. I made an examination of Mr. Borden’s wounds, and found there what seemed to be from eight to ten.” In his pocket book witness found eighty-one dollars and sixty-five cents in money; his watch and chain were in their usual place; there was a ring on his finger; witness collected a sample of the morning’s milk, in consequence of what was told him, and afterwards analyzed it. Continuing he said: “Then I went into the cellar and found some axes and hatchets; I saw one a claw hammer, which appeared to have been scraped. It was 12:30 or thereabouts that first day when I first saw those axes; I went away and went back again about 3 or 3:30; then I had the bodies photographed; the bodies were in the same position as when I first saw them except that I think Mrs. Borden’s hands were moved.”