TENA’S LEAP Was from Malden Bridge, is the Reply. Case for Trefethen is Set Forth. Drawtender Heard a Girl’s Splash. Tena Had Been to See a Doctor, Who Says She Threatened to Kill Herself. She Talked of Suicide to Two Women. Such Are the Claims Made by Counsel Scholfield.
Punctually, as the clock on the court house chimed out the hour of 9.15 this morning, Judges Sherman, Dunbar and Braley took their seats on the bench in the superior court, East Cambridge, and the trial of James A. Trefethen was resumed.
The jurors looked much refreshed after the rest of Sunday and the barge ride which they enjoyed in the afternoon.
They attended services yesterday morning at the Prospect st Congregational church, and listened to a sermon by the pastor, Rev D.N. Beach.
They were all newly shaven when they entered court this morning, and looked less fatigued than at any period during the past week.
Trefethen himself, too, looked more chipper than he did Saturday, and cordially shook with his unmanacled hand the hand of his counsel, Gov Long, before entering the dock.
When the jurymen had all answered to their names, Judge Sherman called on Mr Schofield to resume his opening argument to the jury, which was interrupted by the adjournment on Saturday.
Mr Schofield, continuing, said the evidence of officer Kelly in regard to the team coming down Highland av was flatly contradicted by officer Farnum, who stood with him at the time the team went by.
Officer Farnum’s recollection of it was that the time was 11 o’clock and the horse a gray one.
“Even if it is conceded that he had a motive for the commission of the crime, the fact of its having existed Has No Logical Tendency
to show that the defendant was on Wellington bridge that night at the time the girl met her death.
“First, let the place be shown by the evidence applied to it, and then begin to reason about the other matters in the case.
The same argument applies to the letters. The fact that he wrote the letters would have no tendency to show that he was on the Wellington bridge.
“The corner-stone of the whole episode is the testimony of Mrs Matilda A. Dares, and if there is any weakness in that testimony the whole structure from turret to foundation stone is weakened and must fall to ruin in this case.”
Going on to speak of the evidence to be produced by the defense, counsel said it would be shown that Trefethen was at Miss Lindsay’s house in Dorchester at 5 o’clock on the afternoon of the 23d, and reached home about 7 o’clock.
“Soon after reaching home Trefethen did up a bundle and started for Bunker Hill st, Charlestown.
“And in this connection the distances between the various places is of great importance.
“From Trefethen’s house to the corner of Ferry st is three-fourths of a mile, from there To the Wellington Bridge
is 3.8 miles by the shortest route, and considerably over four miles by other routes.
“From Trefethen’s house to Wemyss’ store on Bunker Hill st is 3.46 miles by the Malden bridge and 3.8 miles by the Chelsea bridge.”
Counsel then went on to speak of the improbability of the body’s having reached the position in which it was found directly after going into the water at the Wellington bridge.
“It will be proved that many years ago a body which went into the water at the East Boston ferry was found above the Boston & Maine bridge, the next bridge below the Wellington bridge, and was not mutilated to any extent.
“It will also be shown that Tena was not such a dependent person as the government seeks to show, but that she went to Boston and elsewhere alone.
“A girl companion of Tena’s will be produced to show that in 1890 she saw Tena buy the ring in Boston which it is insinuated Trefethen gave her.
“A Boston physician will be produced to prove that about three weeks before the body was found a young girl came to his office in Boston and told him she was in trouble and wanted him to assist her.
“He told her he could do nothing for her, but advised her to have the child, and that he would then assist her to a hospital.
“She said she would not have the child; that her father was dead, and she would not disgrace her widowed mother by having a child, but would commit suicide.
“Two women will be produced to testify to conversations with Tena of a similar character. The Name of that Physician
is Dr John Thierren of 40 Isabella st, near Church st, where Tena kept the first store.
“When Tena’s picture appeared in the papers after her disappearance, Dr Thierren at once recognized her as the girl who had come to his office.
“It will also be shown that on the night of Dec 23 the drawtender of the Malden bridge at that time, Eugene Whorf, was standing in the drawhouse looking out, and smoking a cigar.
“He saw a woman walking across the bridge from the Charlestown side about 10 o’clock that night.
“A workman passed her coming in the opposite direction. She had her hand on the rail as she walked along. The drawtender’s cigar went out; he turned round and went about 10 feet to relight it, was gone about a minute, then he came back to the door, at which the woman had been looking directly a moment before, and the woman was not there.
“While he was gone he heard a noise or splash in the water, and this was what made him rush back to find that the woman was gone.
“He rushed to the place where he saw her, climbed over the rail, looked down but could not see her.
“The tide was half ebb, and he went across the street to get out his boat, but found he could not do so without danger of swamping it.
“At the time the defense heard of this the man was suffering from dropsy, so that it was deemed necessary to take his deposition. And it is fortunate that this was done for the man has since died.
Counsel then went on to say that evidence will be produced to show that the letters received on the morning after the disappearance were written, not by the defendant, but by Miss Davis.
“The letters could have been mailed in Charlestown, Everett or elsewhere, any time after 6 o’clock, and might therefore have been mailed by Miss Davis herself.
“The letter carrier says that the letter received by Trefethen was delivered at his house soon after 10 o’clock, but he being at Mrs Davis’ at that time did not receive it until after he returned in the afternoon.
“There must have been two motives operating.
“Who knows but that, after the conclusion of an argument, or in the heat of an argument, a sudden Impulse of Depair [sic]
or anger, or all the mixed passions of the girls mind overcame her, and she jumped overboard and committed suicide.
“Where is the evidence of crime which has been submitted by the government?”
Judge Sherman said that the court considered that Mr Schofield was rather exceeding the limit of the law in his opening argument, but this being a capital case they were loth [sic] to stop him.
Atty Gen Pillsbury said for the same reason he did not care to object.
Mr Schofield thanked the court, but said he did not think the attorney general was making any concession, as it was laid down that the defense had a right to greater latitude than the prosecution in such a case.
Mr Schofield then concluded byan [sic] appeal to the jury to do their duty like men, and said the community which they represented did not ask them to convict a man unless the evidence warranted it.
The first witness for the defense was Alice M. Smith.
In reply to Mr Coggan she testified: “I Continued on the Fifth Page. The Boston Globe – 25 Sep 1893, Mon – Page 1 Return to the top Return to James A. Trefethen web page