Show ENSATIONAL TE TIMONY Brought Out Yesterday the Benson Murder Case THE PROSECUTION RESTS Col STonlgomeiys Scathing Arraignment Arraign-ment of Dr Elliott The Widow Becomes Hysterical Juilz Judd Denounces the Opening Ad drtsj for the Defense as Outrageous Out-rageous and Scandalous Let rageons > ter from Mrs BenSOn The trml of John Benson for the murder mur-der of Dr Elliott was resumed yesterday moraine before Judge Zane The defendant defend-ant with his wife and two children were Mrs present as on the previous day Elliott the widow of the deceased andRe and-Re Elliott his brother occupied the same seats as on Thursday The prosecution resumed the examination examina-tion of witnesses and the first called was DR F M DAVIS I who examined by Mr Howat testified as follows He lived in Tooole and became acquainted ac-quainted with Dr Elliott two days before he was killed called to see Elliott at his residence and found him in bed suffering from three wounds two bullet wotinds and one bruise The witness then described de-scribed the locations of the wounds and pointed out on the person of Judge Judd their exact location Witness remained with the wounded man until the morning of the ISth when death resulted from the wounds described Colonel Montgomery then took the witness in hand and asked the nature of the bruise which witness described as simply a small scratch Dr Elliott died at about 10 oclock in the morning Colonel MontgomeryWhere did you meet Dr Elliott and what was the nature na-ture of the meetings Attorney Howat objected to this question ques-tion Colonel Montgomery argued in support of its propriety but the objection objec-tion was sustained by the court Witness continuing saidDr Elliott visited his office on some business Dr Elliott introduced himself to witness and remained with him one hour went to the court house with him Here other objections to questions by the defense were made by Judge Howat and sustained Witness then went on in answer to questions by Colonel Montgomery to state the business he had with the murdered mur-dered man Witness had resided in arantsvillc three years had come formerly from Indiana saw the doctor when he started out in the morning was called to see the doctor about 8 oclock and examined the wounds before Dr Dodds arrived saw the body the day it was brought to the city for burial when he first examined the wounded man he only discovered the two upper wounds and it was two hours later before he discovered dis-covered tha lower and fatal wound could not say where the bullet had lodged but was satisfied it was the fatal wound did not know how far the bullet had entered the body did not know of any vital part the bullet had passed through but it was impossible to tell positively without a post mortem examined the condition of the fracture did not at first discover the fatal wound but thought the shoulder wound was the cause of his condition for two hours tried to restor9 the wounded man with stimulants pronounced the wound in the back fatal as soon as he discovered i Defense recalled Dr Davis and asked regarding the conversation with Dr Elliott as to what time of day it took place WitnessBetween 1 and 1 Colonel Montgomery Was he under arrest at that time Witness answeredDeceased said at that time he was under arrest for an attempt at-tempt to assault Mrs Benson but the charge was unfounded and Dr Elliott declared himself innocent and that the prosecution against him was malicious have stated all the deceased said in relation rela-tion to Bensons wife Deceased said he had had no criminal connections whatever what-ever with Mrs Benson DR DODDS being questioned by the prosecution said Have lived at Tooele city twenty years knew Dr Elliott from three months before be-fore his death called to see him on the evening of the 17th and found him very weak from loss of blood The witness here described the location and nature of the wounds and said he remained with the doctor till 1 oclock at which hour he died from the effects of the wounds described Dr Dodds crossexamined by Mr Mont 0 gomery How far did you trace the ball from the surface of tho wound 1 As far as I could push my finger into the wound Do you know what parts the ball passed through There was no post mortem and I could not say It is your opinion then that death was caused by that wound and not by the one on the shoulder 4 Yea How long were you there before you discovered what you considered tho latal wound About threefourths of an hour He was in great pain and we did not want to disturb him more than necessary We did little but give him stimulants and narcotics Were you well acquainted with Dr Elliott I Not particularly so I met him once on a consultation R ELLIOTT THE WIDOW of the deceased was the next witness Examined by Mr Howat What is your name Jennie Elliott Do you recall the Sunday before your husband was killed Yes Do you recognize this envelope and the letter it contains presenting a packet to the witness Yes When did you see them and under what circumstances I saw them on Sunday afternoon previous to my husbands death between be-tween 2 and 3 oclock A boy handed them to my husband Who was the boy His name was Alquist Here Mrs Elliott identified the boy Did the doctor read the letter Yes he read it and handed itto me Did he leave home in pursuance of that letter Objected to and the objection sustained sus-tained Did he leave home then Yes and was gone about an hour Did he eo out again in the evening Yes about 830 on Sunday evening and returned I think about 9 oclock Crossexamined by Colonel Montgomery Montgom-ery How long have you been marred Fouryears in February 1 Where were you married1 In Denver How long had you been acquainted with the doctor before marriage Fourmontbs Vas thaVyour second marriage Yea Was the doctor married before No How old are you Twentyeight How oldwaa the doctor I Twentyeight years and 1 months Where did you live after your mar Yiaee YiaeeAt Denver and at Hugo Colo before coming to Utah Did youremain in Denverlong after your marriage About eighteen months which time 0 I < y my husband attended college When did you go to Hugo In January 18b9 How long did you remain at Hugo Six months Why did you leave Hugo I was sick and thought would b better in Denver and the doctor could attend at-tend classes We staid in Denver about two months and then went to Fairview Vhat was tho doctor doing at Fairview Fair-view Practicing medicine What was the occasion of your leaving leav-ing Fairview We did not make much money thereHad Had you any trouble at Fairview Objected and objection sustained i How did you go to Grantsville I By team What time did you get to Grants vieDecember I December 101892 Where did you stop at Granlsville We stayed at Mrs Willis lor two nights and at another place the name of the people I cant remember for two nights and then went to housekeep ing tugWere you aware that your husband was called as the family physician to Mrs John Benson Yes Objected to and objection sustained Judge Howat asked that the answer be stricken out and the court so ordered You said in reference to this letter that it was handed to you on Sunday evening April 16 and you read it Yes I Did voii know who it was from < yesJ Did you know what the doctor was going to do when he went out Yes He said he was going to get somebody to go up there to Bensons with him When did he come back About 6 oclock and remained in all the evening I Who kept the letter The doctor did and when he left on Monday for Tooele he took it with him Who had the letter when the doctor was hurt Mr Hamilton had it then Did you know that your husband was under bonds to appear at Tooele ooee Yes What were the charges against him Assault with intent to commit rape on Mrs Benson Did you hear of him being charged with attempting to commit rape on other women Objected to and opposition sustained Mr HowatDid you sign a bond for the doctors appearance No I put up 1000 in a bank in Denver Den-ver to secure his appearance HYRUM ALQUIST 1 years old was examined by MrHowat Do you remember Dr Elliott being killedYes Yes Did you carry a letter to him on the day before he was killed Yes Who gave you that letter John Benson Did Benson tell you to deliver any verbal message at the time you delivered the letter Yes he told me to say that the letter was from Mrs Benson Is that the only letteryou carried from John Yes Benson to Dr Elliott YesA A BENCH WARRANT ISSUED Annie Carlson was called but was not present and his honor ordered a bench Warrant issued and adjourned court till 130 oclock Afternoon Proceedings Annie Anderson examined by Mr Howat said she lived in John Bensons family at Grantsville for three weeks and was there at the time the doctor was killedWas Was Mrs Benson at home that afternoon after-noon Yes Did you observe Mrs Benson writing a letter this afternoon Yes Was Mr Benson present then Yes What did she do with the letter when written She gave it to John Benson Any one else at the house that nightYes Yes McBride and Andrew Benson besides John and Mrs Benson Did they go out that night Yes McBride and the two Bensoijs went out by the back way about 9 oclock What if anything did any of them carry out Hyrum McBride had a gun When did you see him have the gun gn 1 I saw it before he went out Was it a big gun Yes Was it a shotgun Yes How long did they remain out that evening From about 8 to 10 oclock P Who went out Hyrum McBride John Benson and Andrew Benson all went out together and came back together Whenyou saw ll Bride with the gun what was he doing Fixing it When did this happen The Sunday before the doctor was killed Crossexamined by Colonel Montgomery Mont-gomery gomerWas Andrew Benson there before they went out that evening I No he came back with them Was John Benson out during that afternoon af-ternoon and did he not return until about 9 oclock Then really Hyrum McBride was the only one there when he was fixing the gunYes Yes Did You see Mrs Benson writing a letter that afternoon Yes Did any one tell her what to write No She wrote it herself At the time the letter was written by Mrs Benson what was said to you by John Benson about that letter Hesaid something but I could not understand English then and I dont know what he said Did Bsuson tell you that the letter was written to get more evidence from Dr Elliot to see what he had to say Yes Did John Benson read the letter to youYes What was in the letter I dont remember f By Mr Howat When John Benson called you to him and told you what be had written the letter for did he apeak to you in the English language Yes Did he tell you to remember what he said saidYes Yes By Mr Montgomery The reason he told you to remember what ho said was for the purpose of using it at the trial at Tooele Yes WILFORD F HUDSON EXAMINED 1 Did you see Dr Elliott on the day of his death Yes I Where did you see him At Mr Vanderhoofs Did he make any request of you Yes Did you in pursuance of that request go anywhere Yes Where did you goo go-o John Bensons Whom did you see there Mrs Benson and two objects crouching crouch-ing down inside of the fence 7 What were the objects I dont know How high uo from the ground were these objects About three feet Did the doctor accompany yon No At what hour did you go up to Bensons Ben-sons About 830 Cros examined byG M Montgomery You saidyou saw John Benson ata distance that afternoon Yes Was that at his home No he was out in the field Why did you go to Bensons To witness the meeting between Mra Benson and the doctor Was the doctor one of the two objects you said yon saw i No What were the objects I dont know Why did you mention having seen I I two objects then Because saw them Vere you scared I No Did you stop and speak to Mrs Benson Ben-son No Did Mr Vanderhoof Not that I know of You and Vanderhoof went together for the purpose oi witnessing this meeting meet-ing between the doctor and Mrs Benson Ben-son Yes Did you see anything there that you were afraid of uNo Did you see anything that the doctor would be afraid of 1 dont know I saw the two objects there thereHow How near to Mr Benson were they About twenty feet away How close were you to those objects About twenty or twentyfive feet awayi awayWas Was there any meeting of your knowledge that night between Dr Elliott and Mrs Benson iNo there was not Did Dr Elliott show you a letter that he had received Yes I Did he say he wanted to go down and talk with Mrs Benson By Mr Howat Did the doctor say he wished you and Mr Vanderhoof to go and witness the conversation between him and Mrs Benson Yes Did you have any idea at the time you saw those objects what they were Well hought they were men 1 Did you advise the doctor not to go as you thought they were laying in wait to kill him Objected to and objection sustained Didyou dissuade him from going Yes Did you not tell me that you had no idea what those objects were PNo I told you I did not know Miht those objects not have beea calves calvesNo No I think J would know a calf Do you know a calf better than a man manYes The letter written by Mrs Benson to Dr Elliott was then submitted in evidence evi-dence and a lively passage passed between be-tween Mr Howat and Mr Montgomery The latter objected to the envelope being admitted as evidence because the words The People vs John Benson and Hy rum McBride were written on it and this was not originally on it His honor overruled the objection MR BENSON MADE AN APPOINTMENT The letter read as follows Dr Elliott Pledge meet me this evening even-ing at 9 oclock I want a private conversation con-versation with you Meet me at the east fence opposite the house John has gone to meet the sheepand will not be home tonight MRS MELINDA BENSON At the top were written the words Send me an answer by the carrier if you will come or not W H VANDERHOOF took the stand and was examined by Mr Howat Did the doctor make any request of you that evening Yes he asked me to be a witness to the meeting between himself and Mrs Benson Did you go Yes J rJ0 Did you seeahy objectsat the meeting placeYes Yes Mrs Benson was there and two objects one of which raised up and turned out to be a man Why did you say that man was an object i it w so man When going up I could not tell what it was but on coming back I saw that it was a man THE PROSECUTION RESTS The prosecution hero rested and Colonel Montgomery made his opening statement defendants to the jury on behalf of the The colonel denounced Dr Elliott as a confirmed libertine and I bad man whose actions were worthy of the condemnation of all rightly constituted people At this statement a number of parties interested in the case were moved to tears and MRS EELIOTT SOBBED VIOLENTLY Mr Montgomery continuing said that he would sbow that this was not the first time the deceased had been charged with the offense of attempting commit rape and that he should have been kept constantly con-stantly under arrest I dont know whether the soul of the deceased is a witness to these proceedings or not but if he is he should blush for shame at the reputation he left behind him said the colonel This statement so affected Mrs Elliott that she became hysterical and had to betaken be-taken from the court room JUDGE JUDD OBJECTS Judge Judd atthis point jumped and declared that Colonel Montgomerys remarks re-marks were outrageous and scandalous and that he was not surprised that Mrs Elliott was affected by the brutal statement state-ment as ho himself could bimsel hardly contain himself and that nothing of the kind had ever been perpetrated in a court before to his knowledge Judge Zane asked Mr Montgomery to confine himself to what he expected to prove Montgomery continued his address which was a loathing arraignment of Elliott and dwelt on the disgusting dis-gusting details of the manner in which it is alleged the doctor ravished Mrs Benson the particulars of which are unfit for publication publcatln He also dwelt on the past history of the doctor and said he had been obliged to leave Fairview because he had gotten into similar troubles there He dwelt on the great provocation Benson had received and referied to the fact that no American jury had ever found a man guilty of murder mur-der who had killed the seducer of his wife Mr Montgomerys address lasted over an hour and a half and was as much in tho nature of a concluding argument as in that of an opening statement He was repeatedly interrupted by objections from Judge Judd the prosecuting attorney attor-ney which were in the main sustained by his honor After the address the defense opened their case by calling D T HEDGES said who in response to Colonel Montgomery lam a minister of the gospel but I have held the office of prosecuting attorney attor-ney of Tooele county and also was postmaster post-master at Tooele city Were acquainted with the late Dr Elliott The first time iever saw him was on April 151 Were you acquainted with John Benson Ben-son I met him for the first time on April 15 and I met Mrs Benson on April 17 How did you first come to meet Benson Ben-son He came to my office to swear to a complaint against Dr Elliott charging the doctor with assaulting his wife with intent to commit rape 1 listened to his statement and issued the warrant The doctor was arrested and pleaded to the charges gave a cash bond and was released re-leased on April 15 Did you call Benson Yes Icalled and conversed with llr1 and Mrs Benson on the subject of the assault as-sault j I State what occurred at the interview 1 Mrs Benson started the charge by saying that Dr Elliott had made improper im-proper advances to her twice At onetime one-time he had examined her in bed in regard re-gard to the medical treatment he was giving her and at that time held her bund and pulled her towards him She shrank avay and by th ttime his pasgion had passed off Asecond time she stated Tie had examined her on the bed and afterwards told her it was necessary for i her to stand up so that he could deter I I r i a 1 t fi mine the nature of her disease A female trouble She did so and he pulled her over on to him but she struggled and got away I afterwards told John Benson that I did not believe his wife had told him all and that he had better question her further Mrs Benson afterwards told me that at the second interview the doctor when sitting on the chair pulled her over on to him and threw her on the bed and accomplished his desires Was that statement made by Mrs Benson in the presence of her husband Yes prcse1ce Did she say why she had not made that statement in the first interview Yes she said she was afraid John would kill the doctor She was greatly agitated aloud wringing her hands and crying aloudWas Was anything else said at the interview inter-view between vou and Benson and his wifeYes Yes the question of that letter came up and they said it had been written to get more evidence against the doctor Vas benson agitated when he heard the full confession Yes greatly so At your first interview with Benson did he charge any other offense against the doctor then that of attempt to commit rape No Did Benson when you saw him at the second interview have any pistol or gun1 gunNone that I saw By Mr HowatWhen you first saw him was he armed V And that was after he had been informed in-formed that the doctor had raned his wile wileYes Yes What arms did he have He had a Del and a pistol case in it and 1 suppose he had a pistol in i Did Mrs Benson state to you that she was lying on the bed being examined and that the doctor told her she would have to stand on her feet in order that he could determine the nature of the disease Yes Did you meet Mrs Elliott alter her husbands death7 Yes Did you at that time say to Mrs Elliott that you had told Benson and his wife that they had no case against tbe doctor and that they ought to drop i Objected to and the objection sustained What day after the shooting did you see Mrs Elliott Tuesday or Wednesday following the Monday of his death Court adjourned till 10 this morning The defense has about a doien witnesses to examine and the case will likely last two or three days yet |