OCR Text |
Show JEAN DALE ACQUITTED BY JURORS I Freed of Murder Charge, Cabaret Cab-aret Singer Plans to Reform; Re-form; Jury Reaches Verdict Ver-dict on Second Ballot. SALT LAKE CITY, Mar.: 31. (U.R) A jury today acquitted acquit-ted Verna Jean Dale, 21, young cabaret singer, on the charge of murdering Sam Frank, 65, well-to-do Memphis, Mem-phis, Tenn., jewelry auctioneer. auction-eer. The jury deliberated six hours and 22 minutes, and the verdict was read at 11:10 a. m. i The young defendant was brought over from the jail. She was pale and trembling as she entered the court room, leaning on her-mother's her-mother's arm. Collapses In Mother's Anns When the words "Not guilty" were uttered, she first grasped her attorney's at-torney's arm and then collapsed in her mother's arms.'Tt appeared she had fainted. Court attendants rushed rush-ed to her side with water. When the girl revived it developed de-veloped she had not fainted she sobbed and made the following statement: "All I've got to say is that I'm so happy. I've got a second chance and I'm going home to Seattle. "I'm going to profit by my previous previ-ous mistakes and go home to make good. We live on a houseboat in Seattle but I'm not going to say where. I don't want to see any reporters! re-porters! "Tell Mr. Van Cott for me, please, that though I have been stained, I can be cleaned." The jury, it was learned, reached a not guilty verdict on the second ballot. On the first the vote was eight for acquittal, one for first degree murder, one for second degree, and one for involuntary manslaughter. Purely Clrcumstajitial The state's case was purely circumstantial. cir-cumstantial. The big issue of the trial outside of the verdict was the admission of Jean's purported confession in which she was alleged to have admitted killing Frank. This asserted confession was obtained ob-tained after her first statement in which she said two men entered the room. The confession, the court ruled, was not admissible as evidence because be-cause it had been obtained under duress. |