OCR Text |
Show IRS. SODERMAN I DEFENDS MATE Husband Demented When1 She Bared Relations With Rival, Claim DALibAS, Texis. Mav 24. Mrs. DaVe E. Soderman, testifying Tuesday! in defense of her husband for the alleged murder of Jay Clay Powers, i April IS, told Of having divorced Soa erinan and later re-narrylng him. of her admission to him that she had been on Intimate terms with Powers for a period extending o er a year, of iderman'a rngc ani alleged derange-! orient and the subsequent killing of j Powers Asked what sho knew of Powerc" standing, Mrs Soderman said Powers claimed to be a playwright, but th i had "never heard of anv plays of his being produced except the ones Mrs. Powers put on at her little theatre." thea-tre." Shf said she heard he did some work on a darn at San Antonio and i that he ha.l practiced law ln California. Califor-nia. He was well educated and very polished, sh nddod amid suppressed t j r. M VI I 111 ld IN JAIL, 'I The last time she saw Powers wj-Jon wj-Jon November 13, 1921. when he told her to come to Chicago, after slu-' slu-' j Was divorced and that he would Iti 'tho meantime divorce his wife and , I there would bo married, she declared. I She weru. to ''hlcago from Fort , Worth on December 16 to see her I mother, she said "When I saw my mother 1 felt very I bad about being diVODOed, and then In short time afterwards got a mes-'nage mes-'nage from Hot Springs. that Ua I I Soderman i w as sick. 1 w ent to Hot ,'Springs and we were re-married there on December r. 1921 Wo stayed then 'three weeks and went to El Paso "At F-l Paso. 1 told my husbanu n-the n-the first time of Pow ers' relations j witn me " 'Oh. my God! I knew somethlnK w.i-i wrong and now I know.' " Mrs Soderman testified her husband exclaimed. ex-claimed. She said he struck her ami the next thing she knew he was in Jail under guard and later in a hosplt.il, at El Paao. Soderman obtained bis' release but from thot time on. he was deranged He left her shortly after hitting hci en April ti. according to jthe witness. "The next I heard from -him was j la message .signed 'Dave' stating he had i shot Powers, l received It four day -aftor he left El Pano," she continued- I "I first Intended to make a full confession con-fession and kill myself, but left for I'alla-. arriving April 20" DERAILS LIFE STORK Mrs. Soderman. under cross-examln-atlon, detailed her life from the time she was born ln N'auvoo, 111.. 35 years jago. married to Soderman ln Kansas City In 1913. and traveled with him over the country, finally settling at Port Worth, Tex. where her husband and Powers formed a business rei'w tionshlp. i met Mr Powers at Fori Worth 1 in March or April. 19-0. My husband ' and Mr. powers took over the Termln-1 Termln-1 ill Hotel there on July 20. 1920. Mr 1 Powers then began making love to me." she said 'Did vou not resent it?" 1 "Yes. I did." "You resented It, and you asked him not to keep it up, didn't sou .' "Yea " "Why didn't you tell our husband hus-band ?" "I dldn t think he was strong enough to bear it " "Wore you consenting to this Illicit relation or was It being done without your consent?" No without my consent." "And you continued to resent his attention?" 'Yes." The cros-cx;iinlnatlon continued in the hot. crowded court room until almost al-most the close of the afternoon, with obvious attack by prosecution on thei credence of th" witness's atory. I During the morning session, Soder-n Soder-n an pleaded not guilty to the chaff) of murder when ho was arraigned le-fore le-fore Judgo C. A. Plppen. |