DANT ROBERTS
TELLS HIS STORY. ;
Doctor Lightle and John Roberts
Placed on Stand to Tell Their j
Connection With Celebra
ted Case—Both Proved
Strong Witnesses.
V -
(By Staff Correspondent of Daily Independent.)
The fifth day of the Roberts
s trial at Judsonia proves that in
terest is heightening rather than
decreasing as the culmination of
this now famous case draws
u nearer. The trial is being con
ducted in a summer house which,
though roofed for protection
from the sun’s heat and open
upon the sides for the breeze,
was a veritable oven Monday,
crowded as it was by attentive
spectators who filled the roughly
built seats and stood in crowded
rows about the walls, anxious to
hear the testimony of the de
fendant, John Roberts, and his
life-time friend, Dick Lightle.
Mrs. R. G. Lightle came over
from Searcy Monday morning
with her husband, and Mrs. Pitts, ,
widow of the man whose grave
robbery furnishes the indictment
ot the present trial, was also in
attendance for the first time.
Mrs. Lightle will not testify,
as neither the defense nor state
has shown a disposition to hear .
her story, though Roberts testi- ;
fied that he wanted Mrs. Lightle
to appear in his defense and that
she was prevented from so doing
upon the advice of her physicians,
who believed her nervous system
t was unequal to the ordeal. About
her, many important points in
tfoe*j»&e..evolve and of her the
1 ’"other witnesses have had much
to relate, yet from her own lips
the public and jury will probably
»- \ hear nothing.
^R. FAUST ON THE STAND.
Mr'. Andrews asked that Dr.
Faust be recalled, and some time
was consumed in finding him.
Resuming the statement made
Saturday to questions asked by
Mr. Andrews, Dr. Faust stated
that he was not addicted to the
morphine habit.
Mr. Andrews—Didn’t you
leave the state for a year and not
communicate with your family
during the time?
“It is not so,” said the doctor.
, “Didn’t vou e-et on the chain i
gang in Birmingham for a year
and send to your sister for mon
ey to get home on?
“Cut it down to six months
and I’ll admit it, replied Dr.
Faust.
In reply to a question by Judge
Stuckey, Dr. Faust said Mr.
Brundidge had him subpoenaed
at the last term of the White
county circuit court to testify as
* an expert on insanity in the Fow
ler case. He was county physi
cian and looked after the county
patients.
Mr. Andrews—Now, doctor, I
| want to ask you if you didn’t
tell several parties that you were
a friend of Roberts and, guilty
or not guilty, you wanted him
acquitted of this charge?”
“Yes, I said I was a friend of
Roberts and I am, too,” replied
Dr. Faust.
DR. LIGHTLE STRONG WITNESS.
i
Dr. R. G. Lightle, a clean
shaven young man of good,
strong features and intelligent
countenance, who talks with a
deliberation that is precise, and a
calm, perfectly composed man
ner that strengthens his evidence
and causes the outsider to won
der whether he be a man of mon
umental nerve or a grossly ma
ligned person, was next called
' f
for, and at once the interest of
the whole assembly became in
tense. <
' The witness told in an easy man
ner the history of his life as
brought out by the questions
from Judge Stuckey, denied his
participation in the grave rob
bery of Ed Pitts’ remains, but
stated that for this corpse he had
paid Walter Gregory $30. He re
lated the story of the night Greg
ory had brought the stiff to his
borne in his laundry wagon, how
the corpse had been reburied in
the barn, and later, when he was
ready to dissect the body, how
Gregory had again come to his
help and the two had lifted the
“stiff” to the loft by means of a
pulley, which he supposed had
oeen burned with the barn.
On cross-examination both An
Irews and Brundidge catechized
witness upon every detail of his
remarkable story, compelling him
to admit that upon several occas
ions he had told falsehoods.
Witness stated that he wanted
Gregory to get him the body of
i negro, so that no trouble would
3e caused should detection result,
rhe Pitts body was received
while his wife was in Little Rock
md he did not commence its dis
section until she had returned
md gone to Perryville.
He told of how he had gone to j
;he barn one night, lighted the
amp and begun the dissection of
;he Pitts body. He hung his
mat containing thermometer,
ieys and watch on a nail in the
oft and supposed that when the
jarn burned they must have
fallen near the body. While at
work the lamp had exploded;
running to the house with his
iissecting knife* which he testi
fied was a short one, and leaving
it upon the dresser he had rushed
back with a bucket of water.
Seeing that the flames could not
be stopped, he ran back through
the house, put on an old coat,
grabbed his knife and left. It
was all on the impulse of the
moment. Witness denied wear
ing any disguise and to have told
Gregory that day “This thing is
coming off tonight. ’ ’ He left for
Kensett on foot, then walked the
track to Bald Ii nob, where he
iaid in the brush and caught a
train for Poplar Bluff, thence to
Cairo and on to Atlanta and
Clayton, Ga. While crossing the
Chio river at 2 p. m. the day fol
lowing his escape he dropped his
knife in the Ohio river. Witness
said it had never entered his
i i < 1 i i i n l
[ieau uiab uie curpse ±uunu |
should be identified as his ownj
uody.
Witness told of offering a man!
in Clayton, Ga., $200 to bring his
family to him, for he wanted a
consultation with his wife before
returning, as she had become
despondent and threatened sui
cide if he were brought back un
der arrest. At Tyer, Ga., he
passed under the name of Gra
ham and here received Arkansas
papers, but saw nothing about
his departure. Witness had $50
when he left Searcy and didn’t
write his wife for money, for he
did not know where she was.
In coming to Memphis he saw
from the papers that Sheriff
Wood and Detective A1 Chiches
ter had gone to arrest him and
he left at once for Searcy. De
nied having seen Roberts in
Memphis, La Grange or Helena.
In regard to the different poli
cies taken out by the witness, he
told of a visit with Roberts to
Mr. Cox of the Metropolitan and
how they had each sought to
cake out $2,000 in favor of the
ither. As Roberts failed to
stand the examination Mrs.
Lightle was named as his own
oeneficiary.
-v
Witness acknowledged that he
told a falsehood in making ap
plications for further insurance
by concealing the amounts al
ready carried, but said this was
done upon the advice and knowl
edge of the state agent. Mr.
Cook had tried to get him to drop
all his other policies and take out
one for $10,000 in his company.
On this point Judge Stuckey
later introduced a circular from
the New York Life Insurance
Company using the Lightle death
as an advertisement and relating
how Dr. Lightle, after repeated
efforts upon the part of the state
agent, had been induced to take
out the policy for $10,000. »
The cross-examination of Mr.
Brundidge was objected to on
the part or the defense, who con
tended that the questions had
been covered by Mr. Andrews.
A hot discusion ensued and Mr.
Stayton said, ‘‘I am going to
hold you down, Brother Brun
didge.”
‘‘If you can,” retorted the con
gressman.
The defense brought out the
fact that witness had never play
ed cards for money but once and
very rarely took a drink.
After being excused the wit
ness was again recalled and ask
ed by Mr. Brundidge:
^Doctor, vou remember beins:
in the sheriff’s office Saturday
and telling a deputy sheriff and
J. J. Baugh that you got the
body from a negro and a white
man. Was this true or false?”
“It was false,” replied Dr.
Lightle.
“Did you put your collar on
the body so that it would be
identified as yours?”
“I did not.”
Witness said that he advertised
as an eye, ear and nose special
ist, but was also a general prac
titioner.
DEFENDANT ON STAND.
At 2:35 the defendant was
placed upon the stand. Told of
being in St. Louis at time of
Lightle exposure, his return to
Searcy and meeting with the
Democratic central committee,
all of whom were his personal
and political friends. To these
men he stated that rather than
endanger the success of the
ticket and injure the case of his
life-time friend, Dick Lightle, he
would return the nomination as
Democratic candidate for repre
sentative as clean as he had re
_J .-4.
V/tl V tu XI/*
His mother, little brother and
three sisters were dependent upon
him for support and this he had
been able to give them, as his
income was $3,000 to $4,000 per
year and probably the best law
practice in White county.
He entered a complete denial of
participation in the Pitts grave
robbery. > The first he knew of
the affair was from the lips of
Kay Deener, who came to his
office and told him that Dick
Lightle was alive. Deener said
that he and Neely were present
at the burning of the barn and
saw Lightle escape. Gregory
had also gotten drunk and told
of having furnished Lightle a
body and that it was this corpse
which was burned.
Kay Deener wanted some of
the insurance money and before
leaving was told to send Gregory
to the witness.
Gregory had come to his office
and asked Roberts as a personal
(Continued on Page 2.)
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PASSENGER JUMPED
TRACK AT PIEDMONT.
No. 17 . Swung From Track at
Sharp Curve, Every Coach
Leaving Track.
South bound passenger train
No. 17 on the Iron Mountain,
due here at 5:36 a. m., was
wrecked at Piedmont, Mo., Tues
day morning, every car leaving
the track and going down the
embankment. No further in
formation is obtainable, but the
wreck has doubtless cost many
lives, as surgeons from every
town in that section were imme
diately summoned to the scene.
No. 17 runs on the old sched
ule of the Hot Springs train and
does not stop here regularly. It
usually consists of one coach and
four or five sleepers. As the
Pullmans are built in such a man
ner as to stand wrecks and col
lisions the injured passenger list
; may possibly be small.
HELLO BILL COMING.
One of the most pleasing offer
i ings of the season at the opera
| house will take place on Tuesday
evening, when' Manager J. E.
Doherty will again present to his
patrons the funniest of modern
(farcial comedies, “Hello Bill,”
which comes this year brighter,
brisker and breezier than ever to
please the lovers of all that is
clean and attractive in modern
comedy farce. The company is
an extremely clever one and em
braces in its ranks such well
known and popular players as
Arthur L. Cogliser, Charles Full
heart, Lyle Ray, John Fernlock,
Reginald Simpson, Robert Watt,
Misses Carolyne McLean, Alice
Martin, Jessie Lansing, Ruth
Stone and Kathryn Vincent. Miss
Vincent is playing her third sea
son in the role of the pretty wid
ow, Mrs. Dare, for love of whom
Bill makes his suppositious trip
to the wars. “Hello Bill” is no
stranger in Newport, its previous
engagements having endeared it
to the hearts of the comedy lov
ing people of the city, and one
of the very best engagements of
; the season is looked for.
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Chas. G. Henry, Cashier.
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G. D. Clements, R. F. Drummond, W. D. McLain,.
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