“Gaston Means On Trial for Murder of Mrs. King,” from the Monroe
Journal, Nov. 27, 1917
Both Sides Are Ready,
and Special Venire of 150 Men Summoned…Interest in Case Still Intense
The trial of Gaston Means, charged with the murder of Mrs.
Maude King, the wealthy New York and Chicago woman, started yesterday morning.
A special venire of 150 men have been summoned, and the court is occupied with
the drawing of the jury. The prosecution, as far as has been outlined, relies
on the mass of circumstantial evidence to fasten upon Means the charge of
murder, and, it is understood, will seek to show that a fortune of $2,000,000,
which Mrs. King might have inherited through a second will of her husband, the
last James King, of Chicago, provided the motive.
Means, a native of Concord, had been the woman’s business
agent for some time before she met death while here on a visit to his
relatives, and according to statements made by District Attorney Swann’s office
in New York, evidence has been brought to light to show that a second will was
to be offered for probate. Mrs. King had inherited more than a million through
the first will.
Only Means Was There
No one except Means was present when Mrs. King was killed at
Blackwelder Spring near here, according to the statement Means made to a local
coroner’s jury. The coroner’s verdict was that Mrs. King accidentally shot
herself with a small pistol with which he had intended to practice target
shooting. To refute this, the prosecution, in the preliminary hearing which was
ended by Means agreeing to be bound over to the grand jury, endeavored to show
by expert witnesses that it would have been physically impossible for the woman
to have held the weapon which inflicted a wound in the back of her head.
Counsel for the defense declined tonight to discuss their
line of defense, but it was intimated from a source close to the defendant that
its contention would be that Mrs. King accidentally was killed in handling the
pistol which she had picked up while she and Means paused at Blackwelder
Spring, near the target field, for the latter to get a drink.
Suicide Theory
One theory discussed again in Concord tonight as witnesses
and officials gathered from New York and Chicago to aid the prosecution, was
that the defense might contend that Mrs. King committed suicide. Little
credence, apparently, was placed in this, but those who mentioned it held that
Means at the inquest might have wished to shield the name of the dead woman
from the stigma of suicide.
Means’ counsel would not discuss the defense plans
and the latter in jail, here, refused to see newspaper men. His wife and child
spent the afternoon with him, and a member of his counsel said he was bearing
up well.
Little chance was seen tonight of selecting a jury before
Tuesday or Wednesday at the earliest, and attorneys generally had that the 36
jurymen automatically called with the issuance of the order for a special term
of Cabarrus County court to try the case would be exhausted before 12
acceptable men were found. In that case, the court probably would adjourn while
a special venire of 150 men were summoned, their names being drawn from the
jury list, according to North Carolina law, by a child unable to read.
State at Disadvantage
In choosing the jury the defense has the advantage in that
it has 12 peremptory strikes, and the state only four. Another feature of the
jury selection that has attracted attention here is that the defense has retained
all the principal attorneys in Concord, and the State, as far as known, is
without a local attorney to aid in choosing jurors. Knowledge of this led to reports
that the state again would seek trial in another court.
Change of venue was denied once when Judge E.B. Cline, who
will preside at the trial, ruled against the state’s contention that a fair
trial could not be had from a jury of Cabarrus County men. Either side,
however, can renew its plea up to the time trial actually starts.
Solicitor Clement, who held a long conference today at his
home in Salisbury, Rowan County, with John T. Dooling, assistant district
attorney of New York, stated that thus far the prosecution has no intention of
making another attempt for a change. Mr. Dooling, accompanied by other New York
officials, who worked on the case from that end, arrived early today. L.C.
Cline, a Statesville attorney, formerly of Concord, and an acquaintance of the
Means family, came here today, having been retained, he announced, to aid the prosecution,
and is expected to give much time to jury selection.
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