The Trial of William A. Wilcox
A high-stakes murder trial reaches a breaking point as a defendant awaiting a verdict breaks down in the courtroom.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
William A. Wilcox, the cigar maker of Tacoma, awaits his fate. His case went to the jury at 11:05 o'clock, and the jury announced that there was no possibility of an immediate agreement. Wilcox was held in the Pierce County jail on a charge of murder. During the trial, the courtroom was a scene of intense emotion. When his attorney, Mr. Coiner, made a final plea for the defense, Wilcox broke down and wept. Later, while sitting in the courtroom, he was approached by Detective D. O. Smith. Wilcox, grasping the detective's hand, suddenly broke into heavy sobbing, asking, 'Oh, God! You don't think they will find me guilty, do you?' The trial was filled with conflicting testimony, including alibi witnesses and rebuttals involving gambling associates and local saloon figures.
“Oh, God! You don't think they will find me guilty, do you?”
This account captures the raw tension of early legal proceedings in Pierce and King Counties. The use of 'circumstantial evidence' and local characters in saloons remains a staple of historical crime reporting, providing a glimpse into the social life of the 1890s legal system.
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