“You Are the Man That Done It All”: A Murder Trial Witness Loses His Temper

The Hayward murder trial was at white heat from the moment court opened. The witness Blixt, whose testimony had been interrupted the day before when he tried to go into the manner of the killing, was again called. The state objected to questions designed to bring out the details, and the court held him to a direct answer. Again and again Blixt tried to hedge, until at last he declared that he could not be sure whether Hayward brought the whisky at 6 o’clock or 7.

The witness stood and looked squarely at the prisoner. His voice trembled, and tears came into his eyes as he cried: ‘You are the man that done it all; I know I tell the truth, and you know it.’ Hayward, with his chin resting on his hand and his white teeth showing as his lips parted in a broad grin, enraged the witness beyond endurance. Blixt was called down by the court and the cross-examination went on. There was an immense throng present, at least ten women.

As the cross-examination proceeded, it was evident that Erwin had determined on a different line of attack from that attempted yesterday, which had so signally failed. He browbeat the witness. Mr. Brain took up the discrepancy between Blixt’s testimony and the first statement he had made, wherein he asserted that Hayward had done the actual shooting, and asked the witness his reason for it. Blixt replied that he was confused at the time and his recollection was not clear. He had thought it over every day since then, and all the details had come back to him. The efforts of the lawyers to entrap him were foiled by the stolidity and simplicity of the man. For an hour in the afternoon Erwin kept Blixt on the rack. Not once did he entrap the witness into any serious contradiction or bring out any new fact that could be of service to the defense. The cross-examination was in progress when court adjourned.