A Murder Trial Ends in Tears and a Whispered Verdict

William A. Wilcox, convicted of the murder of old Mother Fehling, who had been undergoing a second trial in Judge Humes' court, was found not guilty by the jury, which returned its verdict at 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon, after being out one hour and fifteen minutes. Last night, for the first time in eighteen long months, he did not sleep in a felon's cell.

All day long the jury had listened to the arguments of counsel, and when they were concluded Judge Humes delivered what was considered by counsel on both sides to be one of the fairest charges ever given to a jury in a murder case. He delivered the law in the case but had nothing to say as to the evidence. Twenty minutes were consumed in the charge, and at 4 o'clock the jury retired.

The crowd that had been in the courtroom all afternoon waited until 5 o'clock, and then many departed. Judge Humes went home, telling the clerk to send for him in case of an agreement. He had been gone but fifteen minutes when the bailiff in charge of the jury was informed that a verdict had been reached. The news was whispered about the courtroom, someone telephoned it downtown, and in twenty minutes it was a matter of gossip on the streets.

The crowd in the courtroom grew as if by magic. When Wilcox entered — having gone back to his cell as soon as the jury retired — he walked to the north end of the bar and took a seat between Mr. Winstock and Mr. Ingersoll. Directly behind him was his sister, Miss Emma Wilcox, a young, pleasant-faced woman who came here from her home in Montague, Michigan, last Sunday and who has been in the courtroom throughout the trial.

Judge Humes went on the bench at 5:15, and by his order the jury was brought in. "Gentlemen of the Jury, have you agreed upon a verdict?" said Judge Humes, and the answer, "We have," fell from the lips of Foreman Knapp. He slipped a small white paper into the hands of the clerk, who turned it over to Judge Humes, who glanced at it and returned it with the remark, "Read the verdict, Mr. Clerk." Mr. McClure stood up, and with a slight tremble in his voice read: "King county, state of Washington, cause No. 410. We, the Jury in the case wherein the state of Washington is plaintiff and William Wilcox is defendant. Not guilty. C. E. Knapp, foreman."

Wilcox, who from the time of his arrest has not lost his nerve except for a few seconds when the jury at the former trial convicted him, completely collapsed when the words "not guilty" fell from the clerk's lips. His face grew deathly pale, his whole frame trembled, his head dropped, and had not Mr. Ingersoll caught him he would have fallen. He was stunned but for a moment, and so quickly recovered that when the jury started to pass out he had already shaken hands with his counsel, caressed his sister, and, reaching over the railing, grasped the hand of each of the jurymen. Miss Wilcox laughed one minute and cried the next. "I am so glad I came," she kept saying while the crowd crowded around to congratulate her and the prisoner. "I guess I can go now without having someone tagging after me," said Wilcox, and then, catching tight his former employer, Mr. Fennelson of Tacoma, he called out: "You will wire home to father and mother, won't you?"

Wilcox remained in the courtroom for about twenty minutes shaking hands with everybody present, after which he went with his sister to Mrs. Richer's home on Alder street.

The expected arrest of Wilcox on the charge of murdering James King, which was promised by the Tacoma officers who were in attendance at the trial, did not take place after Wilcox had been acquitted, and at midnight he was still a free man. Chief Rogers communicated with Prosecuting Attorney Joiner of King county respecting the arrest of Wilcox for the King murder, and a reply was received stating that, after a consultation with the chief of police, it was decided that Wilcox was not wanted.

In his closing argument for the state, Mr. Hastie made a statement which for a few minutes caused a sensation in the courtroom. He had just referred to the efficiency of the officers who had figured in the case and had stated that the people were responsible for crime in the community. "Many of them," he continued, "have been frequenting the courtroom during the trial, and at times acted as though they were attending a picnic instead of a murder trial. I even saw a smile this morning on the face of the woman who appears here as the sister of the defendant." Before he could go farther Mr. Winstock and Mr. Ingersoll jumped to their feet, and Mr. Ingersoll walked toward Mr. Hastie and raised his hand in a threatening manner, when Judge Humes cried out: "Gentlemen, sit down; sit down. If you have anything to say, address the court." Mr. Ingersoll begged the pardon of the court and said: "We strongly condemn any such insinuations. We certainly demand the protection of the court for this unfortunate lady."

When the verdict was announced, an old man in the crowd who gave his name to the court as Imel Peterson expressed his approval by giving a shout. Judge Humes had the bailiff bring him to the bar and administered a severe reprimand, after which he allowed him to depart.