The State's Opening Statement
Sandor J. Vigg, County Attorney, Woods County, begins his opening statement.
Mr. Vigg... May it please the court, and you gentlemen of the jury: As you know already, this is a case in which the State of Oklahoma prosecutes one N. L. Miller, the defendant whom you see in the Court room, for the crime of murder, upon the body of Mabel Oakes. The crime is alleged to have been committed in Woods County, State of Oklahoma on the 9th day of November 1910.
As a part of the opening statement on behalf of the State of Oklahoma I will read to you the information on file in this case, charging the defendant with the crime of murder, and I shall also state to you as a part of the opening statement on behalf of the State of Oklahoma, the pleas of the defendant to that information.
(At this time the attorney reads the information)
Now the witnesses by whom we expect to prove the allegations in this information, are endorsed on the back of the same.
I will state to you gentlemen of the jury, that to that information that I have just read to you, the defendant has entered a plea of not guilty.
The State will show by competent evidence the allegations contained in the information that was just read to you beyond a reasonable doubt.
Gentlemen of the jury the evidence on the part of the State in this case will show that the deceased, Mabel Oakes, was a country girl about twenty-three years of age; that in the spring of 1909 she began to work for the defendant, N. L. Miller as a stenographer in the office of the defendant in the city of Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma. She did various work: writing on the typewriter, answering correspondence of the defendant and drawing up other legal papers, that people had drawn in the offices of the defendant as a Justice of the Peace. That the deceased, Mabel Oakes, worked for this defendant at two different times beginning with the time I just stated and in all she worked for him about eleven months; that the deceased, Mable Oakes, quit working for the defendant some time the last part of September, 1910.
The evidence, gentlemen of the jury, will show that in the spring of, or beginning in the spring of 1910, the defendant, who was then and is now a married man with a family of children of his own, begin to take his stenographer, his girl in the office working for him, on buggy rides out in the country, where no one but he, this defendant, and the deceased would be together; that on those trips this defendant won the heart of the deceased and got her consent to have sexual intercourse with her, this girl that was working for him. This happened in the spring of 1910 while she was working there for this defendant; that the sexual act between this defendant, a married man with a family, and that girl who worked for him, was repeated several times.
We expect to show on the part of the State that the deceased, Mabel Oakes, the day after she the first time committed the sexual act with this defendant, cried all day about what she had done with this defendant. The evidence will show gentlemen of the jury, that he took her out in the country; The evidence will show that this woman was just as virtuous a woman, -- just as virtuous a girl, gentlemen, as could be found anywhere in your State before she went to the office of this defendant.
The evidence will show that it took this defendant two hours, out in the country west of Alva, or in about Alva, to perform the first sexual act with the deceased. The evidence will show that this defendant talked about it, and had a sort of a pride in doing that kind of thing with one of your country girls. The evidence will show further, gentlemen of the jury, that in the spring of 1910, that the deceased became pregnant; that at the time of her death she was pregnant; that the physicians in Alva in examining her body after her death took a phoetus (fetus) from her, of a young child, about five or six months old.
The evidence will further show gentlemen of the jury, that this defendant, N. L. Miller, shortly before the death of the deceased took the deceased to a physician in the city of Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, and asked that physician to commit a criminal abortion upon the body of Mabel Oakes, the deceased, to destroy this child; that that physician refused to commit that abortion which the defendant solicited him to perform upon the body of Mabel Oakes.
The evidence will further show that the defendant said, at that time when the physician refused to commit that abortion, that if he had the tools he could do it himself. The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that the defendant, N. L. Miller, had been a student of medicine; that at one time he had sufficient knowledge about medicine to have been admitted to the practice of medicine as a physician.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that the defendant, N. L. Miller, and the deceased Mable Oakes, were going to get married; that they were in love, -- as he called it, -- in love together. The evidence will further show that the deceased was promised by this defendant that this defendant would get a divorce from his wife in the month of October, 1910, and fix it up with the girl, the deceased, and marry her. There will be positive evidence to show those facts.
The evidence will further show that this defendant, N. L. Miller, for several weeks prior to the death of the deceased, promised the deceased that he would straighten up the records, that is, in relation to this wife so that he, N. L. Miller, the defendant, could go about it in a legal way and marry the deceased, for whose downfall, gentlemen of the jury, all the evidence will show this defendant is responsible.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that about six months prior to the death of the deceased and continuing from that time up to the latter part of October, 1910, the defendant, N. L. Miller, and his wife who raised him a family, -- and a nice family, -- were at outs; that is, they had separated. The evidence will further show that for about five months next preceding the middle of October, 1910, the defendant, N. L. Miller, and his wife did not occupy the same bed; that they had separated; had agreed to a separation, and that this defendant, N. L. Miller, was to get a divorce in October, and in that way marry Mable Oakes the deceased.
The evidence will show further, gentlemen of the jury, that the latter part of October, 1910, a few days before the death of the deceased, the defendant, N. L. Miller, and his wife had made up; that they had started to live together as man and wife again.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that the defendant, N. L. Miller, kept liquor in a small junk room adjoining his office, for the purpose of having the deceased, Mable Oakes, drink liquor. He kept it there for her, and the evidence will show that she had been using it while she was working for the defendant.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that on the evening of the 8th day of November, 1910, the same being the evening preceding the day upon which this deceased girl was choked, this defendant, N. L. Miller, and another person, who is a witness in this case, were riding around the streets of Alva in a buggy -- that about nine o'clock that evening the defendant, N. L. Miller, and that witness, drove to the house of that witness -- that the defendant, N. L. Miller, stepped up to the telephone in the house of that witness, and in the hearing of that witness called a certain number, a certain telephone number in the city of Alva and said, "I want one of the Oakes." -- that shortly after the defendant said that into that telephone, giving time for that party to come over from the Oakes home to this number where he was, the defendant says, "Is this you Mabel? I, (meaning the defendant) didn't get that note from you this morning. I want to hear from you. I suppose I will hear in the morning. That's all. That's all."
The evidence will further show that for some time prior to the death of the deceased there was some correspondence going on between, Mabel Oakes, and the defendant, N. L. Miller.
Now then, gentlemen we are coming up to the next morning, the time of this tragedy, which we, gentlemen of the jury, and you, gentlemen of the jury, are examining in this trial.
Wednesday morning, the 9th day of November, 1910, the deceased, Mable Oakes, strong and hearty, left her home; where she had been making her home with her parents, and she says, "Mamma, I will be back pretty soon. I am going down to see Mr. Miller, (the defendant) I will be back pretty soon."
And she goes away. That is the last time she was seen alive by her mother. The evidence will show what wearing apparel she wore. It will show that she wore the scarf away from home that morning by and with which she was strangled to death.
The evidence will show, gentlemen of the jury, that a eleven o'clock in the morning of the 9th day of November, 1910, the deceased, Mabel Oakes and the defendant, N. L. Miller, were together in the office of the defendant. At eleven o'clock, now that was, together in the office.
That that office joins on to an old opera house in Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, at the northwest corner of that old opera house , and is connected with it by inside rooms and doors so that from the office of the defendant, N. L. Miller, you could go into a back room, through a door, through an open space into the old opera house, which is a room about sixty feet square; that is the main room; that now, after you had entered that opera house from the office of N. L. Miller, you walked diagonally across that large room, which has been used for the last three or four years as a junk pile of machinery and stuff that is worn out; that both the office room and the old opera house were under the control of N. L. Miller, the defendant in this case; that he rented the rooms and had charge of both establishments, his office rooms, the rooms connected with it and the old opera house.
That where you enter the room, the old opera house from the offices of N. L. Miller you walked almost diagonally from the northwest corner of the old opera house to the southeast corner of the old opera house; there is a small room, a dressing room in that corner of the old opera house near the stage of the old opera house, which is in the shape of a triangle; a very small room. It was dark and dirty in there on the day of this deed; there was an old window on the south side of that little room which was pretty high up; probably three, four, or five feet from the floor, that is, the lower part of the floor of the little room.
Now at eleven o'clock they are in that little room together, in the offices of this Justice of the Peace, this defendant. We go on, -- understand I want to tell you this right, and the statement is very long, -- that the deceased was found dead in that little southeast dingy room, after you have walked from his office to the little junk shop, through another little opening into the old opera house, and back there in that little triangular room. At eleven o'clock they were there in that office together.
Now, gentlemen of the jury, the evidence will further show that at the hour of twelve (12:00) o'clock and ten minutes, thereafter on that day, the defendant, N. L. Miller was seen in his offices by himself. At eleven (11:00) o'clock he was there with the girl - twelve o'clock and ten minutes (12:10) in the afternoon, or just after noon he was there by himself, nervous and excited.
The evidence will further show that at twelve-forty-five (12:45) o'clock in the afternoon, or just thirty-five minutes after he was seen there at twelve-ten (12:10), he was there again, alone. The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that at the hour of one-ten (1:10) o'clock in the afternoon of that day, the horse of the defendant, which is a white horse, was hitched to a buggy, was hitched in front of his office to a telephone post; that the doors of the office of this defendant, that the doors of the old opera house in which this girl was found dead, were closed, shut up.
That at about one-twenty (1:20) o'clock in the afternoon of the 9th day of November, 1910, the defendant came out of the front door, a double door of the old opera house, which opens on a street immediately in front of the old opera house; that he came out of that double door of that old opera house; had a bunch of keys in his hands; he locked the door opening from that old opera house where the deceased was found; locked it; that he shook it after he locked it to see if it was secure; then he went a few feet west to the door of his office and shook that door to see whether it was fastened; then he gets into his buggy that was in front of the office and drove west on the street in the City of Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that this defendant, N. L. Miller, at the hour of about two-fifteen (2:15) o'clock in the afternoon was seen on the north side of the public square of the City of Alva in the republican headquarters, at two-fifteen (2:15); that he walked in there at that time; that he was very nervous; that he walked about from one room to another; that he didn't sit down; that he stayed there about fifteen minutes and left the republican headquarters in Alva, Oklahoma, and went away.
The evidence will further show that after he left and at about the hour of three o'clock in the afternoon the father of the girl, George Oakes, and another witness left the republican headquarters and walked along the north side of the public square in Alva, until they came to the east side of the public square in Alva, then they walked south, -- and in order that this may be clear, in Alva we have a public square right in the center of the town and the Court house is in there and a few shade trees.
Now the offices of this defendant and the old opera house about which you have heard so much was near the southeast corner of the public square. They are going from the republican headquarters and walking along the east side of the public square in the city of Alva. Suppose this is the east side (indicating on table) and this of course the south, and the defendant's offices are near the southeast corner of that square.
There is a livery barn on the east side of that public square and near the southeast corner of that square, or diagonally across from the offices of the defendant, N. L. Miller, and the old opera house.
Now as the father of the deceased, and another man were walking along the east side near that livery barn the defendant either comes out of his offices or is right there on the sidewalk in front of his offices and motions and says, "Hey, George," -- George is the father of the deceased, -- "Hurry up," and they thinking nothing was wrong; there was a conversation going on between the witness and the father of the deceased.
They stopped for a moment and the defendant spoke up again, "George, for God's sake hurry up." Then the father of the deceased started to go over there to that Justice of the Peace's office.
That Barnhouse followed a few feet behind George W. Oakes, -- Barnhouse was the witness, -- he followed. Now when they came to the door of the offices of this defendant the defendant opened the door, pushed Oakes in and then he closed the door in the face of the other man that was along with Mr. Oakes, the father of the deceased.
Now you have Mr. Oakes, the father of the deceased, and the defendant, N. L. Miller, inside of that office of N. L. Miller, the defendant, which joins on to and connects with by inside rooms and doors that old opera house. There they are together; the defendant N. L. Miller opens up and says, "Mable is Dead."
He says, "George, sit down," or words to that effect, and "Let's talk this matter over." He said that to the father of the deceased, "There is no use to get excited about it, sit down, let's talk it over."
Then the father of the deceased said, "Miller, where is she?"
Miller said, "Lets talk it over." Miller stood near the door that led into that junk room back of his offices and through which you have to go, on the inside, to get into the old opera house. The father of the deceased pushed him aside, walked back in that back room.
The defendant followed him and when they walked into an open space through that room, and into that old opera house, the defendant came up with the father of the deceased and he said, "She is back there lying dead, just as I found her."
Then the defendant leads the way after having entered into the old opera house, to that small dingy old dressing room, which had been used in connection with the old opera house, and said, "Here she is, just as Ii found her."
The evidence will further show that the defendant wanted the father to assist him in carrying the deceased from the place of the deed, out into the offices of the defendant; that the father said, "No, we must leave her just as she is and go and call the officers."
They left her as she was. Now we have her in that back room, very small room, the shape of a triangle, small, dark, dingy, --
Mr. Swindall for the defense, "We object to counsel making an argument in stating his case."
The Court overruled. To which ruling of the court the defendant then and there duly excepted at the time.
Mr. Vigg continues... small dirty, dingy room; the deceased was lying on her back, on an old piece of carpet which was under her body. Her head was almost toward the south, probably turned a little bit to the west; her feet of course almost directly north, turned a little to the east; that there was this scarf, which will be introduced in evidence in this case, (exhibiting scarf in his hands), wound around her neck, I think about three times; that it was tightly drawn; the ends were under her neck somewhere, as as the evidence will show, until the threads or bands of that silk scarf were imbedded in the skin of her neck; you could see the marks on her neck after it was taken off; that the neck of the deceased both above and below that scarf was bulged out, bulged out; that the tongue of the deceased was slightly protruded; that her mouth had froth and bloody mucous in it; that her face was livid or black and blue; that her eyes were bulged out; that there was a slight bruise, I believe as the evidence will show, over the left eye.
Now she was lying on her back on this piece of carpet; the evidence will show that her hands were in perfect order, and in the position, (indicating on breast), the right hand being just below the right nipple and the left hand being just below the left nipple of the deceased; and the defendant says "There she is, just as I found her."
That her dress on the bottom part of her body appeared to be pulled up a little on that old piece of carpet. The evidence will show, gentlemen of the jury, that her drawers were off; that her drawers were off and were found under that old piece of carpet upon which she was lying; the evidence will show that her kidneys and her bowels had moved; now this was, gentlemen of the jury, at the time the father was called in that old opera house by the defendant about three o'clock.
The evidence will show that the word was given and a Justice of the Peace in the city of Alva, Woods County, Oklahoma, who acted as the coroner in the the investigations of Mable Oakes' death, was called. That when he was called the defendant, N. L. Miller, was in the offices of the defendant, very nervous and excited. That he put his face into his hands and groaned, and said, "This goes over me worse than anything I ever had."
That he said to this coroner, "Now, Judge, the fact is, Now, Judge, there is nothing to this. Now, Judge, there is nothing to this. You don't need to investigate the death of Mabel Oakes. You don't have to unless you want to. It is all with you. You don't' have to investigate her death, it is all with you."
The evidence will further show that to this acting coroner, the defendant N. L. Miller said that about dinner time he was there with the deceased, in the offices, and that the deceased was there with him all morning on the day of her death. That about noon the deceased complained of not feeling well.
That the defendant told deceased to go through that junk room into the old opera house and go back to that little southeast room where she was later found dead and lie down. That at the request and solicitation of this defendant, the deceased went back there and lay down. That the, he, N. L. Miller goes to dinner, and returns and he says when he came back from dinner he found her dead in that back room, just as we found her there. And "Just as I found her," as the defendant says.
That this defendant said to this acting coroner, "What are you going to do with me? Are you going to put me in jail? If I can I want to give bond. If I cannot I want to go to jail."
There will be physicians here, gentlemen of the jury, to testify as to her position in that back room, just as I have outlined it to you. There will be evidence introduced in this case as to the cause of the death of Mabel Oakes. That the cause of death was strangulation. That she was strangled to death by hands other than her own.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that the defendant, N. L. Miller, drugged Mabel Oakes. Took her back to that room and drugged her and then after she was put in a stupefied condition, or in a state of stupor, he choked her to death by means of that scarf. She was found there about three-thirty (3:30) o'clock and then the physicians were called in and the coroner between three and four o'clock.
That at that time she was dead and had been dead probably three hours; or, in other words, she was strangled to death between the hours of eleven o'clock in the morning or about noon, and one-thirty o'clock that afternoon.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that the defendant, N. L. Miller about noon of that day, the 9th day of November, 1910, offered a drink of whiskey to the deceased. The evidence will further show that the defendant made this statement, -- it seems contradictory, -- that the way he came to find Mabel Oakes in that little room back there was when he went back there through that little room to the platform to get a pint of whiskey which he had hid back there.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that some time in the month of September, 1910, when the parents of the deceased Mable Oakes, were away from home, and she was staying there with a little brother, the defendant came there to that house in the absence of her parents and slept with her; occupied the same bed with her at night.
Now, gentlemen of the jury, the evidence on the part of the State will be in part circumstantial; will be in part circumstantial, not altogether. The evidence will show that the deceased was strangled to death by this defendant, N. L. Miller, and that he had several motives for strangling and killing her.
The evidence will further show, gentlemen of the jury, that Mabel Oakes, the deceased, had to be put out of the way of this defendant, N. L. Miller, and the wife of this defendant, -- And she was put out of the way!
The Court... "Does the defense desire to make a statement at this time?"
Mr Swindall... "No statement at this time by the defense."
The Court... admonishes the Gentlemen of the jury while they adjourn until 1:30 this afternoon. The Court takes a recess until the hour of 1:30 this afternoon.
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