Laura Jane Harvey Murder: Part Ten

Thursday morning, 9 June 1864, the trial started up again at eight o'clock with D.F. Gaylord sworn in to testify. As one of the three men on the inquest jury, the Prosecution spent time questioning him about Ms. Harvey's wounds, focusing on the trauma to her head but Gaylord stated that he couldn't describe them in detail. He was asked about her clothing, jewelry and what had been done with her body after the inquest to which he stated that he had no knowledge of what had been done with Ms. Harvey's body. 

There was no cross-examination by the Defense so John Potter the hotel owner was sworn in to answer questions about the inquest. Questions were asked to ascertain the identity of Ms. Harvey as the girl who had stayed in his hotel prior to her murder and that she had been in the company of two men, particularly focusing on the colors of the horses and their location in the team. the Prosecution then went on to ask if one of those men was in the courtroom now to which Prosser agreed and pointed towards McComb. The rest of his questioning revolved around the discovery of George Lawrence's body and the condition it was in and other identifying features. With a flourish, the Prosecution produced the skull of George Lawrence and presented it to Potter and the jury asking him is it was the same one that he had seen in the ravine to which he replied that is looked like it and the fractures were in the same place.

The Defense cross examined Potter to determine if anything had caught his attention when the two men and the girl had checked into the hotel. Potter said he recognized McComb as one of the men but when pressed, admitted that two months after McComb had been arrested, Potter had been asked to come to the jail to identify him and at the time hadn't recognized him as the same man checking into his hotel. He also admitted that nothing they had done had attracted his attention that night and that other people had called their attention to him saying that something about the trio hadn't been right.

The Prosecution re-examined Potter to establish that McComb had paid his own bills and that Lawrence and Harvey had presented themselves as brother and sister and that Lawrence had paid their bills and those for the team of horses. Potter told the court that it was his family that had called his attention to the trio about whether they were traveling in their true character. When asked if Potter had known of their plans he told the court that they had said they were going to buy a farm near Eddyville and haul flour from there back to Ottumwa.

The Defense cross examined Potter yet again to establish that Lawrence and Harvey had presented themselves off as brother and sister.

Potter was allowed to step down and Dr. S.B. Thrall was sworn in. Thrall, a member of the inquest jury, was questioned about whether or not Ms. Harvey had drowned and he went through the details of his examination that led him to believe she had died from the head injury before she was put in the river. Next George Lawrences' skull was again presented to the court and Thrall detailed how he had first seen it some months after the death of Ms. Harvey and stated that the fracture visible in it had also most likely caused the death of Lawrence.

The Defense did not cross examine Thrall but did recall Potter and cross examine him one more time to determine if Sheriff Derby or his wife had been present at the jail when he had gone there to see McComb. Potter didn't recall either as being present and again Potter was forced to admit under questioning that he hadn't recognized McComb as being one of the men who had checked into his hotel on 27 March 1860.

William Lewis was then sworn in and questioned about Ms. Harvey's body which he had seen at the inquest and then in this very courtroom six or seven days later. After that, the he testified the body had been taken to the cemetery and buried and that he had seen the grave that very morning when he had gone out there with her brother F.O. Harvey to point out the grave to him but he didn't know if the body was still there or had been disinterred. He also testified that McComb had been one of the men who came to his smith shop before the murder and when shown a necktie, testified that it hadn't belonged to McComb but to Lawrence who had also been in his shop before the murder.

Lewis was cross examined to testify that the reason he recognized the necktie was because it was tied in a sailor's knot which seemed peculiar to him. He was questioned some more about accompanying the body to the cemetery and to his previous occupation as a police officer for the county.

The brother of Laura Harvey, Frank O. Harvey was next sworn in to testify about how he knew Laura, the last time he saw her and about his trip out to the graveyard that morning with Mr. Lewis to see her grave. He told the Prosecution that he had seen his sister's body three days after it had been buried and other affects she had on that coroner had shown him. The rest of his testimony centered on George Lawrence and what he had been wearing when he had left Rockford with his sister. 

Next Seth Durfey was sworn in. Durfey owned a house 15 miles north of Ottumwa and testified that the trio had stopped at his house for two or three hours on their way to Ottumwa. He testified on the details of the wagon and horses that pulled it and said that McComb had asked him for directions to Ottumwa. He particularly noticed that the team harness had a large ivory ring where the check joined the main line between the loop and the buckle. Durfey could not recall that the names of the trio were ever mentioned but did testify that McComb had been one of the trio.

The Defense cross examined Durfey about the time the trio spent at his house where they were fed dinner and the state of McComb's beard. Durfey testified that McComb's beard hadn't been as nice as it was now. The Defense questioned Durfey on the two arrests prior to McComb and if he recalled telling Mr. Baker that he could not remember McComb. Durfey did recall the prior arrests but couldn't recall telling Mr. Baker that he couldn't remember McComb. 

The Prosecution re-examined Durfey and he testified that after he had heard about the murder, he had made the trip to Ottumwa to see the body of the girl and see if she had been the same one that had stopped at his house. He further testified that when he had seen that she was the same girl, he had told others he would know the two men who had been with her if he were to ever see them again.

Aaron Beardsley was called to the stand and the Prosecution had Lant McComb stand up for the witness to get a better look at him after which Beardsley identified him as one of the men who had spent the night at his house three or four days before the murder of Ms. Harvey, his house being located 24 miles from here in Keokuk county. He was asked to identify the bridles which he did since he had made a repair to them during the trio's overnight stop. Beardsley then testified about the repair to the bridal in great detail and that he next saw them three or four months later in the judges office after they were brought in by Mr. Gaylord. 

Upon cross examination, Beardsley stated that he had seen McComb several times within this past week but hadn't seen him before that for at the past four years since they had stayed at his house.