Laura Jane Harvey Murder: Part Twelve

On the third and final day of the trial, things got underway with Morris J. Upright being sworn in. Mr. Upright was a former neighbor of the Harvey family when they had first arrived to Winnebago county in Illinois. Morris testified that he had been a former neighbor, that he had last seen Laura on March 1st of 1860 and that the ambrotype picture shown him looked remarkably like her. After that, he had next seen Laura in her grave at Ottumwa cemetery on April 14, 1860 along with her brother Frank Harvey. Morris testified that he also knew George Lawrence and had last seen him in Rockford on March 16. He was familiar with the horses, harness and bridle of Mr. Lawrence and had even gotten the harness repaired at one point. When shown the vest of Lawrence, Mr. Upright identified it as belong to George due to the unique buttons which had seven stars on each of them and the changeable material it had been made from.

Mr. Upright was asked how long he had known Lawrence and testified that Lawrence had been on the same threshing crew as Morris' son-in-law six years prior. Mr. Upright also testified that he knew McComb as well for three years prior to the murder and that he had seen him frequently at the home of McComb's father and working for a man by the name of Larkin. The McComb family had lived in the same county as Mr. Upright for at least 18 years when Mr. Upright had first moved to Winnebago. Morris then was questioned about McComb's first name. He responded that the prisoner was B. A. McComb but that he used to be called Lant McComb previously. Morris testified that McComb had left the area sometime around March 16 and hadn't been seen by him since and that had McComb been there, he probably would have known it. 

More questions were presented about McComb's coat which Morris testified he was wearing when last seen around March 16. The last time Morris saw it was after it had been fished out of the river in Ottumwa and had a considerable amount of blood on the sleeve and shoulder area and was still wet with river water. He didn't remember who had brought it into the hotel where he had been staying but testified that it had been given to Sheriff Gray at the county jail.

The defense cross-examined Mr. Upright to see if he had searched for McComb and after affirming it, whether he had been reimbursed, which Morris hadn't. Morris had voluntarily search for McComb. They questioned him about his background which included serving as Sheriff for two years in Rockford.

Mrs. S.M. Durfew was sworn in and shown the portrait of Laura which she confirmed was the same person who had stopped at her house four years ago. She said Laura and two men had stopped there in the afternoon for two hours before proceeding on and the next time she saw Laura was in a coffin at the courthouse. She was able to identify McComb in the courtroom and testified that the clothing he had on in the courtroom was similar to the clothing he had been wearing back them.

The defense asked Mrs. Durfew if she had been to the meeting of witnesses at the lawyer's office the night before which she said she had not. She went on to say she hadn't spoken to the lawyers before as to what she could swear too. 

James L. Taylor was sworn in and questioned about his knowledge of the trio. He testified that he first saw them when they came to his store trying to purchase newspapers from Rockford. When he told them he didn't have any, they had asked for Taylor to order them for them. Taylor had declined initially but because they seemed anxious to get them and had given them money, he had ordered the newspapers for them. He testified that the man who paid for the newspapers, seemed to have a large amount of money in his pocketbook, around $300 and seemed to pay the most attention to Laura. After being shown the picture of Laura, he said it was the picture of the young lady who had been with the trip and that after they left, he next saw her at the pose mortem examination. Taylor identified McComb as the other person who had been in the store that day and that he didn't know anyone else by that name.

Upon cross-examination, Taylor said that he thought the person ordering the newspapers had been Lawrence and that he judged that amount of money in the pocketbook by the size of the bills he saw on top.

S.H. Durfey was recalled to testify that he had not seen the other attorneys nor spoken with them.

J.W. Wilkins was recalled to say the trio had left his house after eating supper and that they had plenty of money when they paid. Upon cross examination, Wilkins said the defendant had said some thing that led him to think something improper was going on.

Dr. Thrall was recalled to testify about what kind of weapon could have caused the wounds to the head. Thrall thought it had been an instrument of some weight with an oval head not exceeding an inch and a half in diameter. He agreed that a hammer would likely have produced similar wounds to the ones found on Laura's head.

The state finally rested their case and the defense opted to not call any more witnesses or introduce any new testimony. Instructions were given to the jury and they were released to deliberate despite it being six o'clock on a Saturday evening.