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The trial of Andy Combs, who fa tally shot his neighbor, John T. Bak er, is near the end. The trial began two weeks ago last Monday. This (Thursday) afternoon Seymur Riddle is Pleading for the defense and fol lowing him will come W. L. Slinkard for the prosecution, with the closing speech. Judge Thos. Van Buskirk will probably instruct the jury yet today and a verdict may be reached by the time court opens tomorrow at 9 a. m. The hypothetical question was propounded by the state yesterday and the answer was that Combs was of sound mind, Guy H. Humphreys followed Prose cutor Vosloh’s opening speech yester day afternoon, and when court open ed this morning J. Clyde Crane, of the firm of Cavins Crane, made the first speech for the state. He was fol lowed by Mr. Riddle, Lawyers Pate and Collins, for the defense, and Ca vins, for the state, will not argue the case before the jury. Six witnesses for the defense, told, last Thursday afternoon of relatives of the defendant who had been of un sound mind. ° Mrs. Alice Hardisty, an aunt of the defendant, testified that her brother, John Ransom Combs, the father of the defendant, was of unsound mind from the time he was about fifty years of age, until his death about twenty years later, and that for about a year he was in a hospital for the insane. David C.Roach testified that a cous in of the defendant named Henry Bur cham was in a hospital for the insane for a time, and that another cousin, Matt Burcham, has been in the South ern Indiana Hospital for the insane at Evansville for a number of years. The deposition of Solomon Burch am, an ager residence of Clay county, was read to the jury. He testified that his mother, Abigail Burchantsen hower, who was the defendant’s grandmother, became a person of un sound mind after she was upwards of ‘fifty years of age, and that she re mained in that condition, with lucid intervals, until her death at seventy. He further said Mary Stewart, a sec ond cousin of the defendant, was men tally unbalanced. Ben Woodward, an itinerant medi cine peddler of Harrison county, tes tified that some years ago he was an attendant at the Southern Indiana’ s Hospital for the Insane at Evansville, and while serving in that capacity, he observed a patient who was brought in for treatment. This patient was Andrew H. Combs, a double cousin of the defendant's father. Nearly all of the time he was very quiet, but oc casionally he became violent, the wit ness said, and during those violent spells he tried to bite everyone who came within his reach. The leading witness of the after noon was Aaron Combs, an uncle of the defendant. He was on the stand for an hour and a half, and the great er part of this time was consumed in giving the genealogy of the Combs family and of the Burch family, the latter being the defendant’s mother's family. He showed a remarkable in timate knowledge of the family his tory and a very clear memory. He said the defendant's grandmother (his father’s mother) was Ruth Burch, and that her sister, Jane, married Byrd Combs, a great-uncle of the defend ant, and to them were born Andrew H. Combs, who was violently insane. He was so violent, the witness said, that his father, Byrd, built a cell in his home in which to keep his son, and that the old house with the cell still in it is standing in the eastern part of this county. The witness testified further that his sister’s daughter married John Martindale and removed to Nebraska, where her health failed. The witness said that he went to Nebraska for her and brought her back to this county, and that later she was sent to a hos pital for the Insane. According to the wife of Andrew id. Combs, he endeavored to induce her to enter a suicide pact, she testified ‘last Friday. Her testimony was in line with the position taken by the de fense that Combs is insane. His wife further asserted that Combs was con stantly in fear that someone was try ing to poison him, Mrs.Combs said her husband brood ed because they had to mortgage the farm to pay the expense of a hospital bill she incurred in Indianapolis. One day, she said, while driving over the White river bridge at Bloomfield, he suggested to her that, as her health was bad and as they were in poor fi nncial circumstances, they end it all by jumping off the bridge. Later, af ter they had reached home, he seized a gun and asked her to go with him to the spring, because he feared some one had put something in it to poison him. When Combs retired at night,wheth er in the winter or summer, he made sure all the doors and windows were locked, the witness said. He slept with a revolver on a chair by his bed and a loaded shotgun nearby. A num ber of times in recent years, she testi fied. Combs had seized the shotgun and fired through the door, thinking he heard someone outside. If a neigh bor should borrow anything, such as sugar or coffee, he would not permit her to use these articles when they were returned, for fear they contained poison, the witness said. She added that they had been on very intimate terms with the murder es man and his family and had often accompanied them in their car. On the night before the tragedy, she testified, he slept almost none and muttered and talked to himself, chewing tobac co all night. However, she said, he had acted this way before if he was exercised or unusually nervous. On the morning of the murder they got up as usual and did the work about the house and bard, and had re turned from the milking when he re marked to her: “I see the Bakers, yonder, starting to town.” The witness said she got up and went to the front door to waive a friendly greeting as they went by. Her husband, she said, went out the back way with the gun and intercep ted the Bakers, and the tragedy oc curred. The witness said he returned to a house and told her what he had done, and cried. She said that at no time that morning had he uttered a word against Baker. The witness said she had visited him since he was confined to the jail, and that he had repeatedly asked to be permitted to plead guilty, stating he was afraid of a mob. Witnesses for the defense brought out further testimony Friday to in dicate that the defendant is a person of unsound mind. Among the things told of to bear out the plea his attor neys are making of insanity, and to show it was inherited, were: The de fendant’s brother killed himself; his father was insane; a cousin was in sane; a cousin of the defendant's father was insane; his actions on many occasions were peculiar. Bradley Ray told of an incident which occurred early last fall at a home-coming picnic at Solsberry. Al bert Cox, a school teacher, saw two boys fighting and he separated them. Just then Combs stepped up and struck Cox and turned and walked away without a word. Ray said he asked Combs why he struck Cox, and he replied, as if ashamed of the act: “Don't talk to me about that; I don’t know why I did it.” John Johnson said he saw Combs strike Cox, and a few minutes later saw him return to where Cox was standing and shake hands with him, remarking as he did so: “You may be wrong and may be wrong.” Then without another word he walked away the witness said. William Yoho, a merchant at Sals berry, told of an incident which oc curred last summer. The witness said that without being seen by the de fendant he climbed into a farm wagon which Combs was driving and unex pectedly grabbed him. The defendant was so badly frightened that Yoko had to hold him to keep him from jumping out of the wagon, he said. The witness testified that he was so impressed with the defendant's looks and actions that when he went back to his store he made the statement to persons in the store that he believed Andy Combs would lose his mind, like his father. On Friday, a brother, and the wife of Andrew J. Combs, each told of pe culiar actions of the defendant, which, they said, made them believe he was a person of unsound mind. Mrs.Combs was on the stand from nine o'clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon, and in the cross-examina tion did not vary materially from her original story. Mrs. Combs said she had appealed to two of his brothers to talk to her husband, as she lived in fear of him because of his actions. John R. Combs, Jr., of Bicknell, tes tified that in 1910 Mrs. Combs had told him her husband was acting queerly; that she did not believe he was found mentally, and that some times at nights she would awaken and find him sitting up in bed twirling a revolver in his hands. He said she asked him then to have a talk with her husband, and he asserted he went to him, but the defendant denied such conduct. Before she went to John, she had previously testified, she appealed to another brother, who replied: “Just fill the gun full of sealing wax and let it go at that,” to which she said she replied: “Yes, you know what would become of me if I should do such a thing as that ” . John also testified that on the day of the home-coming celebration, when the defendant struck Albert Cox, a school teacher, he went home with his brother and remained all night, for the reason that he believed that he was mentally unsound, and wished to have a talk with him. He said his brother could give no satisfactory reason why he struck Cox. He was asked by the prosecuting attorney why he did not do something to re lieve his brother’s condition if he be lieved him insane, to which he re plied: “I should have done something but it is a pretty hard thing to do.” Starling Combs, another brother, testified that the defendant had vis ited him at his home at Midland sev eral times last summer, and that on several occasions he arrived at the time the family was ready to eat When invited to eat he always ans wered that he had his food wih him, although he never had any, it was testified. The witness said that when their father and mother died, his brother acted as though he was angry instead of remorseful. At one time, the witness said, Andrew had drawn a check for the full amount of money he had deposited in a bank and that he gave the check and many valua ble papers to him without any in structions as to what to do with them. Albert Cox, a school teacher, testi fied he believed Combs was insane be cause of an incident connected with ‘trouble he had with him at a home coming meeting at Salsberry last summer. Henry Bland, Allen Bland and Wil lam Sizemore, neighbors of Combs, testified to many queer things he had done, and all expressed the opinion that ‘he was of unsound mind. Hezekiah Collins and Jackson Kim ball, neighbors, also testified during the day. Collins said the father of Combs was at one time confined in a hospital for the insane, and Kimball stated that two persons named Bland, relatives of the defendant, had killed themselves and another person by the same name, also a relative, had loco motor ataxia, . Mrs. Combs, in her testimony, said her husband endeavored to induce her to enter a suicide pact, and told of his fears that some person was try ing to poison him. Aaron Combs, of Vincennes, was the last witness called Saturday and his testimony had not been completed when court adjourned for Sunday. The witness told of alleged unusual actions of his brother dating back as much as twenty years. One of thes occasions was when Combs’ wife wanted her husband to go with her to visit her parents, he said, and he ad ded that his brother became angered. He said he would go, the witness tes tified, and added that he would eat out of the same dishes as other mem bers of the family, but would pay for the meals. The next morning he seemed all right and went willingly with his wife for the visit, the witness peaid. Several acquaintances testified they believed the defendant is not sane. Saturday, among them being Sherman Hatfield, Sam Sparks , John Ballinger and Curtis C. Hendren, an attorney, Gilbert H. Hendren, formerly chist examiner for the state board of ac counts, testified as to the good repu tation of Combs, but was not asked an opinion as to his sanity. W. H. Scott and Albert Cox testi fied for the state, and each said he be lieved Combs sane. Cox is the school teacher Whom Combs struck with his fist at the home-coming picnic last summer at Selsberry, according to witnesses previously examined. 3s Twenty-four witnesses were on the witness stand Tuesday for the state as rebuttal witnesses and testified that Combs was of sound mind. In addition to the twenty-four, two physicians, Dr. C. B. Collins, of Ja sonville, and Dr. William R. Cravens, of Bloomfield, in reply to a hypo (Continued on page four)
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Bloomfield News
Bloomfield, Indiana, US
Thu, Feb 09, 1922
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USA 09 Feb 2026
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