Doherty

[Kat]

You might have to get out your source documents to check this stuff.

I'm reading Doherty now in the preliminary hearing. I think if people have Witness Statements and Trial they can cross-check? The thing is I am finding discrepancies in what he says- this is in the final days of August.

Here are my notes:

1.He says Andrew's eye was hanging out "by some thread or something." That it "seemed to be knocked out." (330)

2. The direction he pulled the bed so he could examine Abbie he says was "against the north wall, away from her head."
This is after he says he "went to the foot of the bed; I looked at her. She was laying face downwards between the dressing case and the bed...."

"I wanted to examine the woman, but there was not room...
I walked back to the foot of the bed, up around the north side of the bed, and I pulled it out about three feet, away from her."

He said in answer to the question "Towards the street?" that he "No, pulled it against the north wall, away from her head." (330)

Is this just a matter of giving wrong directions? Any way he pulled the bed to get at her head would be southerly, wouldn't it? His sense of direction seems OK in later uses.
I made a stick drawing of this but I can't figure out his directions.

3. I'm confused as to when he said he saw Lizzie first. He said when he first came he didn't see her, but he didn't go into the dining room. That implies Lizzie was in the dining room. When he returned from phoning he said he then saw Lizzie in the kitchen. (332-3) Where could Lizzie have been when he first came? Or he just didn't see her there?

4. There's a question I have about the hatchet he saw found. The claw-head hatchet was the key weapon relied upon in this Hearing. He says he saw "the hatchet" (undescribed) taken down by Mullaly from a shelf. Yet the claw-head hatchet was on the cutting block. They were not alluding to the HH at this point. This needs checking. I'm assuming they'd be asking about the claw-head. If I find anymore on this later today I will post. (333)

One more question so far:
He said he asked Lizzie if heard any "screams, or outcries?"
He said she responded "No sir. I heard some kind of a peculiar noise." She can't describe it "very well; something like scraping."

I think we should be able to speculate as to what this noise might have been, since it is so vague. Trying to imagine what might be like a scraping sound equal in Lizzie's mind and world?

[Kat]

Now Doherty says that in his presence, Mullaly asked Lizzie what was in Andrew's pockets - what he usually carried. Doherty says she answered that he should have a silver watch and some money and an old pocket book. (337-8)
Doherty says that's all he heard from Mullaly's talk with Lizzie. He's asked what about the house search and they go off on that.

Then Mullaly testifies (346). He says Lizzie told him Andrew had on him a silver watch and chain, a pocket book with money in it, and a gold ring on his little finger. (I'm not putting this in quotes because it is what Mullaly says Lizzie replied.)

Then Mullaly says he told Doherty to look and see if Andrew had that property on him.
Then Adams pipes up with "I will admit that he did look."
Mullaly tries to further his answer by proceeding with the sentence: "He [Doherty] reported to me that his [Andrew's] watch..."
And Adams pipes up again with "I will admit that."
Mullaly proceeds to finish his point: "He reported to me that his watch and chain was on him."
Question: "And his pocke tbook?"
Mullaly answered "He [Doherty] did not say anything about the pocket book."

These are more curious discrepancies. If anyone is looking up the trial info can they check if this was ever explained?