Chapter 7 Section 7

Needless to say, all the local newspapers mobilized, and a large number of media from New York, Philadelphia and other places also rushed in.The furthest came from Europe, with London, Paris and Berlin all sending their own reporters.Using the emerging telegraph technology at the time, they could transmit messages across the Atlantic within 24 hours.To this day, the Harvard University archives contain a front-page story from a German newspaper in 1850 about the "Boston Tragedy." In addition to daily reports, many media also issued pamphlets similar to "One Week Review of Trial Trials" on weekends.After the trial was over, at least three Boston newspapers and one New York newspaper compiled and published their reports on the entire case.

At 8:00, reporters and spectators file in and take their seats one by one.According to the "Boston Journal": "There was an exchange of opinions on the case in low whispers, and every face was written with excitement and the satisfaction of their own good luck. Everyone except John Wayne, who looked calm. Professor Sturt, who was brought into court at ten minutes to nine, in iron cuffs . . . his demeanor was more that of a learned scholar than of a heinous criminal." Another report said: "The professor's gait was not heavy, he appeared calm, friendly, and tried to maintain his dignity. During the less than 20 steps he was taken to the 'prisoner's box', the professor repeatedly asked friends and acquaintances Nodding... Only when he took off his glasses and wiped them, his bloodshot eyes faintly revealed the melancholy, anxiety, and perhaps a sleepless night he had experienced." More than 100 years ago, the perpetrator was not He sits in the dock with his lawyers, but is locked alone in a square cage called the "Prisoner's Dock" in a slightly elevated center of the courtroom.

At 9 o'clock sharp, the "judge group" took their seats.According to Massachusetts' 19th-century law, capital punishment cases must be heard by a panel of at least three Supreme Court judges.There were five justices on the Massachusetts Supreme Court at the time.All but one are sick -- Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw is center, with Justices Charles Dewey to his left and Justices Shamuel Weld and Soren Maykoff to his right . Next, the jury is selected, the indictment is read, and the state Attorney General Jon Cliff makes an opening statement on behalf of the prosecution.The prosecutor said that the witnesses of the prosecution will prove to the court: 1. Dr. George Peckman has been murdered to death; 2. The murderer of Dr. George Peckman is Professor John West.

As mentioned earlier, one of the original materials preserved in this case is the testimony of various witnesses recorded in court documents, etc.Due to the age, the handwriting that should be written in blue ink has faded to light brown.And, in court, the way witnesses state their statements is to answer lawyers' questions, but those questions are omitted from the record, so what's left are answers that don't read coherently. After Jon Cliff finished his speech, the chief public prosecutor hired by the Pikeman family with a lot of money—this is extremely rare in the history of American justice—George Bemis summoned their first witness:

My name is Joss M. Kensley, and I live at 56 Brosson Street, Boston.I am Dr. George Pikeman's leasing manager, managing properties, collecting rent, etc. for him.He asked me to present to him the accounts of the day every day.Dr. Peckman owns most of the real estate surrounding Harvard Medical School, and he frequents the area. On the afternoon of Friday, November 23, as usual, I arrived at the Peckman's house at about 3 o'clock, because the doctor has lunch at 2:30 every day.I heard that he did not come home for dinner that day. I left my report for the day and left.The next morning, his family informed me that Dr. was missing.I took a general look at the situation and learned that he had a meeting at 1:30 pm on Friday, but at that time no one knew who he was going to meet.Afterwards I wandered the streets of Boston.The last whereabouts of Dr. Peckman that I have been able to find was near the medical school.

The news spreads to ten, ten to hundreds.Many people knew that the doctor was missing, and they all helped to find him until eleven or twelve o'clock in the evening.There were also about 12 to 15 police gentlemen helping out. By that night, we had searched many houses around Harvard.On Sunday, I went to East Cambridge to look for it.On Monday, I went to medical school again with Officer Starwell.Together with Evren Littlefield and Dr. Ainsworth, we inspected all the rooms and drains of the anatomy laboratory.I remember Yves using the key to open the lock on the drain cover. The door of Professor West's laboratory on the second floor was closed. We knocked for a while, but no one answered.Officer Starwell and I turned to leave, but Yverren shook the doorknob vigorously.About two minutes later, Professor West opened the door.We said we were here for Dr. Peckman.I don't remember what Professor West said.He didn't seem to mind us very much, and followed us into the laboratory.We searched his room.

At 10 a.m. the next day, I returned to the medical school with three officers, Clark, Rice, and Fuller.Professor West opened the door.Ifzhin has been with us.We also searched every room and closet where the Ivzhin family lived.I even touched the drying clothes with my hands, looked under the bed, and searched thoroughly. We descended through the hatch in the hall floor to the basement below the floor, and then back to Professor West's laboratory.Officer Clark made an excuse that we had to search every house in the area, that we didn't suspect anyone in the building, we were just on a mission.

We checked the lab, looked around the bathroom.Officer Clark pushed open the door of the secret room on the second floor.Professor West said it was full of valuables and dangerous goods.Officer Clark stood in the doorway, poking his head in, joking that he didn't want to go in and blow his head off. I dipped my feet into the unlit furnace and turned over the ashes.Then we went down to the laboratory on the first floor, where the big furnace was burning brightly, and the hearth seemed to have just been cleaned.I saw a tea chest with tanned hides in it and some ore on top.I mentioned this incident to people later, because I saw it at a glance at the time, so I was very impressed.