ALL STATE TESTIMONY IN.
Evidence for the Defense Next in Line in
the Sheedy Case.
MRS. SWIFT TELLS DAMAGING TALES.
What Mrs. Sheedy's Friend Knows of
the Family Affairs---McFarland's
Statement to the Coroner
Entered as Evidence.
LINCOLN, Neb., May 20.--[Special to THE BEE]---All the testimony on behalf of the state is now in that will be introduced in the great Sheedy murder trial. Tomorow the it is probable that this testimony will not be through with until the middel of next week.
The latter half of today the testimony was decidedly statrting and even senstional.
The most important witness yet examined was brought on the stand. It was Mrs. P. H. Swift. It leaked out that she was an important witeness and it was developed in the testimony that Strode, the attorney for Mrs. Sheedd, had had a long talk with her and had endeavored by working on her friendship for Mrs. Sheedy to attempt to induce her to suppress certain things she knew and told her that her testimony was the most damaging that the state had, and was in fact the only evidence that the state had that would convict Mrs. Sheedy. The effect of this conversation was very apparent on the witness and it was with the greatest difficulty that an answer could be gotten out of her. In fact for the first quarter of an hour she carefully avoided saying anyting at all. Finally the court got disgusted and allowed Mr. Lamberston to ask the witness leading questions. Even then the witness attempted evasion, bus finally some startling things were revealed by her. The persistent and desperate fight on the past of Strode to keep the witness from testifying and the intense interest Mrs. Sheedy took in the matter was a cue ti the crowd that some thing was up, and they bent eagerly forward to catch what the witness would testify to.
It was in vain, however, as even the jury could not hear her reldctant and low toned answers and they had to be repeated by the stenographer.
Mrs. Sheedy, as usual when a friend or acquaintance was put on the stand, came forward and cast her magnetic and commanding black eyes on the wintess, looked at her similingly and yet the same time there was a flash in her eye that dared the witness to tell what she knew. Neverthless the witness told some things. The wintess testifed:
" I was in the habit of visting Mrs. Sheedy some five or six months before Mr. Sheedy died. She did not speak of him as well as a wife should who loved husband. She said he was jealous of her and would not let her do as she wished. She told me last November that he had threatend to kill her with a revolver. She told me that this was the result of a quarrel over a relative. When she complained to me I laughed and told her that I had heard that hse had lost a ring and that her husband had got angry and charged her with having given it away. She said that was not what she refered to. At another time she said she had the blues awful bad becouse Mr. Sheedy was so jealous of her she couldn't enjoy herself at all. I said to her you do not know how well fixed you are: you have everything you wish. She said " Give me a laboring man who get his wages every day instead of a man like Sheedy.' "
Mr. Lamberston asked the witness at this juncture what Mrs. Sheedy had said in regard to bearing childern.
Mrs. Sheedy's eyes twinkeld [Dr?] at this, and she flased a threating look at the witness. Neverthless, Mrs. Swift continued:
" She told me once that she would give anything if she could have a child. Two or three months after she returned from Buffalo she told me she enciente and didn't intend to have it. She told me afterwards that she had used something to get rid of having the child. and at the time was all right. She said that her reason for doing so was becouse her husband was mean to her at that time.
She told me that had fixed to leave him at one time. This was along in the first of November. One day when I went to the Sheedy residence I had some trouble in brining anybody to the door. Finally the servant girl came. "
The remainder of the question and answers were of such a nature that it was apparnt Monday McFarland was there, but the real condtition of affairs are not fit for publication.
The witness further testifed: " I was there on the day Mr. Sheedy died. She told me that Mr. Sheedy could not live. I told her that hot water and mustard plasters would help him. She said that it was useless to give him anything. "
Mrs. Sheedy then rested her dimpled chin on Strode's shoulder, and putting her lips to his ear, whispered something.
