“Can you tell what probable effect would be as to the diffusion or scatter of blood from the wounds of Mr. Borden?”
“Mere guess work, sir, in my mind.”
“Why so?”
“Because of the nature of the wounds.”
“Assuming that spots were seen upon the wall immediately over the head and a little to the front of Mr. Borden, in large number, eighty to a hundred; that spots were seen upon a picture upon the wall midway over the body to the extent of forty or fifty; that spots were seen upon the door which was in the general direction beyond his feet; and that other spots were seen upon the door which was in a general direction behind his head and between him and beyond the space where the assailant stood; in your opinion, would the assailant of necessity receive some spatters of blood upon his clothes or person?”
“I should think so.”
“What part of the person would have been spattered?”
“The part that was exposed, that was not covered either by furniture or by other protecting substances.”
“You have concurred, I believe, in the opinion expressed that the assailant of Mrs. Borden stood astride of her, or over her, when she was lying down.”
“That is to my mind the most natural position in which those blows were given.”
“And you have heard the testimony about the blood spots. That is to say, that there were many blood spots upon the drawers and the edges of the bureau to her left; that there were a few spots on the sham to her right and upon the upper part of the spread; and that there were some spots upon the mirror of the bureau and the marble of the bureau, quite large numbers. You have heard that?”
“I have heard it, yes, sir.”
“Taking into account those spots and the number of injuries that she received, and the appearances of the flowing of the blood there from these injuries, would not of necessity the assailant have been spattered with blood?”
“I should think so.”
“What portion of the body of the assailant, in your opinion, would have received those spatters?”
“I should think the front of the dress. Possibly the face. Possibly the hair.”
“When you say ‘dress’, you speak of the clothing worn by all sexes?”
“Yes.”
“Any other portion of the body?”
“Well, it is not incredible — it is not inconceivable — that some may have gone into the air and come down upon the back.”
“If the injuries had been made with a hatchet similar to the handleless hatchet, having a handle substantially a foot long, would not the assailant, standing in that position, of necessity, in giving the blows, been very near the head in bending over to the head of the assaulted?”
“That would be the natural position.”
“And in that situation, giving repeated blows, would not you expect it would follow that the upper portion — the head, the face, the hair of the assailant, assuming that it was not covered — would be spattered with blood?”
“That is reasonable.”
My name is David W. Cheever. I reside in Boston. I am a physician and surgeon, educated in the Harvard Medical School. I was also in Europe a little while, at the Medical School of Paris. I’ve been practicing for thirty-five years and have given attention a good deal of that time to surgery. I was also a demonstrator of anatomy in the Harvard Medical School, and have been a professor of surgery there since 1882. I am a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society, and have been connected with the City Hospital, as one of the surgeons, since 1864. I have been called upon to give my opinion in court in matters in my profession only moderately.
I have heard the testimony with references to the position and surroundings of the bodies as they were found, and the character and color of the blood and the heat of the bodies.
I have also heard Profesor Wood’s testimony, and that of Dr. Draper and Dr. Dolan.
As far as my own observations go, they have nothing at all to do with the plaster casts or the cuts, for I never saw the bodies. I was shown the skulls of Mr. and Mrs. Borden, and since then I have made a study of both of them. My own observation was confined to the injuries to the bones.
These indicated that they were made by a heavy, metallic weapon with a cutting edge beveled, with a sharp angle, and with the cutting edge not exceeding three and a half inches in length, and that it was attached to a lever or handle like a hatchet, or some such instrument as that.
I have also examined this hatchet head, and I think it could have caused the wounds I found.
The wounds do not require that the cutting edge should be any longer than three and a half inches — because the wounds could be made by slashing through the flesh — but most of the cuts would seem to show that the edge must have been nearly that length.
I do not think a very narrow hatchet would make them.
I say that it was a cutting edge of not more than three and a half inches because on examining the skull of Mr. Borden, I found that no wider edge than that would reach the carotid wound in the artery, or reach the later wound in the jaw.
Regarding Mrs. Borden’s body, I think all the wounds except three were inflicted when she was flat upon her face upon the floor.
I think this scalp wound was inflicted when the assailant was face to face with the victim. It seems to cut from the front; it failed to come out on the other side. My supposition is that when that blow was given, the victim started back, and the hatchet failed to go through, and it glanced.
The other two wounds could have been given in an awkward way, with the head in this position. They would have been more easily given with the person standing up.
Judging from the nature of the skull wounds, the sharpness of the instrument, the weight of it, the wounds of both Mr. Borden and Mrs. Borden, all the wounds could have been inflicted by a hatchet of ordinary size, wielded by a woman of ordinary strength. With a handle of sufficiently long leverage. I should think not less than twelve or fourteen inches.
“You would agree that there would be a great deal of effusion of blood in consequence of cutting the carotid artery?”
“It would depend upon the date of that blow with reference to the other injuries. If it was one of the last, or the last blow that was given, the victim might have been already nearly dead, and the circulation may have been very feeble, and the amount of blood poured out by the heart there may have been small compared to what it would have been if it had been first. It would depend somewhat on that. Usually, the blood from the internal carotid artery is very large and instantaneous.”
“Comes with a gush, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And there are arteries in the head that spurt, are there not?”
“When they are cut into the air on the surface, they spurt.”
“And how much in distance do they spurt?”
“Four to six feet.”
“Is there in the head a temporal artery somewhere in the region where these injuries were disclosed upon the head of Mr. Borden?”
“Yes, sir. Two of the cuts there would go through it.”
“Would you expect a spurting from such cuts?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And a spurting of how much distance?”
“Extending several feet.”
“Would it throw drops?”
“A spray.”
“A spray of drops?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you perform any surgical operations in the course of your practice, doctor?”
“Yes, I have a good many.”
“And you perform many operations upon the head?”
“Yes, sir.”
“And when you perform an operation, do you ordinarily put on different outer clothing?”