100 years ago in Spokane: More twists and turns in Maurice P. Codd murder trial

The scandal involving the Maurice P. Codd murder trial kept growing and growing.

First, a special grand jury indicted Rose Fagan, a key defense witness, for perjury. The indictment charged that she did not see Frank Brinton fall to his death by accident, as she alleged on the stand.

A number of other indictments were handed down, but the names were held pending their arrest.

In another shocking development, the son of a juror was arrested for witness tampering. Fred Botts was the son of C.E. Botts, a juror who died shortly after the trial. Fred Botts was accused of preventing Beatrice Sant, another key defense witness, from appearing before the grand jury. The younger Botts was accused of keeping her “in hiding, with the intent to obstruct the course of justice.”

Botts’ sister, Mrs. J.W. Fryett, was also being sought by the grand jury investigators. Sant and Fryett were still nowhere to be found.

“It is now my duty and the duty of the sheriff’s office to try and apprehend some of the persons indicted,” said the prosecutor. “It has been a trying situation and has taken practically all of my time since the grand jury convened. I hope that the investigation will bring good results.”

The prosecutor’s office was convinced that there were numerous irregularities in the trial, which ended in a controversial acquittal for Codd.

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(From the Associated Press)

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