Page:The Great Harry Thaw Case.djvu/68

 and coming up to Mr. White from behind suddenly faced him and fired three times."

Henry S. Plaese, superintendent of the publishing company that owned the rights of "Mam'zelle Champaigne," was the next witness. He saw the defendant the night of the killing in the rear of the roof garden, opposite the center aisle. Mr. Plaese was standing with Mr. Cohen, the previous witness. Thaw stood before them for six or seven minutes, looking to the right and left.

After the first act he next saw Thaw just previous to the shooting. White was seated, facing the stage, his head leaning on his right hand. There was no conversation when Thaw approached White, and the former immediately began firing.

Thaw then retreated toward the rear of the garden, with his right hand elevated, "the barrel of the pistol being pointed upward."

The weapon with which White was killed was brought into the case during the testimony of Paul Brudi, the fireman who disarmed Thaw after the fatal shots were fired. Brudi, who appeared on the stand in uniform, identified the pistol when it was shown to him, and said that after taking it from the prisoner he turned it over to the police.

"I remember hearing only two shots," said Brudi in relating the events of the evening of the tragedy, "when I rushed up and grabbed the prisoner, who had his arms uplifted."