stamfordconnecticut

Judge William Henry Williams (b.1850) presided.over the twelve day jury trial of Mrs. Helen M. Angle in March, 1915, for manslaughter in the death of her friend Waldo R. Ballou in Stamford, (Fairfield County) Connecticut in June, 1914. The trial was held in the Superior Court at Bridgeport, Connecticut, the county seat of Fairfield County. The all male jury had an average age of fifty, the youngest was thirty five. The question before the jury was, did Waldo Ballou, Helen Angle's elderly suitor, fall down the stairs from Helen's apartment, after calling on her late one night, fracturing his skull... or was he, as the State contends, pushed -- or hit over the head with an iron? Judge Williams twice warned the lawyers and press against untimely disclosure or discussions of the evidence to be introduced. He said that under Connecticut law any one making public testimony in advance of its introduction in court would be open to a charge of contempt. Mrs Angle took the stand in her own defense, and told her version of what happened on the night of June 23, 1914. More than 500 people were turned away from the packed courtroom. After a twelve day trial the jury deliberated for one hour and forty-five minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty, after three ballots. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Judge William H. Williams was State's Attorney for New Haven County, and a partner in the firm of Wooster, Williams & Gager.  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]  

Thanks Pixel Wrangler, We'll add his full name to our record.

Connecticut State Attorney Homer Stille Cummings (1870-1956) prosecuted Mrs. Helen M. Angle in her March, 1915, trial for manslaughter in the death of her friend Waldo R. Ballou in Stamford, Connecticut in June, 1914. Cummings was assisted at trial by Albert Phillips of Stamford, former secretary of state for Connecticut (1913-1915).

Homer Cummings was appointed State's Attorney for Fairfield County, Connecticut, on July 1, 1914, and his first official act was to take up the inquiry into the death of Waldo Ballou. Cummings served as State's Attorney for ten years from 1914 to 1924.

The Government did not prevail in its case against Helen Angle. For more details of the Helen Angle trial see the Bain/LOC photo of Mrs. Helen Angle on Flickr.

 
In 1893, Cummings graduated from Yale Law School in New Haven. He was elected mayor of Stamford, Connecticut three times from 1900-1906. As mayor, in 1905, Cummings appointed William H. Brennan as Chief of Police for Stamford. Brennan would later investigate the case against Helen Angle and testify against her.

Homer Cummings founded the legal firm of Cummings & Lockwood in 1909. He later served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee between 1919 and 1920. He went on to serve as United States Attorney General for Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1939.

"In 1947 Hollywood made a motion picture called "Boomerang" about Cumming's early career as a prosecutor in Connecticut. This was a sensational murder case that also included a dramatic courtroom scene where Cummings had a live gun aimed at his head at a certain angle and fired. This was to show that the gun could indeed fire but not at the angle a witness said it was used. In this trial Cummings also turned around to prove the man he was prosecuting was innocent after he found evidence to that effect. "Boomerang" became a landmark motion picture for its fully dramatic but documentary style where Cummings real name was not announced till the end of the film which starred Dana Andrews as Cummings"  [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

 
There is another Bain/LOC photograph of Homer S. Cummings here:

Mrs. Helen M. Angle was on trial in March, 1915, for manslaughter in the death of her friend Waldo R. Ballou in Stamford, Connecticut on June 23, 1914. Helen was divorced from her husband of twelve years, Frank W. Angle. Her father was Leonard Blondel, a wealthy former Stamford Councilman who was retired from the coal and road contracting business Waldo Ballou was was a friend of her fathers, and a leading Republican politician and Stamford business man. Helen met Waldo in 1911 after his wife died. Waldo proposed to Helen several times, but she said he was too old. He was 69, she was 40. Mrs Angle took the stand in her own defense, and told her version of what happened on the night of June 23, 1914. More than 500 people were turned away from the packed courtroom. After a twelve day trial the jury deliberated for one hour and forty-five minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty, after three ballots. Judge William H. Williams presided. Eight months after the trial, Helen remarried her former husband, Frank Angle, a foreman at Union Metallic Cartridge Company in Stamford. It was said that during her trial Mr Angle's sympathies were aroused, and he was a frequent visitor in the court. [1] [2] [3]  

There are several low-angle shots from inside the courtroom. I wonder if they were taken surreptitously?

Thanks Pixel Wrangler for her full name, we will update our record. That's a good question artolog. I think it would be hard to sneak a camera from that time period in, but he may have been able to take in his camera because he took photos before and after the trial. The only thing I'm unsure of, is if he could take multiple photos without making any noise or being disruptive. He would have had to change the glass negatives and that seems like that would be hard to do secretly. That's all assumption on my part. Feel free to suggest other reasons.