The Trial
TRIAL BEGINS - NOVEMBER 7, 19555
Jury selection for the trial began on November 7, 1955. District Attorney J. Frank Coakley made it clear he would seek the death penalty, and he dismissed four jurors who expressed objections to capital punishment. Reporters Gale Cook and Ed Montgomery wrote, "The atmosphere of the trial throughout the first day was one of electric, subsurface tension and cordial, mell mannered surface formality. Abbott himself set the tenor, playing the role of suave, unruffled defendant, detached, casual and confident."
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November 8, 1955 (page one) November 8, 1955 (page two) November 8, 1955 (page three) November 8, 1955 (page four) November 9, 1955 (page one) November 9, 1955 (page two) November 9, 1955 (page three) November 9, 1955 (page three)
TRIAL CONTINUES
Several witnesses claim to have seen someone matching Burton Abbott's description in Berkeley on the afternoon when Stephanie Bryan disappeared.
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November 19, 1955 (page one) November 19, 1955 (page two) November 19, 1955 (page tree)
TESTIMONY ABOUT HOW BRYAN DIED - DECEMBER 2, 1956
In early December, Dr. George S. Loquvam took the stand. He was the 43rd witness to testify. The pathologist had exhumed Stephanie Bryan's body from the hillside grave in Trinity County. Judge Snook would not admit autopsy photos into evidence.
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December 3, 1955 (page one) December 3, 1955 (page two) December 3, 1955 (page three)
FORENSIC EVIDENCE - DECEMBER 12, 1956
Criminologist Dr. Paul Kirk took the stand in mid-December, shortly before the prosecution rested. He told the jury that after analyzing hair found in Abbott's car, "I arrived at a minimum value of 125,000 to one that these were Stephanie's hairs." During Kirk's testimony, Defense Attorney Stanley Whitney held up the book, "How to Lie with Statistics," so that the title could easily be read. Kirk was the 53rd witness and final witness called by the prosecution.
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December 13, 1955 (page one) December 13, 1955 (page two) December 13, 1955 (page three)
ABBOTT TAKES THE STAND - DECEMBER 15, 1956
Burton Abbott took the stand in his own defense on December 15. He swore he had never seen Stephanie Bryan, but the prosecution raised doubts about his credibility. Abbott was the 69th witness in the trial.
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December 16, 1955 (page one) December 16, 1955 (page two) December 16, 1955 (page three)
JURY DELIBERATES - JANUARY 19, 1956
The district attorney told the jury, "If there is any compromise with life imprisonment, a great injustice will be done to every person who has ever received the death penalty." They began to deliberate on January 19, 1956.
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January 19, 1955 (page one) January 19, 1955 (page two) January 20, 1955 (page three) January 20, 1955 (page three) January 20, 1955 (page three)
