(Testimony of Mrs. Lillian Murret Resumed)
Mrs. Murret.
No; she had not.
Mr. Jenner.
Is Covington very far away?
Mrs. Murret.
No.
Mr. Jenner.
How far away is it?
Mrs. Murret.
Oh, about 100-some-odd miles. It isn't very far away.
Mr. Jenner.
Did she say anything to you at that time as to how she was getting along with her husband?
Mrs. Murret.
Nothing. She just mentioned the boys being on vacation over there, and Lee becoming of school age, and she thought she would just stay there while he went to school.
Mr. Jenner.
You mean the fall term, when she would put him in school in Covington, La.?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
And did she do that?
Mrs. Murret.
I couldn't say whether he went to school there or not. The next I heard is when she left Ekdahl.
Mr. Jenner.
When she left Ekdahl?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
Then to summarize her life with Ekdahl, she married him and she took the boys out, the two older boys, out of the orphanage and put them in military school in Mississippi; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
At her own expense?
Mrs. Murret.
So she said.
Mr. Jenner.
Yes; so she said. That's what she told you?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
She kept Lee with her; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
Was he at that time around 5 years old?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
Or maybe a little older?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
And she had accompanied her husband at least for a time in his travels; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
And she had the boy Lee with her and Mr. Ekdahl; is that right?
Mr. Murret.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
It is your impression that Ekdahl did not support Lee, but that she had to support him; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
I thought, at least she told me, that he did not support Lee either. I thought she told me that. I may be wrong on that.
Mr. Jenner.
Was Ekdahl a man of formal education beyond grammar school?
Mrs. Murret.
I don't know anything about Ekdahl.
Mr. Jenner.
You don't know?
Mrs. Murret.
No.
Mr. Jenner.
But it was your impression that he was previously married and had a son; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
She met him here in New Orleans; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes.
Mr. Jenner.
You don't know under what circumstances, though, do you?
Mrs. Murret.
I don't know; no, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
She spoke to you nothing about the fact that he had a bad heart?
Mrs. Murret.
Oh, she told me that. She said he had a bad heart; a very bad heart, I believe she said.
Mr. Jenner.
And the man's sister had come down from Boston, and she approved of Marguerite, and she urged Mr. Ekdahl to marry her; is that right?
Mrs. Murret.
That's right.
Mr. Jenner.
And they did marry?
Mrs. Murret.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Jenner.
No children were born of that marriage?
Mrs. Murret.
No; I don't think she was married to him very long.
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