ASSASSIN ON TRIAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21245, 27 July 1932, Page 11

ASSASSIN ON TRIAL

GREAT PUBLIC INTEREST LATE M. DOUMER'S DEATH STATEMENT BY ACCUSED By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright PARIS, July 25 The trial was begun 10-day in the Palais de Justice of the Russian Gorguloff, on the charge of assassinating the late President Dourner. Although a queue of all classes of people had waited from dawn, > only those connected with the caso were admitted to the Court. Two gendarmes shouldered Gorguloff into the dock, where he collapsed on a „ seat. He replied monotonously to the President's questions, but suddenly exclaimed: "I expect justice only in heaven." Henri Geraud, defending counsel, waived, the request of three experts to declare Gorgulriff insane. The accused detailed the events of his career and said: "I do not rjemembcr what happened when I shot M. Doumer. I was in a demoniacal sleep. I pulled the trigger onco but the pistol was an automatic and continued to fire." Gorguloff then expounded his ideals, including his ambition to become a dictator. M. Paul Doumer died on May 7 as the result of bullet wounds inflicted by an assassin. The President, on the previous afternoon, was attending a buck exhibition arranged for the benefit of war veterans and held in Mr. Solomon Rothschild's house, near the Klysee., Paris. The usual guard of detectives was present, but no one contemplated- 1 lie possibility of an attempted assassination on.such an occasion. M. Doumer was crossing the room to speak to M. Claude Sarrere, a well : known author, who had charge of a bookstall, when a powerfully-built Russian, at least 6ft. Sin. in height, neatly dressed in a black suit, and wearing black glassed, turned from the stall and fired four shots from a revolver at the President at a distance of three foet. He also wounded M. Sarrere in one hand and M. Guicbard, a detective. M. Doumer waved an arm and then collapsed, clutching at his body. .As he fell lie was heard to mutter: "Is it possible?" ■ / The assassin,' Gorguloff, told the examining magistrate an astonishing story subsequently. He said he had long been dominated by the i£ca of killing M. Doumer. On the day of the murder he went to Notre Dame Cathedral and prayed for hours to dispel the obsession, but failed in that object. He even vainly tried to provoke a policeman to arrest him by inquiring what would happen if he murdered someone. After that he Went to a cafe and drank the contents of a. bottle ot cognac in an unsuccessful attempt to become intoxicated, but the idea of murder persisted Gorguloff said he then went to the book exhibition. He declared he was in a state of hypnosis when he shot M. Doumer.