After William Hickman’s testimony, Edward’s attorneys had some concern over the upcoming testimony of Eva Hickman, Edward’s mother. William Hickman testified as to his ex-wife’s fragile emotional state, causing both Jerome Walsh and Richard Cantillon to wonder if she would be helpful to their case or a hindrance. The unpredictable nature of this woman, as her history was described in court, could hamper their attempt to help her son avoid the gallows. On the one hand, they realized that any display of possible insanity on the part of Eva Hickman could be beneficial in their attempts to prove the same state for Edward. On the other hand, they pondered that perhaps she could be coherent enough to offer instances in which the jury would find it difficult to believe Edward to be insane at the time of Marion Parker’s murder. Would lucidity be detrimental to the case?
Walsh and Cantillon met Eva Hickman for lunch and worked hard to impress on her the importance of her testimony to save Edward from the gallows. She seemed to understand and, after spending most of the meal in abject silence, began to respond well to the lawyers’ questions. She was not particularly eloquent, but she was clear. She did not embellish, but she did offer enough necessary information. And even when she seemed relaxed and comfortable with the lawyers, there was a discernible underlying jitteriness to her manner that was as compelling as it was disconcerting. Walsh and Cantillon returned to the courthouse with Eva at 2:00 p.m. after the recess had elapsed.
Eva Hickman entered the courtroom with all eyes on her. She was assisted by Richard Cantillon, who took her arm and led her to the area where Edward was sitting with his head bowed. She put her hand on Edward’s shoulder. He looked up at his mother. As the two faced each other, they shared a certain glint in their eye, something that was difficult for reporters or later accounts to describe. But everyone in the courtroom noticed. One woman even said aloud, “Oh, my god!” and the bailiff was so engrossed that he did not quiet her with his gavel. Edward seemed to notice this outburst and quickly looked down again.
Suddenly, the judge’s voice broke the tension.
“Will counsel direct his witness to the stand?”[1]
Richard Cantillon made a plea to the judge to ask leading questions, a method usually not allowed in a case such as this. Eva Hickman, it was determined, would likely need to be led in order to recall events that were necessary to the case. The judge allowed this, overruling an objection from the prosecution.
Eva Hickman was sworn in and took the stand. Her voice was small, tinny, and shaky as she recounted the mental deterioration that ate away at her mother, Rebecca Buck. She was twice asked to speak up because the jurors could not hear her. Eva’s testimony coincided well with her ex-husband’s earlier that same day, except that she was able to offer even greater detail to her family’s troubles. Jurors were transfixed as Eva Hickman recalled how, as a child, she would carry a lantern while her father searched for her mother in the dark night, with Rebecca Buck’s piercing screams as their only guide.
In regard to her own state, however, Eva Hickman had no details. When attempting to lead her in the direction of clarifying her situation with her marriage to William Thomas Hickman and her reaction to him emotionally and sexually, Eva continually responded to lawyer queries with, “I can’t recall.”
Eva’s voice remained weak, with little inflection. The expression on her face never changed. Spectators concentrated carefully on her, but Edward remained with his head bowed, offering no discernible reaction to his mother’s testimony.
Regarding Edward, Eva recalled his deep hatred for his father after William Thomas Hickman left the confines of his disruptive family life. She also recalled Edward’s eloquence, popularity in school, and success as a teenager in academic and cultural events. She pointed to Edward’s losing the oratorical contest as the catalyst for his descent into the madness that eventually led to his petty crimes. Eva Hickman’s voice quivered. Recalling the citizen her son Edward had been and the fiend he had now become affected her emotionally. She tried not to show it. But she had more to say.
After the forgery charge, Edward returned to Kansas City in disgrace. He was no longer the master debater and popular high school vice president. He was a common thief whose petty crime had obliterated any of his past accomplishments. Little did the townspeople or his mother know that he had already committed two murders by this time. It was a secret that Edward was able to keep until being arrested for killing Marion Parker.
Eva Hickman ended her testimony by recalling how Edward left home without a good-bye when he eventually returned to California with the idea that he needed $1,500 to enter a religious college and become a minister. She didn’t hear from him again until discovering that her son had been charged with the murder and dismemberment of a twelve-year-old child. She learned this information from a newsboy shouting headlines on a Kansas City street corner.
The defense had concluded its questioning, but the prosecution had no questions for Eva Hickman. There was nothing she could offer their case, and she would likely not bear up well during cross-examination. As a result, court was adjourned.
Cantillon and Walsh had plans to examine a series of important depositions that pertained to the Buck family insanity from other family members and close friends. These would be presented to the court the following day.
Eva Hickman left the courtroom slowly, her gray hair tied in a tight bun at the back of her head, stretching her forlorn face. She still had the indescribable glint in her eye as she was gently led through the courtroom and out the door she had come in. Reporters later commented on the discernible look of a lifetime of suffering that was evident in her face. She also appeared to be emotionally drained, indicating that the questioning had taken a great deal out of her.
The mother of Edward Hickman was suffering. The jurors could see that. But it was not enough to make them forget how much more painfully the mother of Marion Parker was suffering over the same crime. As Eva Hickman left the courtroom, all eyes were on her except for Edward’s. He was still looking down.
The testimony of Eva Hickman, Edward’s mother, is taken from the court transcripts, vol. 2, 734–44.