Student, Graphologist Back Knaus; Rebuttal Witness Surprises Court

A graduate student stoutly backed the alibi of Albert C. Knaus, Jr. 1E in the forgery trial at the Middlesex Superior Court yesterday, and a handwriting expert said Knaus did not sign the forged checks.

Then, after the defense had rested, the prosecution countered with a surprised rebuttal witness, another Cambridge Trust Company teller, who said he had seen Knaus in the bank some time since September. Knaus has testified he has never been in the bank.

The testimony in the case is now complete. The court will reconvene at 10 a.m. this morning when the attorneys will summarize their cases and the judge will charge the jury. The jury's decision is expected some tine today.

Francis D. Brogan 1E testified that he

"Could Not Have Left"

was with Knaus from 9:45 a.m. until 12 noon January 11. This statement, together with the previous testimony of Knaus's brother and another man, contradicts the testimony of bank teller John M. Fisher who said Knaus cashed a check with him between 10 a.m. and noon January 11.

Brogan said he was with Knaus in Lawrence Hall during the time in question. Brogan added that he left Knaus for ten minutes, but said Knaus could not have left the building without his noticing him.

Handwriting expert Albert D. Osborn, whose handwriting analysis figured in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial in 1935, lectured to the jury about why he thought Knaus had not signed the forged checks. In the cross-examination, Prosecutor Lyman C. Sprague emphasized that Osborn was hired by the defense and that Osborn did find some similarities between Knaus's writing and the writing on the checks.

"Insufficient Samples"

The handwriting analyst employed by the Cambridge police did not testify because he thought the samples he was given were not sufficient to form a judgment.

Bank teller Raymond C. Garran's rebuttal testimony that he had seen Knaus in the Cambridge Trust Company during this school year and had had "some transaction" with him came as a shock to the spectators. Knaus's pretty young wife was sobbing quietly as she left the court.

Among those who testified for the defense was Edward R. M. Kane '51. He said he saw Knaus and his brother together at about 12:30 p.m. January 11