Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1884 — WHO POISONED ALVA SPENCER? [ARTICLE]

WHO POISONED ALVA SPENCER?

From The White County Democrat

A QUERY THAT REMAINS FOR JUDICIAL SOLUTION. The Parties Accused of the Crime Admitted to Bail. The chemical analysis of Prof. Peters confirms the suspicion ihat Alva Spencer died from the eliects of poison. It does not appear, from the evidence given on motion to admit to oaiL, whether the poison was administered purposely or by mistake, or by whom. As announced in last week’s Democrat, Solomon Spencer was admitted to bail in the £um of SIO,OOO without preliminary examination. His recognizance jh signed by Dr. Wm. Spencer. Thomas and Lucy Keever gave bonds in the sum ol $5,000 eaeb, 6igr ed by H. 8. Stine, Andrew S. Culp, Robert Keever, jr., Jas. 0. Weaver, Ferry Gladden and John Keever. The following is tbe substance of the testimony given on the motion to admit Thomas and Lucy Keever to bail: Perry Spencer sworn: Am brother of deceased. Defendants, Thomas Keever and wife, were keeping house for him. First heard of his sickness in February, 1882. while here in town; went, home and called at his house same day. Hnd Dr * dark called and told him I wanted him to take charge of patient and it necessary to att.md thr o or four times daily. Employed Jacob Buchanan to wait on my other and at tended about half the time myself- Afte four or five visits, Dr. G ck dismissed my brother as convalesce . After this he seemed to be getting : ng all right but suffered two or In. relapses, :it which times Buchanan s.h .i s sent Geo. Fierce after me. About tho third time 1 was sent for in this way, my brother va< Very much worse, and defendant, Tno uas Keever, was cut fur Dr. Claik. jj> icturned and said that Dr. Clark had re fused to come, and after hurling after him a few parting oaths, had told dim to go home. He also said that he had told Dr. Robinson to come down. Deceased grew much worse; complained of pains in the stomach; told witness that there was a‘death-seed’ in bis stomach and said, ‘Ferry they have gotten away with me and they will get away with you too.’ Alva had asked witness to assist him in building in the summer of ’B2, and said that he had 1,000 and it witness would loan him $2,000 he could get along. After his death witness could'not find but about half of the SI,OOO which his brother claimed to have had. Had suspicions ot foul play at the time of Alva’s death.

Cross examination by Mr. Dale for defense: Did not commence this investigation until about two months ago when I employed a Mr. Johnson, of Pinkerton's Agency, Chicago. My brother Solomon Spencer attempted to have me indicted by the grand jury last February Hr the larceny of six head of steers belonging to tire estate ot my brother Alva. It was after this that I determined on an investigation. Robert Spencer sworn: Deceased was my uncle, am a son of Perry Spencer; my ui cle and I was fast friends and it was gererally known and understood that at his death I was to get nil his estate, Saw deceased at his home on Sat urdav night before he was taken sick. He showed me his gold which tie kept in a purse and which amounted to $55. My attention was attracted to a $lO gold piece which he always carried—it was a relic. This coin has not been found since.

Prof. Peters sworn: Reside in Lafay-, ette, Ind. Am (State Chemist. Some two weeks since, at request of Perry Spencer and in company with a number of gentlemen, I exhumed remains ot deceased and after removing the entire alimentary canal, the heart,!iver. kidneys, bladder aud part of the lungs, took the same in sealed jar 3to Purdue University and analyzed them. [Here ti.e professor relieved himself of some hundreds of technical and double hyph. enated words of from fen to sixteen svl* lables and after coming down to plain English informed the court that he had found arsenic in such quan dies as to produce death and that no one could have inserted the same afier he took possession of the remains. The body was in a remaikable state of oreserva tion and this arsenic lmd evidently permeated every tissue.] Dr. Clark sworn: Am Coroner of White county, and waited on deceased during his late illness. Gave him no arsenic nor poison of any kind, and when I dissmissed deceased from my care he was getting along very nicely. Dr. Cowger was here called and stated that he had called on deceased after Dr. Clark had dismissed him as cent, but had not administered any poison. Jacob Buchanat. sworn: I waited on deceased as nurse. When he was taken .worse I sent Thomas Keeyer for Dr. Clark, who returned and said Clark would not come, but that ho had «» cured ir- R bicson. I gave tle deceased no poison, »nd only the three defeudems,

Perry Spencer, his physican and myself ■ had opportcuity to do so. When dta ceased grew worse he turned on his back, stretched out his arms, and rolling Ida eyes back in bis head, asked witness If he could not get stomceh pump and get ‘it’ out of his stomach He afterward oecame delirious and tor nearly an hour laid on his back and repeated the single word ‘pump, pump, pump.’ Met Dr. Clark at posioffice in Monticello the day Alva was buried, and cursed him for playing oft on me and leaving Alva to die on my hands. Said, I believe you knew he was going to die when you left there and pimply wanted to get out of the case.’ Deceased, before death came to his relief, seemed in great agony and complained of pains in his stomach aud bowelsA. Conkling sworn: Am tenant of Perry Spencer. Deceased resided near me. The dependents, Thomas Keever aud wife, spent Sunday at my house some time in Mareh, ‘it wa3 before 1 began to plow for corn.’ Mrs. tveever again came to my bouse in Juue when /my corn was about so high,’(indicating height). She carried a small oldfashioned pocket-book which seemed to be entirely filled, but I did not see contents.

Oross-cxamined by counsel for defense; This last visit was in June, »hB2. ‘My corn wa3 about so lii£rh,’ (indicating height). A. G. Johnson sworn: Am a detec J five from t inkerton’s Agency, Chicago Have been in the business for 14 years, and have been working on this case for two m- nths. Have obtained most of my poiuts from Perry Spencer- Have had a number of interviews with all of dependents. Had a talk with detendant Mrs. Keever, when she told me she had given deceased a small white powder during his last illness. The manuer ot all defendants at these interviews lea me to believe they were guilty of the murder. At this juncture the State rested her case and the delense said they did not care to introduce any evidence Judge Gould stated that as this was but the evidence given on the motion to admit to bail any statement of what had been proven would be ill-timed, but that under the Clause in our Constitution, which ,provides thal#‘Murder or treason shall not be bailable when the proof is evident or the presumption strong,’ he considered it his duty to admit the deiendunts to bail, and fixed the amount at $5,0)0 each.

Keep it before t e people that the Democratic House at its last session passed bills to forfeit some 90,000,000 acres of unearned land grants and reserve them for the use of actual settlers, but the bills were choked off by the Republican Senate.