Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 22, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1900 — The Lyda Murder Trial. [ARTICLE]

The Lyda Murder Trial.

Monday, Montioello Journal: The case of the state vs Elizabeth Lyda and Starling Cox was called for trial this morning. Elizabeth Lyda is the widow of William Lyda, who died last July at his home near Fowler. His death was accompanied, it is said, by all the symptoms of strychnine poisoning and as analysis of his stomach, by Prof. Hillis, of Purdue disclosed the presence of poison in the stomach in large quantities. Starling Cox and Mis. Lyda are charged jointly with administering the poison. Cox is a fairly good looking farmer about thirty-five years of age, while *Mrs. Lyda is a comely appearing lady of about forty. It is thought that the fact of their intimacy will be established and this assigned as their motive for the crime. Jrdge Palmer has issued a special venire for twenty jurymen and the day will be consumed in obtaining a satisfactory jury. About one hundred witnesses are in attendance from Benton county and it is estimated that two weeks will be consumed in the trial of the cri me. ___ The attorneys in the case are Sanderson G. Hall, of Fowler; Geo. P. Haywood, of Lafayette, and Reynolds & Sills of this city for the defense; and Daniel Fraser of Fowler; A. B. Anderson, of Crawfordsville; Sellers & Uhl and J. R. Ward of this city for the state. To which we may add that Lyda was a good, plain, good natured and fairly well-to do former, well liked by everybody. As we have previously stated, he lived in Jasper county a few years, when a young man, at what was then the A. J- Yeoman place, in Jordan, township.

Monticello Journal, Tuesday: This afternoon at 2 o’clock the work of securing a jury for the Lyda-Cox murder trial was finished and at 2:30 a statement on behalf of the state was opened by Attorney Daniel Fraser, of Fowler, and it was thought that most of the afternoon would be consumed by the attorney, ■> Mrs. Lyda seemed to be firm and undisturbed by what was going on in the court room, until after the jury had been secured, when she, and several of her lady friends wept bitterly, and whether guilty or not the prisoner won sympathy froni a majority of those in the court room. The room was filled with curious people to hear the opening statement. No testimony will be heard until tomorrow. A jury was secured, the opening statement made by Dan Fraser, and the taking of evidence began Wednesday. The jurors’ names are E. G, Smith, Richard North, D. D. Slater, Maurioe Jones, Geo. F. Robinson, Wm. Hinchman, John Applegate, E. Warden, M. G. Dobbins, Wm. H. # Daugherty, Samuel Schofield and I. W.Macy. One of these Mr. Daugherty is a former well known resident of the vicinity of Rensselaer. Samuel Schbfield is a brother of Joe, Jerry, and John of our town. The Monticello papers are presenting the trial in good shape. The Herald presents fine pictures of Mrs. Lyda, Star Cox* and Wm. Lyda also of the Lyda residence, in Benton county. The following i3 4 ’the Monticello Journal’s abstract of the evidence oE the two first witnesses: Martin Lux, tlje first for the state, testified that h* worked aS a farm hand for the Lydas seven years ago and that the relation of Mr. and Mrs. Lyda were not at that time pleasant, and that Mrs. Lyda made a statement at that time that she had been mad enough a dozen times to poison him and also that if he did not have their farm put in her name she would poison him. Ella Heisler, a servant girl in the household of tho Lydas for eleven years and who was staying there at the time of Lyda’s death, was the leading witness for the state today giving evidence of the friendly and intimate relation of Star Cox

and Mrs. Lyda and statements of Mrs. Lyda, among which she said that since the coroner’s inquest Mrs. Lyda had asked her to testify that Lyda had taken the medicine himself and not at the hands of Mrs. Lyda. Miss Heisler also testified that Lyda died in convulsions.