Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-07-14

| 0GEGcut, lHtV thc OooO VI 1iie. bJuio
Sherman, charged with numbering three
husbands and eight children. by admins
tering poison to them, has developed the
following facts: Lydia Danbury, at the
age of twenty-four married her first hus
band, Mr.. Struck, in New Brunswick, N.
j., with whom she lived eighteen years
and had seven children. Struck died,
and then six of the children; the other, a
young man, is married and resides in
Boston. Next she married an old man
named Dennis Hurlburt, "a years of age,
who appears to have dotted On her. They
lived together but a short time, when
Hurlburt died suddenly, but the circum
stance awakened no suspicion at the time.
BY his untimely taking off, his widow in
/ heTited fortune of about BIO, 000.' Soon
afterwards the widow Struck Hurlburt
married widower namtd H. N. Sher-
man, living at Birmingham, Conn, who
had four children-Frsnk, an infant;
Ada, young girl; an older boy, Nathan
lei and enc other. Sherman was dissi-
pated man. The marriage took place on
September 18th, 1870; on November 10th
the infant died; on d, cember LIST the girl
Ada followed; on May 9th last Sherman
himself died. Suspicion was awakened,
aud the bodies of Sherman, his two chill
dren, and old Mr.. Hurlburt were ex-
humed and the stomach submitted to an
alysis. All four were found to contain
arsenic. On the preliminary ex-
animation, on the Oh ard 7th of this
month, the circumstances of the death of
HurlbuIt and the three Shermans were
developed, and they were sufficiently
shown TO have been caused by arsenical
poisoning. The only question in the case
Is whether or not the poison was admin
istered by the prisoner. On this point the
evidence is wholly circumstantial. 1t is
in proof that her relations with Hurlburt,
Sherman and the children were fairly
pleasant. To the first, and TO the girl
Ada, she appeared TO be quite devoted.
Her conduct towards Sherman, who is
shown to have been very much addicted
| to drunkenness, is also in her favor.
| She tended all in their sickneSses. The
baby and Sherman, Immediately prior TO
their deaths, were in good health. Mr..
Sherman says there was arsenic in the
house, which was 10 poison rats with.
There is no suggestion whatever as TO any
other perpstrator of the proved murders.
When arrested, Mrs. Sherman was cheer
full and collected, and has so continued
since. a correspondent, who was pres
ent at the examination, sums up the case
thus:
at is difficult to say what the termina-
ton of the case will be. Mrs. Sherman
will uEquestionsbly be held 70 await the
action of tie grand jury, but whether she
| can be convicted on a regular trial is
| another question. II is the opinion of
| lawyers here that she cannot be. It is
true it has been proved beyond question
| t nat the four victims whose stomachs were
| examined died of poison, but there is not
! the slightest proof that Mrs. Sherman ad-
ministered It. There is no doubt in the
minds of the people that she did, but
| there is no legal proof of it. In the case
of HurlbuIt the evidence Is stronger
| against her than in any of the others, for
| the reason that she lived alone with him
and was his sole attendant. Then, too,
| in his case there was strong motive IN
the desire TO get possession OF his money,
| which did not exist in the other cases.
1t is therefore more than likely thai the
State will rely upon this case particularly
to secure conviction, but the lawyers
say even then il will be an even chance
! if Jury will convict on mere circum-
s:antial evidence, snd not much of that
indeed. Altogether the case is mystic
riOus one"
A correspondent of the New York
World who interviewed" Mrs. Sherman
in the prison, at Derby, Conn, on the
S,h inst, represents her as expressing en-
tire confidence in her acquittal if she can
get "fair play" This correspondent sayt:
"There was one thing which could not
help being noticed about the woman, and
which was very painful to see. She
would laugh very heartily at any remark
that amused her, but in the next instant
| cold gloom came over her face which
made ones blood turn cold. 1t would
would only last for 8 N oment, until the
conversation was resumed, when her
features would assume more agreeable
expression"
The preliminary examination of Mrs.
Sherman has brought to light some facts,
says the New York Tribune, in which
the medical fraternity are especially liter
ested. Analyses have been made of the
stomach and liver of four of the supposed
victims, and arsenic has been discovered
in all of them. The symptoms of their
last sickness appear to have been clearly
those of arsenlcsl poisoning, aud the
physician who attended Mrs. Sherman's
second husband, Hurlburt, at the time of
his death, in July, 1870, confessed that
he suspected foul play, but held his
tongue. The question suggests itself, Is
it conceivable that possibly eleven, GER
tainly four, persons in q single family
| should lie of poison so marked in its
effects as arsenic, aud that these sudden
deaths should continue through a series
of years without criminal negligence on
the part of the attending ply
s;cian What explanation has Dr..
Shelton to offer for not insisting
upon post.mortem examination when
Mr.. HurIbart died of what he Suspect
ed' 80 BE- poison2 Physicians are pro-
perry sensitive about The secrets of their
patients, and VIC are not sure but an ex.
aggerated estimate of the sacredness of
professional confidence may have induced
the attendant of Mr.. Hurlburt to smother
his alf-formed suspicious, and resolve 10