The New York herald., 1872-09-06
PAUL sCHOEPPE'S TRIAL.
Proceedings ia the Court at Carlisle Yesterday
Testimony Of Medical Experts-scientiAc Dis-
QUESTIONS on Poisons and Post-Mor-
transforming to Close-Personal
Collision and Preparing Mate.
rial for q Fresh Case.

CARLISLE, Pa, Sept s. 1872
The near approach Of the finale to the second
trial OF DR.. Paul Schoeppe for the alleged murder
Of Miss. ". M. Steinecke gives to the proceedings
an unpyecedentedly lively interest
The eighth day Gf the trial began this morning, |
and 6shered in tbe opening Of the for the dc,
fendant. larger crowd than ever before was In
attendance, the ladies forming quite prominent
feature. Among them were noticed some OF the
witnesses Of the great Mrs. Wharton trial, rela-
tives Of Mr.. Eugene Van Ness, who win also be wit
nesses upon that ladys second trial for his attempt.
ed murder. They evinced quite an interest in the
present case, and were apparently anxious as to
how Professor Aikene theories would stand the
test In this case, and did not appear much pleased
as Professor Reese demonstrated that the very re-
agents Professor AIKEN used In his search for poison
made the poison which he declares he found.
THE PRISONERS ANXIETY.
The prisoner watched the proceedings with great
interest, sometimes suggesting to his counsel ques-
tons to be prepounded to his medical witnesses
THE JURY AND COURT.
All the jurors were In the box, the one sick yes.
day having recovered. The Court met promptly at
nine O'Clock and proceeded at once to hear the
DEFENCE.
Samuel Hepburn, Jr., opened the case for the
prisoner In powerful speech Of over an hour, in
which he was very severe upon the private c0un-
sell declaring that were 1t not for the private inter-
ests represented the State would have abandoned
the case, on account Of the entire absence Of any
proof Of the guilt of the prisoner, but as DR..
Scheeppe was in the way Of the easy inheritance
of the estate of the deceased, by certain heirs,
his life must be taken, and they were using
all the means known to petty chicanery to
get it, He declared that persons interested
in the estate had had the body eXhumed,
employed private parties to make the scientific
examination, and then brought them here and kept
them here as witnesses, paying them out of private
funds and then calling in private counsel to do that
which the States oficer would not from his sense
ofJpstice, Do,
After Mr. Hepburns speech Professor John J.
Reese was caled-He testified that he had prac-
tised medicine for twenty-five years, and was pro.
fessor OF toxicology and medical jurisprudence in
the University Of Pennsylvania, and was formerly
professor of chemistry in the medical department
Of Pennsylvania College at Philadelphia; have
heard Professor Aiken's testimony as to the
analysis Of Miss Steinecke's stomach; in chemical
ANALYSIS to detect poison supposed to be the
cause Of death II is the duty of the chemist to be so
thorough, so complete also exhaustive, as to leave
no test untried that might prove the presence Of it;
he pursued. by. obtaining the presence Of prussic
If remember correctly he cut up the stomach and
added a little distilled water and put it into re.
1t; the error was that he should have tested
for free prussic acid before-addng sulphuric acid;
stomach and It had been distilled without suphurc
acid 1t would have come because 1t Is volitic
the possibility Of saying whether tho prussc cid
was in the free state or whether 1t existed In COM
bnaton with IT, something else how far ought he
that stomach something that by the influence of
sulphnric acid would have been converted into
prussic acd for instance red yellow prussiate Of
potash in solution, not visible to the naked eyer
Both of these salts are harmless but when acted
prussic acid; there is in the human saliva
hsr OF the saliva is
sSh and is, consequently, lou found 'li in ''GRis the
stomach ofevery dead person; therefore If you take
tiilation along with suphurc acid YOU win almost
tes tteertany discover traces OF prassc acid IT. is for
cess e
ed in this case defective because all the recognized
tests tests for determining @ this poison we're not em:
S,o1dao to the nitrate Of silver test; II remember
using this fact &C as asasUn one '0r coaG MD
not distinguish the difference between the result.
vapor Of mnratc acid Of tie gastric juice upon pom
tween them BY microscopic observation; the the cya va
nide Of silver is crystalline, while the chloride is an
my opinion, important to make it in ali such cases
SsSus the nnri 1esq and can
Jury and the Opposite COUNSEL IN " se opnon Il tns
Impossible 70 say that the iron test could give the
characteristic reaction without the actual produc.
had beeH obtained It could have been Kept and sI
brought into Court and identified; moreover, 1t
tanned prussic acid; for this reason deem the
iron test, as practised by Professor Aiken, incon.
because the faint sce Of q esoI
which he said he obtained Is not necessarily the
Described M hic
sulphur test was inconcusive as to the presence Of
Of prussic acid because thht faint trace OF red
rTea!gent; the Jury will observe that the two
are merely color tests, which are universally
acknowledged as faacious unless supported by
tons it IS necessary to obtain The poison sought FOR
and bring i in evidence of its presence into Court
a 70 be yer,aed m ta faint traces Of any poison may pc
do not attach any importance to
faint traces unless the symptoms Before death cor.
attending MISS sclneesos death do not corre
Single Single SYMPTOM Of sSa poson MGt %as
present. PPre when when person takes poisonous
Tardieu represents it as being Of llehtnIna ra
pidityi faint trace Of suspected poison gives
merely ga indication Of that poison; before It can
into positive proof; now. the faint trace Of red
and blue colors produced by DR.. Aiken might have
Professor Aiken states when he opened the stom.
ach that 1t was empty, but that Its surface was
moist; now, Miss Steinecke lying for twenty-four ,
hours, saliva must necessarily have been passing
into the stomach and nave been mixed with the
nucus found on the inner lining OF the stomach; J
Professor Aiken test1es that fourteen days after :
death, when he cut up the stomach he perceived no
odor but when he distilled 1t he perceived odor
arising from the disttllation; now, there being no
)dor before II was distilled, and an odor as of !
prussic acid after dstilation took place ia evidence
nat Professor Aiken himself manufactured the
,russic acid when he ADDED his re.aQent: N NOR.
'ha had been given In fatal dose with the prussic
cld would state most positively that IL would be
ar more likely TO be found after death than prussic
cld, because II Is more stable, but believe Pro- +
e essor % Aiken stated that he could not find morphia
ms search for poison; morphid has no charac- \
erlstc symptoms; 1t Is obvious that the post 4