Daily Texarkana Democrat., 1893-06-29
M,KIBBEN POISONING.
The Wife's Horrible Charge Against
Her Dead Husband Disproven.

AT the coroner's inquest in the city
of st. Louis, yesterday, over the bod
les of John McKibben, Sr, and his
daughter, Mrs. Stewart, the principal
witness was mother, who, unblush-
iegly, and before a room full of men,
charged her dead husband and dead
daughter with the most horrible and
unnatural crime known to man. Not
content with her effort to blacken the
character of her dead child, she en-
deavors by the same means, to destroy
that of the two daughters, yet living,
whose good names have heretofore
been unquestioned. One of these
maligned daughters is married wo-
man living in st. Louis, while the
other is a wanderer, whose where
abouts are absolutely unknown, and
who is therefore utterly unable 10 de-
fend herself from the charges of a
mother whose heart seems filled with
the bitterest hatred for those who
should be nearest and dearest to her.
Very little credence is placed in the
story Mrs. McKibben tells, for all of
her charges are denied and contradict
ed by other witnesses fully as capable
of knowing the true inwardness of the
case as the mother.
She gave hint into the probable
true character of John McKibben. the
deceased, when she acknowledged
that, Notwithstanding the fact that she
had gotten a divorce from her hus-
band l6 years ago, when he heard of
her Strengthened circumstances five
years ago he went and lived at her
house and helped to support her and
her children. She also acknowledges
that he placed an insurance of $5,500
on his own life, made out in her favor,
while he insured her life for only
$4,000, which insurance was made out
payable TO himself. Young John Nc
Kibben states that when his father
heard that the mother had written to
her son for $40, which he did not
have, the father gave the son the $40
and told him to hurry up and give it
to her. The testimony of all witness
es, with the exception of the mother,
is that McKibben was kind father
and good husband. 1t is true that
he was a drinking man, but his drink
ing habit did not carry him into ex-
travagance, for he managed to save
from 5000 to $1,000 out of his earn
ings with which to buy a house. 1t
is thought that if the missing Lizzie
McKibben could be found she would
give some startling evidence in refu-
tation of the charges made by the mo-
ther,
The coroner's inquest seems to have
been, SO far, an investigation into the
private matters of the McKibben fam
lily. To a certain extent this Is neces-
sary, but it only becomes necessary
when the family relations could posi-
bly, have any bearing upon the solu-
ton of the mystery of the death OF
McKibben and Mrs. Stewart.
The character of Maud McKibben
was considerably injured Tuesday by
the evidence of two young men, Bert
Steinhoff and Michael Daw. Very
little that is new has been brought
out, pointing to her as the possible
mgrderess, In case a murder has been
committed, which is not at all certain.
The only piece of evidence indicating
the possible guilt of Maud ID that OF
John MeKibhen who stated that his
sisters told him they had been poison
ed, and as no one else could have done
it, Maud must be the guilty one, But
this is only the evidence Of two wo-
men who were deathly sick at the
time they made the statement. The
statement of the two women suggests
the question, now did they know they
were poisoned?
There will be no further proceed.
ings by the coroner until a chemical
analysis of the contents of the bodies
of the deceased Is completed. This
important step has been delayed for q
decision of the city board as to wheth.
er the work should be done by the
official city chemist or by private ex.
perts. The bodies are now in the
hands of the latter and the analysis
nearly complete.
The accused girl maintains her all
of easy Indifference and confident as
Surance, asserting her innocence o
the crime 10 the last and apparently
doubling nothing Of her final acquit
tai. She knows nothing, as yet, of tn,
damaging evidence against her char
aoter, made at Tuesdays session b,
the two men, who, under oath, ac